Publications

In mountain headwater streams, the quality and resilience of summer cold-water habitat is generally regulated by stream discharge, longitudinal stream channel connectivity and groundwater exchange. These critical hydrologic processes are thought to be influenced by the stream corridor bedrock contact depth (sediment thickness), a parameter often inferred from sparse hillslope borehole...

Water samples collected from 27 rivers and streams in Massachusetts were analyzed to characterize the presence and concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (collectively known as PFAS) in surface waters across the Commonwealth. Sampling sites were selected in urban rivers where PFAS were expected to be present, such as those that receive treated municipal wastewater, and in...

No abstract available.

Low-streamflow statistics, such as the annual minimum 7-day streamflow (which is the 7-day streamflow likely to be exceeded in 9 out of 10 years on average [7Q10]), that are computed by using the full historical streamflow record may not accurately represent current conditions at sites with statistically significant trends in low streamflow over time. Recent research suggests that using...

New and previously published stratigraphic data define Holocene to present sediment storage time scales for Mid-Atlantic river corridors. Empirical distributions of deposit ages and thicknesses were randomly sampled to create synthetic age-depth records. Deposits predating European settlement accumulated at a (median) rate of 0.06 cm yr−1, range from ∼18,000 to 225 yr old, and represent...

The Hydrologic Toolbox is a Windows-based desktop software program that provides a graphical and mapping interface for analysis of hydrologic time-series data with a set of widely used and standardized computational methods. The software combines the analytical and statistical functionality provided in the U.S. Geological Survey Groundwater and Surface-Water Toolboxes and provides...

In the Chenango River Basin of central New York, unconfined and confined glacial valley-fill aquifers are an important source of drinking-water supplies. The risk of contaminating water withdrawn by wells that tap these aquifers might be reduced if the areas contributing recharge to the wells are delineated and these areas protected from land uses that might affect the water quality. The...

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, performed a study to inform the development of the department’s guidelines for the collection and use of water-chemistry data to support calculation of site-dependent aluminum criteria values. The U.S. Geological Survey collected and analyzed discrete water-quality samples at four...

Aqueous transport of mercury (Hg) across the landscape is closely linked to dissolved organic matter (DOM). Both quantity and quality of DOM affect Hg mobility, as well as the formation and transport of toxic methylmercury (MeHg), but only a limited number of field studies have investigated Hg and MeHg with respect to specific DOM components. We investigated these interactions at the 41...

No abstract available.

Background Prenatal exposure to drinking water with arsenic concentrations >50 μg/L is associated with adverse birth outcomes, with inconclusive evidence for concentrations ≤50 μg/L. In a collaborative effort by public health experts, hydrologists, and geologists, we used published machine learning model estimates to characterize arsenic concentrations in private wells—federally...

Lead (Pb) occurrence and sources and aqueous geochemistry were assessed in private wellhead and tap water at a targeted area of concern for possible exceedances and at a control area in the same geologic formation, and in wells at a nearby landfill in south-central Massachusetts (MA). Total Pb concentrations were below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Action Level of 15...