Publications

Since 1952, wastewater discharged to infiltration ponds (also called “percolation ponds”) and disposal wells at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has affected water quality in the eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) aquifer and perched groundwater zones underlying the INL. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), maintains groundwater-monitoring ne

Widely dispersed waste products from historical mining in northern Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene mining district have long been a concern in the Coeur d’Alene River Basin in northern Idaho. The Central Impoundment Area (CIA), an unlined mining waste repository that is part of the Bunker Hill Superfund Site designated in 1983, is adjacent to the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River between Kellogg and Smeltervil

Understanding sources of mercury (Hg) and methylmercury (MeHg) to a water body is critical for management but is often complicated by poorly characterized Hg inputs and in situ processes, such as inorganic Hg methylation. In this study, we determined inorganic Hg and MeHg concentrations and loads (filter-passing and particulate fractions) for a semi-arid 164-kilometer stretch of the Snake River ab

Efforts to incorporate bioavailability adjustments into regulatory water quality criteria in the United States have included four major procedures: hardness-based single-linear regression equations, water-effect ratios (WERs), biotic ligand models (BLMs), and multiple-linear regression models (MLRs) that use dissolved organic carbon, hardness, and pH. The performance of each with copper (Cu) is ev

Most of the population of the Treasure Valley and the surrounding area of southwestern Idaho and easternmost Oregon depends on groundwater for domestic supply, either from domestic or municipal-supply wells. Current and projected rapid population growth in the area has caused concern about the long-term sustainability of the groundwater resource. In 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation

Populations of endangered Banbury Springs limpet (Idaholanx fresti) and threatened Bliss Rapids snail (Taylorconcha serpenticola) are declining in springs north of the Snake River along the southern Gooding County boundary, in south-central Idaho. One hypothesis for the decline is that increased macrophyte growth, associated with elevated nitrate concentrations in the springs, is decreasing aquati

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

No abstract available.

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

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

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

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