Hydrologic Research
Hydrologic Research
The NVWSC scientists are developing state-of-the-art methods for water quantity and quality assessments, predictive hydrologic models that are key to evaluating future responses of the water cycle to climate change, water resource assessments instrumental to policy makers for clearly weighing the competing energy alternatives and evaluating the environmental cost for energy development, and water-quality monitoring to detect emerging and other drinking-water contaminants that pose a risk to public health.
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Nutrient Source Identification in Groundwater and Periphyton Along the Nearshore of Lake Tahoe
High concentrations of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) are responsible for excessive, or nuisance algal blooms in many ecosystems world-wide, and climate change is predicted to exacerbate the problem1,2. Excessive nutrients supplied to the nearshore zone of Lake Tahoe may have significant consequences to ecological communities, water clarity, and water quality. The nearshore zone represents the...
Amargosa Desert Research Site Collaborator Information
A USGS goal, under the auspices of the Toxic Substances Hydrology (Toxics) Program, is to provide and maintain the Amargosa Desert Research Site (ADRS) as a field laboratory that will bring together scientists from various disciplines, agencies, and universities for focused study of processes that affect migration and fate of contaminants in a complex (i.e., real-world) setting. The main purpose...
Amargosa Desert Research Site Research Team
The multidisciplinary research team is made up of scientists from research institutes, universities, National laboratories, and the USGS. The USGS co-leaders for the team are Brian J. Andraski (ADRS Coordinator, Nevada Water Science Center) and David A. Stonestrom (National Research Program, California).
Amargosa Desert Research Site Description
The Amargosa Desert Research Site (ADRS), in the northern Mojave Desert, is about 20 km east of Death Valley National Park. Recognizing the paucity of information on unsaturated-zone hydrology in arid regions, the USGS, in 1983, established the ADRS through agreements with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the State of Nevada. The ADRS serves as a field laboratory for the study of arid-land...
Amargosa Desert Research Site
In 1976, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began studies of unsaturated zone hydrology at a site in the Amargosa Desert near Beatty, Nevada, as part of the USGS Low-Level Radioactive Waste Program. The site is near disposal trenches for civilian waste. Over the years, USGS investigations at the Amargosa Desert Research Site (ADRS) have provided long-term "benchmark" information about the hydraulic...
Collection of arsenic and associated geochemical data important to occurrence and mobility of arsenic in groundwater used for public supply in southern Carson Valley, Douglas County, Nevada
The Nevada Water Science Center (NVWSC) is increasing the spatial understanding of the distribution of arsenic and important geochemical information in groundwater resources near select water-supply wells in southern Carson Valley by collecting groundwater samples to complement the existing dataset (2006 – 2015).
Evaluating Potential Refugia for the Endangered Mohave Tui Chub
The USGS Nevada Water Science Center (NVWSC), in partnership with the National Park Service (NPS), is evaluating and monitoring the basic water quality and sediment chemistry of two proposed refugia and three established habitats for the endangered Mohave Tui Chub over the course of the year. NVWSC will also compare and evaluate findings to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency screening levels and...
Development of landscape variables to inform models of meadow vulnerabilities and adaptation under changing climate
The USGS Nevada Water Science Center is providing technical assistance for the collection of landscape variables hypothesized to influence meadow responses to climate and restoration activities. These data will be used in a decision support framework developed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Desert Research Institute (DRI).
How are Endocrine-Disrupting Compounds Moving Through the Food Web in Lake Mead National Recreation Area?
Water quality in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area (LAKE), particularly Las Vegas Bay, is affected by water coming from the Las Vegas Wash, an urban perennial stream whose water is comprised of treated wastewater and urban runoff coming from the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Common carp collected from Las Vegas Wash and Las Vegas Bay and largemouth bass collected from Las Vegas Bay have...
TROD: Temperature Profiling Probe
Temperature measurements are routinely made for investigating ecological and hydrological processes. Temperature is a key parameter for monitoring the suitability of fisheries habitat and streambed temperature data are useful for estimating surface water and groundwater exchange. Measuring vertically nested temperatures at the streambed interface poses practical challenges.
Evapotranspiration Studies in Nevada
Evapotranspiration (ET) is the process that transfers water from land surface to the atmosphere as evaporation (or sublimation when below freezing) from open water, soil, and plant canopies and as transpiration by plants. ET is measured by scientists for many different reasons. Hydrologists from the Nevada Water Scientist Center (NVWSC) typically measure ET to help quantify water budgets...
Water Resources of the Upper Humboldt River Basin
Elko County officials and citizens are concerned about growing demand for groundwater within the county and demands for groundwater that are occurring elsewhere in the state. Because the Humboldt River is fully appropriated, any additional water needed to support growth in the upper Humboldt River Basin will have to come from groundwater. County and state water-resource managers need information...