Publications

Anthropogenic hydrologic alteration threatens the health of riverine ecosystems. Machine learning algorithms that employ the use of model trees to predict hydrologic alteration are underrepresented in related literature. This study assesses hydrologic alteration in the Pearl and Pascagoula River basins using modeled daily streamflow. Hydrologic alteration was determined by hypothesis testing and t

Improved simulations of streamflow and base flow for selected sites within and adjacent to the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain area are important for modeling groundwater flow because surface-water flows have a substantial effect on groundwater levels. One method for simulating streamflow and base flow, random forest (RF) models, was developed from the data at gaged sites and, in turn, was used t

To assess the status and trends of conditions of surface waters throughout Mississippi, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), summarized concentrations and estimated loads, yields, trends, and spatial and temporal patterns of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) at 20 stream sites in MDEQ’s ambient water-quality monitor

Censored and uncensored generalized additive models (GAMs) were developed using streamflow data from 941 U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations (streamgages) to predict decadal statistics of daily streamflow for streams draining to the Gulf of Mexico. The modeled decadal statistics comprise no-flow fractions and L-moments of logarithms of nonzero streamflow for six decades (1950–2009).

Groundwater-flow models require the spatial distribution of the hydraulic conductivity parameter. One approach to defining this spatial distribution in groundwater-flow model grids is to map the electrical resistivity distribution by airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey and establish a petrophysical relation between mean resistivity calculated as a nonlinear function of the resistivity layering a

Cover crops are planted to reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility, and improve watershed management. In the Delmarva Peninsula of the eastern United States, winter cover crops are essential for reducing nutrient and sediment losses from farmland. Cost-share programs have been created to incentivize cover crops to achieve conservation objectives. This program required that cover crops be plan

Groundwater in northwestern Louisiana is a valuable resource needed for expanding public-supply needs as well as possible energy development needs arising from Haynesville Formation natural-gas production. The Red River alluvial and the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifers are two of the most important and heavily pumped aquifers in northwestern Louisiana; however, little documentation of the regional hydrogeo

Running Reelfoot Bayou (RRB) is the outlet canal of Reelfoot Lake, the largest natural lake in Tennessee. RRB is not able to contain discharge from Reelfoot Lake greater than the bankfull discharge of 28 m3/s (1000 ft3/s), which typically occurs at the beginning of the growing season (April–June). Historically, the planting of crops has been delayed until flooding subsides and cropland has drained

This study focused on optimizing the placement of shortwave infrared (SWIR) bands for pixel-level estimation of fractional crop residue cover (fR) for the upcoming Landsat Next mission. We applied an iterative wavelength shift approach to a database of crop residue field spectra collected in Beltsville, Maryland, USA (n = 916) and computed generalized two- and three-band spectral indices for all w

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI), conducted a baseline assessment of the physical, chemical, and biological quality of selected streams and rivers within and contiguous to the Pearl River Community (PRC) in 2017 and 2018. The MBCI is a federally recognized tribe with territories in Mississippi and Tennessee. MBCI Tribal government and c

Preliminary models for gate operations at the new outlet control structure for Reelfoot Lake were developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, using calibrated ratings of the lift gates, to support the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in managing lake level. In 2018, the old structure at the outlet of Reelfoot Lake was buried and lake level control was transferred to a new structure. The transition from

In 2019, the Maryland Department of Agriculture's Winter Cover Crop Program introduced a delayed termination incentive (after May 1) to promote springtime biomass accumulation. We used satellite imagery calibrated with springtime in situ measurements collected from 2006–2021 (n = 722) to derive biomass estimates for Maryland fields planted to cereal cover crop species (286,200 ha total over two se