Publications
The following list of publications represents works affiliated with the USGS Maryland-Delaware-District of Columbia Water Science Center, spanning from 1883 to present day, including both official USGS publications and journal articles authored by our scientists. To access the full, searchable catalog of USGS publications, please visit the USGS Publications Warehouse at the link below.
Filter Total Items: 229
Identifying key stressors driving biological impairment in freshwater streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA
Biological communities in freshwater streams are often impaired by multiple stressors (e.g., flow or water quality) originating from anthropogenic activities such as urbanization, agriculture, or energy extraction. Restoration efforts in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA seek to improve biological conditions in 10% of freshwater tributaries and to protect the biological integrity of existing healt
Authors
Rosemary M. Fanelli, Matt J. Cashman, Aaron J. Porter
Going beyond low flows: Streamflow drought deficit and duration illuminate distinct spatiotemporal drought patterns and trends in the U.S. during the last century
Streamflow drought is a recurring challenge, and understanding spatiotemporal patterns of past droughts is needed to manage future water resources. We examined regional patterns in streamflow drought metrics and compared these metrics to low flow timing and magnitude using long-term daily records for 555 minimally disturbed watersheds. For each streamgage, we calculated streamflow drought duration
Authors
John C. Hammond, Caelan E. Simeone, Jory Seth Hecht, Glenn A. Hodgkins, Melissa Lombard, Gregory J. McCabe, David M. Wolock, Michael Wieczorek, Carolyn G Olson, Todd Caldwell, Robert W. Dudley, Adam N. Price
Microbial community response to a bioaugmentation test to degrade trichloroethylene in a fractured rock aquifer, Trenton, N.J
Bioaugmentation is a promising strategy for enhancing trichloroethylene (TCE) degradation in fractured rock. However, slow or incomplete biodegradation can lead to stalling at degradation byproducts such as 1,2-dichloroethene (cis-DCE) and vinyl chloride (VC). Over the course of 7 years, we examined the response of groundwater microbial populations in a bioaugmentation test where an emulsified veg
Authors
Jennifer C. Underwood, Denise M. Akob, Michelle Lorah, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, Ronald W. Harvey, Claire R. Tiedeman
A water quality barometer for Chesapeake Bay: Assessing spatial and temporal patterns using long-term monitoring data
This paper develops a barometer that indexes water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and summarizes quality over spatial regions and temporal periods. The barometer has a basis in risk assessment and hydrology, and is a function of three different metrics of water quality relative to numerical criteria: relative frequency of criterion attainment; magnitude of deviation from a numerical criterion; and
Authors
A.R. Zahran, Qian Zhang, Peter J. Tango, E.P. Smith
Ephemeral stream network extraction from lidar-derived elevation and topographic attributes in urban and forested landscapes
Under-representations of headwater channels in digital stream networks can result in uncertainty in the magnitude of headwater habitat loss, stream burial, and watershed function. Increased availability of high-resolution (<2 m) elevation data makes the delineation of headwater channels more attainable. In this study, elevation data derived from light detection and ranging was used to predict ephe
Authors
Marina Metes, Daniel Jones, Matthew E. Baker, Andrew J. Miller, Dianna M. Hogan, J.V. Loperfido, Kristina G. Hopkins
Lessons learned from 20 y of monitoring suburban development with distributed stormwater management in Clarksburg, Maryland, USA
Urban development is a well-known stressor for stream ecosystems, presenting a challenge to managers tasked with mitigating its effects. For the past 20 y, streamflow, water quality, geomorphology, and benthic communities were monitored in 5 watersheds in Montgomery County, Maryland, USA. This study presents a synthesis of multiple studies of monitoring efforts in the study area and new analysis o
Authors
Kristina G. Hopkins, Sean Woznicki, Brianna Williams, Charles C. Stillwell, Eric Naibert, Marina Metes, Daniel Jones, Dianna M. Hogan, Natalie Celeste Hall, Rosemary M. Fanelli, Aditi S. Bhaskar
Sediment sources and sealed-pavement area drive polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and metal occurrence in urban streams
Metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are common pollutants in urban streambed sediment, yet their occurrence is highly variable and difficult to predict. To investigate sources of PAHs and metals to streambed sediment, we sampled pavement dust, soil, and streambed sediment in 10 urban watersheds in three regions of the United States and applied a fallout-radionuclide-based sediment-s
Authors
Peter C. Van Metre, Barbara Mahler, Sharon L. Qi, Allen C. Gellis, Christopher C. Fuller, Travis S. Schmidt
A borehole test for chlorinated solvent diffusion and degradation rates in sedimentary rock
We present a new field measurement and numerical interpretation method (combined termed ‘test’) to parameterize the diffusion of trichloroethene (TCE) and its biodegradation products (DPs) from the matrix of sedimentary rock. The method uses a dual-packer system to interrogate a low-permeability section of the rock matrix adjacent to a previously contaminated borehole and uses the borehole monitor
Authors
Richelle M. Allen-King, Rebecca L. Kiekhaefer, Daniel J. Goode, Paul A. Hsieh, Michelle Lorah, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta
Using fish community and population indicators to assess the biological condition of streams and rivers of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA
The development of indicators to assess relative freshwater condition is critical for management and conservation. Predictive modeling can enhance the utility of indicators by providing estimates of condition for unsurveyed locations. Such approaches grant understanding of where “good” and “poor” conditions occur and provide insight into landscape contexts supporting such conditions. However, as a
Authors
Kelly O. Maloney, Kevin P. Krause, Matt J. Cashman, Wesley Daniel, Benjamin Paul Gressler, Daniel J. Wieferich, John A. Young
Nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay watershed—A century of change, 1950–2050
ForewordSustaining the quality of the Nation’s water resources and the health of our diverse ecosystems depends on the availability of sound water-resources data and information to develop effective, science-based policies. Effective management of water resources also brings more certainty and efficiency to important economic sectors. Taken together, these actions lead to immediate and long-term e
Authors
John W. Clune, Paul D. Capel, Matthew P. Miller, Douglas A. Burns, Andrew J. Sekellick, Peter R. Claggett, Richard H. Coupe, Rosemary M. Fanelli, Ana Maria Garcia, Jeff P. Raffensperger, Silvia Terziotti, Gopal Bhatt, Joel D. Blomquist, Kristina G. Hopkins, Jennifer L. Keisman, Lewis C. Linker, Gary W. Shenk, Richard A. Smith, Alex M. Soroka, James S. Webber, David M. Wolock, Qian Zhang
New-generation pesticides are prevalent in California's Central Coast streams
Pesticides are widely recognized as important biological stressors in streams, especially in heavily developed urban and agricultural areas like the Central California Coast region. We assessed occurrence and potential toxicity of pesticides in small streams in the region using two analytical methods: a broad-spectrum (223 compounds) method in use since 2012 and a newly developed method for 30 add
Authors
Mark W. Sandstrom, Lisa H. Nowell, Barbara Mahler, Peter C. Van Metre
Estimating urban air pollution contribution to South Platte River nitrogen loads with National Atmospheric Deposition Program data and SPARROW model
Air pollution is commonly disregarded as a source of nutrient loading to impaired surface waters managed under the Clean Water Act per states’ 303(d) list programs. The contribution of air pollution to 2017–2018 South Platte River nitrogen (N) loads was estimated from the headwaters to the gage at Weldona, Colorado, USA (100 km downstream of Denver), using data from the National Atmospheric Deposi
Authors
Gregory A. Wetherbee, Michael Wieczorek, Dale M. Robertson, David A. Saad, Jon Novick, Alisa Mast