Publications

The specific sediment yield (SSY) from watersheds is the result of the balance between natural, scale-dependent erosion and deposition processes, but can be greatly altered by human activities. In general, the SSY decreases along the course of a river as sediments are trapped in alluvial plains and other sinks. However, this relation between SSY and basin area can actually be an...

Arnold Air Force Base occupies about 40,000 acres in Coffee and Franklin Counties, Tennessee. The primary mission of Arnold Air Force Base is to provide risk-reduction information in the development of aerospace products through test and evaluation. This mission is achieved in part through test facilities at Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC), which occupies about 4,000 acres...

Big Base and Little Base Lakes are located on Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, and their close proximity to a dense residential population and an active military/aircraft installation make the lakes vulnerable to water-quality degradation. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a study from June through August 2015 to investigate the effects of water quality on phytoplankton...

We studied soil decomposition in a Panicum hemitomon (Schultes)-dominated freshwater marsh located in southeastern Louisiana that was unambiguously changed by secondarily-treated municipal wastewater effluent. We used four approaches to evaluate how belowground biomass decomposition rates vary under different nutrient regimes in this marsh. The results of laboratory experiments...

Discharge, suspended sediment, and salinity data collected between 1997 and 2008 indicate that the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) is an important distributary of river water and suspended sediments to coastal wetlands in south-central coastal Louisiana. Following natural hydraulic gradients, the GIWW passively distributes freshwater and suspended sediments from the Atchafalaya River...

This report compares concentrations for a wide range of inorganic and organic constituents in bed sediment from Big Base Lake and Little Base Lake, which are located on Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, to sediment-quality guidelines. This report also compares trace-metal concentrations in a bed-sediment core sample to sediment age to determine when the highest concentrations of...

In October 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District, began an assessment to better understand if and where groundwater from the Ellenburger-San Saba aquifer is discharging to the Colorado River, and if and where Colorado River streamflow is recharging the Ellenburger-San Saba aquifer in the study area. Discharge...

The 2011 Mississippi River Flood resulted in the opening of the Morganza Spillway for the second time since its construction in 1954 releasing 7.6 km3 of water through agricultural and forested lands in the Morganza Floodway and into the Atchafalaya River Basin. This volume, released over 54 days, represented 5.5% of the Mississippi River (M.R.) discharge and 14% of the total discharge...

Groundwater withdrawals have caused saltwater to encroach into freshwater-bearing aquifers beneath Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The 10 aquifers beneath the Baton Rouge area, which includes East and West Baton Rouge Parishes, Pointe Coupee Parish, and East and West Feliciana Parishes, provided about 184.3 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) for public supply and industrial use in 2012...

The Ozark aquifer is the largest aquifer, both in area of outcrop and thickness, and the most important source of freshwater in the Ozark Plateaus physiographic province, supplying water to northern Arkansas, southeastern Kansas, southern Missouri, and northeastern Oklahoma. The study area includes 16 Arkansas counties lying completely or partially within the Ozark Plateaus of the...

Throughout its history, the United States has made major investments in assessing natural resources, such as soils, timber, oil and gas, and water. These investments allow policy makers, the private sector and the American public to make informed decisions about cultivating, harvesting or conserving these resources to maximize their value for public welfare, environmental conservation...

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in St. James 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. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water...