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Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Welcome to the USGS website that provides access to water resources information for the USGS Lower Mississippi-Gulf 5 State Water Science Center. Our center encompasses Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee including all of the unique water resources contained within! If you are seeking Real-Time Water Data for the states we serve please click the button below. 

News

Unlocking Arkansas' Hidden Treasure: USGS Uses Machine Learning to Show Large Lithium Potential in the Smackover Formation

Unlocking Arkansas' Hidden Treasure: USGS Uses Machine Learning to Show Large Lithium Potential in the Smackover Formation

USGS experts responding simultaneously to two major natural hazards

USGS experts responding simultaneously to two major natural hazards

Event: Explore USGS Careers in the Southeast 2024

Event: Explore USGS Careers in the Southeast 2024

Publications

Automating physics-based models to estimate thermoelectric-power water use

Thermoelectric (TE) power plants withdraw more water than any other sector of water use in the United States and consume water at rates that can be significant especially in water-stressed regions. Historical TE water-use data have been inconsistent, incomplete, or discrepant, resulting in an increased research focus on improving the accuracy and availability of TE water-use data using...
Authors
Melissa A. Harris, Timothy H. Diehl, Lillian Gorman Sanisaca, Amy E. Galanter, Melissa Lombard, Kenneth Skinner, Catherine A. Chamberlin, Brendan A. McCarthy, Richard G. Niswonger, Jana Stewart, Kristen J. Valseth

Status of public-supply water sources in 2022 and the development of a geographic information system methodology for the Public Drinking Water Source Water Assessment Program in Tennessee

IntroductionIn 2021, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and the U.S. Geological Survey worked in cooperation to develop a geographic information system (GIS)-based methodology that systematically assesses the vulnerability of public-supply drinking water to potential contaminants consistent with the standards set forth in the Tennessee Source Water Assessment...
Authors
Rebecca K. Ransom, Katherine J. Knierim, David Ladd, Brian Ham, Annabelle Dempsey

Lithium resource in the Smackover Formation brines of Southern Arkansas

Lithium-rich brine deposits occur throughout the United States, including in the Smackover Formation. The concentration of lithium in Smackover Formation brines was predicted across southern Arkansas by using a machine-learning model that incorporated lithium concentration data and geologic information. Between 5.1 and 19.0 million metric tons of lithium are calculated to be present in...
Authors
Katherine J. Knierim, Andrew L. Masterson, Philip A. Freeman, Bonnie McDevitt, Amanda H. Herzberg, Peng Li, Ciara Mills, Colin Doolan, Aaron M. Jubb, Scott M. Ausbrooks, Jessica Chenault

Science

Mobile River Basin Study

The Mobile River Basin in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee is one of the 59 study units that are part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The long-term goals of this program are to describe the status and trends in the quality of a large, representative part of the Nation's surface- and ground-water resources, and to provide a sound...
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Mobile River Basin Study

The Mobile River Basin in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee is one of the 59 study units that are part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The long-term goals of this program are to describe the status and trends in the quality of a large, representative part of the Nation's surface- and ground-water resources, and to provide a sound...
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A National Predictive Model for PFAS Occurrence in Groundwater

In October of 2024, USGS Scientist’s published a study where they created a model to predict PFAS occurrence in groundwater at the depths of drinking water supplies. This model can help guide our partners to sample areas where PFAS in drinking water could be an issue for the public.
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Chesapeake Bay Land Use and Land Cover data is now published in additional formats

The Chesapeake Bay Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) database was developed by the University of Vermont’s Spatial Analysis Laboratory in cooperation with Chesapeake Conservancy (CC) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The high-resolution land data were developed as part of a 6-year Cooperative Agreement between Chesapeake Conservancy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and a separate...
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Chesapeake Bay Land Use and Land Cover data is now published in additional formats

The Chesapeake Bay Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) database was developed by the University of Vermont’s Spatial Analysis Laboratory in cooperation with Chesapeake Conservancy (CC) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The high-resolution land data were developed as part of a 6-year Cooperative Agreement between Chesapeake Conservancy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and a separate...
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