Publications
Publications
Here you will find publications, reports and articles produced by Lower Mississippi-Gulf scientists. For a comprehensive listing of all USGS publications please click the button below.
Filter Total Items: 422
Seasonal periphyton response to low-level nutrient exposure in a least disturbed mountain stream, the Buffalo River, Arkansas
Like most streams located in the Ozark Plateaus, the Buffalo River in Arkansas generally has excellent water quality. Water-quality conditions in Big Creek, however, a major tributary of the middle Buffalo River, have been less favorable than that of other Buffalo River tributaries. Concerns regarding the influence of water quality in Big Creek on the Buffalo River magnified in 2013 when a large c
Authors
Billy Justus, Lucas Driver, David R. L. Burge
The impact of ventilation patterns on calcite dissolution rates within karst conduits
Erosion rates in streams vary dramatically over time, as differences in streamflow and sediment load enhance or inhibit erosion processes. Within cave streams, and other bedrock channels incising soluble rocks, changes in water chemistry are an important factor in determining how erosion rates will vary in both time and space. Prior studies in surface streams, springs, and caves suggest that varia
Authors
Matthew D. Covington, Katherine J. Knierim, Holly H Young, Josue Rodriguez, Hannah Gnoza
Water resources of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. In 2014, 364 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water were withdrawn in Pointe Coupee
Authors
Vincent E. White
Water levels and selected water-quality conditions in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer in eastern Arkansas, 2014
In 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Arkansas Geological Survey and the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, determined water-level altitudes in 468 wells in eastern Arkansas and collected water-quality samples from 144 wells. Water-level altitudes were calculated based on the measured depth to water in each well and used to construct a potentiometric-surface map of the M
Authors
Kirk D. Rodgers, Amanda R. Whaling
An analysis of streamflow trends in the southern and southeastern US from 1950-2015
In this article, the mean daily streamflow at 139 streamflow-gaging stations (sites) in the southern and southeastern United States are analyzed for spatial and temporal patterns. One hundred and thirty-nine individual time-series of mean daily streamflow were reduced to five aggregated time series of Z scores for clusters of sites with similar temporal variability. These aggregated time-series co
Authors
Kirk D. Rodgers, Victor L. Roland, Anne B. Hoos, Elena Crowley-Ornelas, Rodney Knight
Council monitoring and assessment program (CMAP): A framework for using the monitoring program inventory to conduct gap assessments for the Gulf of Mexico Region
Executive Summary Under the Resources and Ecosystem Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act), the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (RESTORE Council or Council) is required to report on the progress of funded projects and programs. Systematic monitoring of restoration at the project-specific and programmatic-levels (wate
Authors
Julie Bosch, Heidi B Burkart, Bogdan Chivoiu, Randy Clark, Chris Clement, Nicholas Enwright, Steve Giordano, Chris Jeffrey, Ed Johnson, Rheannon Hart, Sarah D Hile, Jacob S Howell, Claudia Laurenzano, Michael Lee, Terrance McCloskey, Terry McTigue, Michelle B Meyers, Katie E Miller, Scott Mize, Mark E. Monaco, Kevin Owen, Richard Rebich, Samuel H. Rendon, Ali Robertson, Thomas Sample, Kelly Marie Sanks, Gregory Steyer, Kevin Suir, Christopher M. Swarzenski, Hana Rose Thurman
Topographic, soil, and climate drivers of drought sensitivity in forests and shrublands of the Pacific Northwest, USA
Climate change is anticipated to increase the frequency and intensity of droughts, with major impacts to ecosystems globally. Broad-scale assessments of vegetation responses to drought are needed to anticipate, manage, and potentially mitigate climate-change effects on ecosystems. We quantified the drought sensitivity of vegetation in the Pacific Northwest, USA, as the percent reduction in vegetat
Authors
Jennifer M. Cartwright, Caitlin E. Littlefield, Julia Michalak, Joshua J. Lawler, Solomon Dobrowski
Detecting cover crop end-of-season using VENµS and sentinel-2 satellite imagery
Cover crops are planted during the off-season to protect the soil and improve watershed management. The ability to map cover crop termination dates over agricultural landscapes is essential for quantifying conservation practice implementation, and enabling estimation of biomass accumulation during the active cover period. Remote sensing detection of end-of-season (termination) for cover crops has
Authors
Feng Gao, Martha Anderson, W. Dean Hively
An interactive data visualization framework for exploring geospatial environmental datasets and model predictions
With the rise of large-scale environmental models comes new challenges for how we best utilize this information in research, management and decision making. Interactive data visualizations can make large and complex datasets easier to access and explore, which can lead to knowledge discovery, hypothesis formation and improved understanding. Here, we present a web-based interactive data visualizati
Authors
Jeffrey D Walker, Benjamin Letcher, Kirk D. Rodgers, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Vincent S. D'Angelo
Estimated groundwater withdrawals from principal aquifers in the United States, 2015
In 2015, about 84,600 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of groundwater were withdrawn in the United States for various uses including public supply, self-supplied domestic, industrial, mining, thermoelectric power, aquaculture, livestock, and irrigation. Of this total, about 94 percent (79,200 Mgal/d) was withdrawn from principal aquifers, which are defined as regionally extensive aquifers or aquif
Authors
John K. Lovelace, Martha G. Nielsen, Amy L. Read, Chid J. Murphy, Molly A. Maupin
Methods for estimating selected low-flow frequency statistics and mean annual flow for ungaged locations on streams in Alabama
Streamflow data and statistics are vitally important for proper protection and management of the water quality and water quantity of Alabama streams. Such data and statistics are generally available at U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations, also referred to as streamgages or stations, but are often needed at ungaged stream locations. To address this need, the U.S. Geological Survey, in
Authors
Toby D. Feaster, Katharine Kolb, Jaime A. Painter, Jimmy M. Clark
Stressor identification framework of biological impairment in Mississippi streams to support watershed restoration and TMDL development
The Clean Water Act (CWA) requires States to identify waters that are impaired for designated uses. These waters are published through a State’s §303(d) list. The CWA also requires that a total maximum daily load (TMDL) be completed for each water body to calculate the maximum amount of contaminants that can be present in that water body and still meet water-quality standards. The Mississippi Depa
Authors
Matthew B. Hicks, Jennifer M. Cartwright