Publications
The following is a list of our publications available from the USGS Publications Warehouse. If you cannot find what you are looking for, please contact our Public Information Officer, Tim Merrick, at trmerrick@usgs.gov or 208-387-1305.
Filter Total Items: 434
Metabolically diverse microorganisms mediate methylmercury formation under nitrate-reducing conditions in a dynamic hydroelectric reservoir
Brownlee Reservoir is a mercury (Hg)-impaired hydroelectric reservoir that exhibits dynamic hydrological and geochemical conditions and is located within the Hells Canyon Complex in Idaho, USA. Methylmercury (MeHg) contamination in fish is a concern in the reservoir. While MeHg production has historically been attributed to sulfate-reducing bacteria and methanogenic archaea, microorganisms carryin
Authors
Benjamin D. Peterson, Brett A. Poulin, David P. Krabbenhoft, Michael T. Tate, Austin K. Baldwin, Jesse Naymik, Nick Gastelecutto, Katherine D. McMahon
Frequently asked questions about water quality in the Coeur d’Alene Basin area
No abstract available.
Authors
Lauren M. Zinsser
Estimating streamflow permanence with the watershed erosion prediction project model: Implications for surface water presence modeling and data collection
Many data collection efforts and modeling studies have focused on providing accurate estimates of streamflow while fewer efforts have sought to identify when and where surface water is present and the duration of surface water presence in stream channels, hereafter referred to as streamflow permanence. While physically-based hydrological models are frequently used to explore how water quantity may
Authors
Konrad Hafen, Kyle W. Blasch, Paul E. Gessler, Jason B. Dunham, Erin Brooks
State of the science and decision support for measuring suspended sediment with acoustic instrumentation
Acoustic instrumentation can be used to provide time-series and discrete estimates of suspended-sediment concentration, load, and sediment particle sizes in fluvial systems, which are essential for creating informed solutions to many sediment-related environmental, engineering, and land management concerns. Historically, scientists have developed relations between suspended sediment characteristic
Authors
Molly S. Wood, Joel T. Groten, Timothy D. Straub, Dan R.W. Haught, Ronald E. Griffiths, Justin A. Boldt, Zulimar Lucena, Jeb E. Brown, Steven E. Suttles, Patrick J. Dickhudt
Biogeochemical and hydrologic synergy control mercury fate in an arid land river-reservoir system
Reservoirs in arid landscapes provide critical water storage and hydroelectric power but influence the transport and biogeochemical cycling of mercury (Hg). Improved management of reservoirs to mitigate the supply and uptake of bioavailable methylmercury (MeHg) in aquatic food webs will benefit from a mechanistic understanding of inorganic divalent Hg (Hg(II)) and MeHg fate within and downstream o
Authors
Brett Poulin, Michael T. Tate, Jacob M. Ogorek, Sara E. Breitmeyer, Austin K. Baldwin, Alysa Muir Yoder, Reed C. Harris, Jesse Naymik, Nick Gastelecutto, Charles Hoovestol, Christopher F. Larsen, Ralph Myers, George R. Aiken, David P. Krabbenhoft
An assessment of Kootenai River channel migration and riparian habitat encroachment
The lower reach of the Kootenai River in northern Idaho is dominated by large and actively migrating meander bends. Flow conditions, altered by both upstream flow reductions and by downstream backwater effects, are believed to be important geomorphological drivers throughout the reach. For example, Trout Creek Peninsula, located in an area of active meander migration, is undergoing continued bank
Authors
Taylor Dudunake, Megan Kearney Kenworthy, Matthew Daniels
Regional streamflow drought forecasting in the Colorado River Basin using Deep Neural Network models
Process-based, large-scale (e.g., conterminous United States [CONUS]) hydrologic models have struggled to achieve reliable streamflow drought performance in arid regions and for low-flow periods. Deep learning has recently seen broad implementation in streamflow prediction and forecasting research projects throughout the world with performance often equaling or exceeding that of process-based mode
Authors
Scott Douglas Hamshaw, Phillip J. Goodling, Konrad Hafen, John C. Hammond, Ryan R. McShane, Roy Sando, Apoorva Ramesh Shastry, Caelan E. Simeone, David Watkins, Elaheh (Ellie) White, Michael Wieczorek
Evaluation of hydrologic processes in the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer using uranium and strontium isotopes, Idaho National Laboratory, eastern Idaho
Waste constituents discharged to the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Idaho National Laboratory (INL) pose risks to the water quality of the aquifer. To understand these risks, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the DOE, is conducting geochemical studies to better understand the hydrologic processes at the INL that affect the movement of groundw
Authors
Gordon W. Rattray, James B. Paces
Determining three-dimensional hydrologic processes in the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer using geochemical mass-balance modeling, Idaho National Laboratory, eastern Idaho, with contributions by Treinen, K.C.
Waste constituents discharged to the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Idaho National Laboratory (INL) pose risks to the water quality of the aquifer. To understand these risks, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the DOE, used geochemical mass-balance modeling to identify three-dimensional hydrologic processes in that portion of the aquifer under
Authors
Gordon W. Rattray
Completion summary for Borehole TAN-2336 at Test Area North, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho
In 2021, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, drilled and constructed borehole TAN-2336 for stratigraphic framework analyses and long-term groundwater monitoring of the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer at the Idaho National Laboratory in southeastern Idaho. Borehole TAN-2336 initially was cored from the depths of 34.0–255.8 ft below land surface (BLS) to
Authors
Brian V. Twining, Kerri C. Treinen, Allison R. Trcka
Mapping the probability of freshwater algal blooms with various spectral indices and sources of training data
Algal blooms are pervasive in many freshwater environments and can pose risks to the health and safety of humans and other organisms. However, monitoring and tracking of potentially harmful blooms often relies on in-person observations by the public. Remote sensing has proven useful in augmenting in situ observations of algal concentration, but many hurdles hinder efficient application by end user
Authors
Tyler Victor King, Stephen Hundt, Konrad Hafen, Victoria G. Stengel, Scott D. Ducar
Groundwater budgets for the Big Lost River Basin, south-central Idaho, 2000–19
The Big Lost River Basin, located in parts of Butte and Custer Counties in south-central Idaho, supports the communities surrounding the cities of Arco, Leslie, Mackay, and Moore and provides for agricultural resources that depend on a sustainable supply of surface water from the Big Lost River and its tributaries and groundwater from an unconfined aquifer. The aquifer, situated in a structurally
Authors
Alexis Clark