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Publications

Below is a list of available Colorado Water Science Center publications and published products.

Filter Total Items: 813

Effect of Georgetown Lake on the water quality of Clear Creek, Georgetown, Colorado, 1997-98 Effect of Georgetown Lake on the water quality of Clear Creek, Georgetown, Colorado, 1997-98

Georgetown Lake is a recreational reservoir located in the upper Clear Creek Basin, a designated Superfund site because of extensive metal mining in the past. Metals concentrations in Clear Creek increase as the stream receives runoff from mining-affected areas. In 1997, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, began a study to determine...
Authors
Sally M. Cuffin, Daniel T. Chafin

Pesticides in surface waters of the upper Colorado River basin, Colorado, 1996-98 Pesticides in surface waters of the upper Colorado River basin, Colorado, 1996-98

Forty-four river, stream, and drain sites in the Upper Colorado River Basin in Colorado were sampled during 1996?98 to determine the occurrence and distribution of pesticides in the basin. In a fixed-station study, 57 surface-water samples were collected from October 1996 through January 1998 at four sites. Each site was sampled approximately monthly for up to a year, with more frequent...
Authors
Nancy J. Bauch, Norman E. Spahr

Analysis of the magnitude and frequency of floods in Colorado Analysis of the magnitude and frequency of floods in Colorado

Regionalized flood-frequency relations need to be updated on a regular basis (about every 10 years). The latest study on regionalized flood-frequency equations for Colorado used data collected through water year 1981. A study was begun in 1994 by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Bureau of Land Management, to include...
Authors
J. E. Vaill

Quantification of metal loading in Fisher Creek by tracer injection and synoptic sampling, Park County, Montana, August 1997 Quantification of metal loading in Fisher Creek by tracer injection and synoptic sampling, Park County, Montana, August 1997

Acid mine drainage from abandoned and inactive mines affects the water quality of the upper reaches of Fisher Creek, Montana. A sodium chloride tracer was added to the stream for 29.5 hours to provide a hydrologic context for synoptic sampling of metal chemistry in the stream and its inflows. The detailed profile of stream discharge obtained from the sampling helped to indicate those...
Authors
Briant A. Kimball, David A. Nimick, Linda J. Gerner, Robert L. Runkel

Effects of snowmobile use on snowpack chemistry in Yellowstone National Park, 1998 Effects of snowmobile use on snowpack chemistry in Yellowstone National Park, 1998

Snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park has increased substantially in the past three decades. In areas of greatest snowmobile use, elevated levels of by-products of gasoline combustion such as ammonium and benzene have been detected in snowpack samples. Annual snowpacks and snow-covered roadways trap deposition from local and regional atmospheric emissions. Snowpack samples...
Authors
George P. Ingersoll

Assessing the influence of reacting pyrite and carbonate minerals on the geochemistry of drainage in the Coeur d'Alene mining district Assessing the influence of reacting pyrite and carbonate minerals on the geochemistry of drainage in the Coeur d'Alene mining district

The relative abundance of minerals that react to generate or consume acid in mineralized areas is critical in determining the quality of water draining from such areas. This work examines the fundamental reactions that influence the pH and composition of drainage from mine adits and tailings piles. We construct triangle diagrams that predict stoichiometric relationships between...
Authors
Laurie S. Balistrieri, S. E. Box, A. A. Bookstrom, M. Ikramuddin

Characterization of selected biological, chemical, and physical conditions at fixed sites in the Upper Colorado River basin, Colorado, 1995-98 Characterization of selected biological, chemical, and physical conditions at fixed sites in the Upper Colorado River basin, Colorado, 1995-98

Biological community samples were collected at 15 sites in the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCOL) in Colorado as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. Sites sampled in two physiographic provinces, the Southern Rocky Mountains and the Colorado Plateau, represented agriculture, mining, urban and recreation, and mixed land uses and background conditions. Nine...
Authors
Jeffrey R. Deacon, Scott V. Mize, Norman E. Spahr

Comparison of two approaches for determining ground-water discharge and pumpage in the lower Arkansas River Basin, Colorado, 1997-98 Comparison of two approaches for determining ground-water discharge and pumpage in the lower Arkansas River Basin, Colorado, 1997-98

In March 1994, the Colorado Division of Water Resources (CDWR) adopted ?Rules Governing the Measurement of Tributary Ground Water Diversions Located in the Arkansas River Basin? (Office of the State Engineer, 1994); these initial rules were amended in February 1996 (Office of the State Engineer, 1996). The amended rules require users of wells that divert tributary ground water to...
Authors
Russell G. Dash, Brent M. Troutman, Patrick Edelmann

Long‐term trends in stream water and precipitation chemistry at five headwater basins in the northeastern United States Long‐term trends in stream water and precipitation chemistry at five headwater basins in the northeastern United States

Stream water data from five headwater basins in the northeastern United States covering water years 1968–1996 and precipitation data from eight nearby precipitation monitoring sites covering water years 1984‐1996 were analyzed for temporal trends in chemistry using the nonparametric seasonal Kendall test. Concentrations of SO4declined at three of five streams during 1968–1996 (p 0.1)...
Authors
David W. Clow, M. Alisa Mast
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