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Filter Total Items: 657

Building science-based groundwater tools and capacity in Armenia for the Ararat Basin

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) began a study in 2016 to help build science-based groundwater tools and capacity for the Ararat Basin in Armenia. The growth of aquaculture and other uses in the Ararat Basin has been accompanied by increased withdrawals of groundwater, which has resulted in a reduction of artesian conditions (decreased springf
Authors
Janet M. Carter, Joshua F. Valder, Mark T. Anderson, Patrick Meyer, Jo L. Eimers

Pesticide concentrations in wetlands on the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation, South and North Dakota, July 2015

During July 2015, water samples were collected from 18 wetlands on the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation in northeastern South Dakota and southeastern North Dakota and analyzed for physical properties and 54 pesticides. This study by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate was designed to provide an update on pesticide concentrations of the same 18 wetlands that w
Authors
Janet M. Carter, Ryan F. Thompson

Perchlorate and selected metals in water and soil within Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota, 2011–15

Mount Rushmore National Memorial is located in the east-central part of the Black Hills area of South Dakota and is challenged to provide drinking water to about 3 million annual visitors and year-round park personnel. An environmental concern to water resources within Mount Rushmore National Memorial has been the annual aerial fireworks display at the memorial for the Independence Day holiday dur
Authors
Galen K. Hoogestraat, Barbara L. Rowe

Tree-ring-based estimates of long-term seasonal precipitation in the Souris River Region of Saskatchewan, North Dakota and Manitoba

Historically unprecedented flooding occurred in the Souris River Basin of Saskatchewan, North Dakota and Manitoba in 2011, during a longer term period of wet conditions in the basin. In order to develop a model of future flows, there is a need to evaluate effects of past multidecadal climate variability and/or possible climate change on precipitation. In this study, tree-ring chronologies and hist
Authors
Karen R. Ryberg, Aldo V. Vecchia, F. Adnan Akyüz, Wei Lin

Stochastic model for simulating Souris River Basin precipitation, evapotranspiration, and natural streamflow

The Souris River Basin is a 61,000-square-kilometer basin in the Provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba and the State of North Dakota. In May and June of 2011, record-setting rains were seen in the headwater areas of the basin. Emergency spillways of major reservoirs were discharging at full or nearly full capacity, and extensive flooding was seen in numerous downstream communities. To determine t
Authors
Kelsey A. Kolars, Aldo V. Vecchia, Karen R. Ryberg

Regression equations to estimate seasonal flow duration, n-day high-flow frequency, and n-day low-flow frequency at sites in North Dakota using data through water year 2009

Seasonal mean daily flow data from 119 U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations in North Dakota; the surrounding states of Montana, Minnesota, and South Dakota; and the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan with 10 or more years of unregulated flow record were used to develop regression equations for flow duration, n-day high flow and n-day low flow using ordinary least-squares
Authors
Tara Williams-Sether, Tara A. Gross

Hydrologic response for a high-elevation storm in the South Dakota Black Hills

A group of thunderstorms produced >4 in of rain during four periods of progressively more intense rainfall across a small part of a relatively high-elevation area of the northern Black Hills on 5 August 2014. The resulting hydrologic response was noteworthy in two very small headwater drainage basins, where the measured peak flows are by far the largest—relative to drainage area—ever documented fo
Authors
Matthew J. Bunkers, Melissa Smith, Daniel G. Driscoll, Galen K. Hoogestraat

Changes in seasonality and timing of peak streamflow in snow and semi-arid climates of the north-central United States, 1910–2012

Changes in the seasonality and timing of annual peak streamflow in the north-central USA are likely because of changes in precipitation and temperature regimes. A source of long-term information about flood events across the study area is the U.S. Geological Survey peak streamflow database. However, one challenge of answering climate-related questions with this dataset is that even in snowmelt-dom
Authors
Karen R. Ryberg, F. Adnan Akyüz, Gregg J. Wiche, Wei Lin

Climate and streamflow characteristics for selected streamgages in eastern South Dakota, water years 1945–2013

Upward trends in precipitation and streamflow have been observed in the northeastern Missouri River Basin during the past century, including the area of eastern South Dakota. Some of the identified upward trends were anomalously large relative to surrounding parts of the northern Great Plains. Forcing factors for streamflow trends in eastern South Dakota are not well understood, and it is not know
Authors
Galen K. Hoogestraat, John F. Stamm

Trends in pesticide concentrations and use for major rivers of the United States

Trends in pesticide concentrations in 38 major rivers of the United States were evaluated in relation to use trends for 11 commonly occurring pesticide compounds. Pesticides monitored in water were analyzed for trends in concentration in three overlapping periods, 1992–2001, 1997–2006, and 2001–2010 to facilitate comparisons among sites with variable sample distributions over time and among pestic
Authors
Karen R. Ryberg, Robert J. Gilliom

Ground-survey and water-quality data for selected wetlands on or near the Lower Brule Indian Reservation in South Dakota, 2012-13

Numerous lakes, ponds, and wetlands are located within the Lower Brule Indian Reservation. Wetlands are an important resource providing aquatic habitat for plants and animals, and acting as a natural water filtration system. Several of the wetlands on or near the reservation are of particular interest, but information on the physical and biological integrity of these wetlands was needed to provide
Authors
Kathleen M. Neitzert, Ryan F. Thompson

Regional regression equations to estimate peak-flow frequency at sites in North Dakota using data through 2009

Annual peak-flow frequency data from 231 U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations in North Dakota and parts of Montana, South Dakota, and Minnesota, with 10 or more years of unregulated peak-flow record, were used to develop regional regression equations for exceedance probabilities of 0.5, 0.20, 0.10, 0.04, 0.02, 0.01, and 0.002 using generalized least-squares techniques. Updated peak-fl
Authors
Tara Williams-Sether