Water Resources
Water Resources
Powell Center working groups rarely are just one USGS Mission Area and are sorted into these areas by the groups themselves. Projects may be relevant to additional areas.
Impact of Thermoelectric Power Plant Operations and Water Use Reporting Methods on Thermoelectric Power Plant Water Use
Impact of Thermoelectric Power Plant Operations and Water Use Reporting Methods on Thermoelectric Power Plant Water Use
This study shows the importance of power plant operations and the water use reporting methods for thermoelectric power plant management, introducing an operations-based data filtration method and investigating the importance of features for predicting reported water withdrawal and consumption.
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Assessing the susceptibility of lakes to groundwater withdrawals in the Upper Midwest
This project will identify which lakes in the Upper Midwest are most at risk from groundwater withdrawals and create a framework for incorporating lakes into well permitting decisions.
Towards an integrated multi-scale understanding of dryland plant traits with application to land management
This proposed project brings together scientists, federal agencies, and land managers to improve the monitoring and management of dryland ecosystems in the western United States.
Effects of global change on alpine and subalpine ecosystems
Atmospheric nitrogen deposition, changing environmental patterns, and recreation are rapidly altering high elevation ecosystems. This project will evaluate long-term biogeochemical, hydrological, and ecological trends in Rocky Mountain National Park to understand the causes and rates of change in alpine and subalpine waters, soils, and vegetation. Resource managers of high-elevation, protected...
Critical zone as a mediator of hydroclimate-ecosystem asynchrony
Most regions across the continental United States are experiencing shifts in hydroclimate, such as snow transitioning to rain and changes in streamflow regimes, driven by rising air temperatures.
Identifying root causes of thiamine deficiency complex in global aquatic ecosystems
Thiamine deficiency complex (TDC) is considered one of the top threats to global wildlife, yet we have a poor understanding of the drivers or extent of TDC or the reason(s) why it appears to be increasing in frequency.
A Global Synthesis of Flood Impacts: Understanding the Country-level Vulnerability and Causes
The escalating flood impacts on natural resources, built infrastructure, and human society have become a pressing global concern in the 21st century.
Are we experiencing a riverine silicon surge? Implications for the global carbon cycle
The amounts of silicon (Si), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) in rivers are crucial for determining which types of algae grow.
A global synthesis of multi-year drought effects on terrestrial ecosystems
Drought impacts on terrestrial ecosystems have increased globally in the 21st century, and droughts are expected to become more frequent, extreme, and spatially extensive in the future. Historical site-based observations are inadequate to predict how future extreme water deficits will affect the global terrestrial surface, because future droughts and their impacts may be more extreme...
Improving representation of groundwater in foundational Great Lakes hydrologic and hydrodynamic models and data sets
Groundwater plays a critical role in the water balance, however the groundwater component of the hydrologic cycle is frequently overlooked at basin scales because it is difficult to observe and quantify. We address this problem through a novel framework that combines existing hydrological models and data sets with groundwater flux estimates across Earth's largest system of lakes; the...
Analyses of contaminant effects in freshwater systems: synthesizing abiotic and biotic stream datasets for long-term ecological research
Fresh water is arguably the most valuable resource on the planet, but human activities threaten freshwater ecosystems. For example, use of synthetic chemicals, such as pesticides, road salts, and nutrients, has led to the ubiquitous contamination of aquatic systems, jeopardizing the integrity of ecological communities. Given the importance biodiversity plays in maintaining ecosystem...
Reanalyzing and Predicting U.S. Water Use using Economic History and Forecast Data; an experiment in short-range national hydro-economic data synthesis
Water in the United States is used for myriad activities on a daily basis, such as for food (irrigation, aquaculture, livestock), energy (thermoelectric power or hydropower generation), and public water supply for domestic, commercial or industrial purposes. Yet, we lack an national accounting of how and where water is used on a temporal scale more frequent than every 5 years, and a...
Visualizing the Invisible: Causes, Consequences, Changes, and Management of Streamflow Depletion Across the U.S.
Streamflow is declining in many parts of the United States (US) due to factors including groundwater pumping, land use change, and climate change. Streamflow depletion, a reduction in groundwater discharge to a stream due to human activities such as pumping and/or land use change, tends to evolve slowly and can be entirely invisible for many years to decades. This is because streamflow...