Publications

Since 1999, the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service have been monitoring land use and nitrogen loading in a 26.3-square-kilometer (10-square-mile) estuarine watershed at Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island, Maine. The initial study linking land use and nitrogen loads entering the Northeast Creek estuary was completed in 2000, and findings were used to develop...

The total nitrogen load to Long Island Sound from Connecticut and contributing areas to the north was estimated for October 1998 to September 2009. Discrete measurements of total nitrogen concentrations and continuous flow data from 37 water-quality monitoring stations in the Long Island Sound watershed were used to compute total annual nitrogen yields and loads. Total annual computed...

Regression equations were developed for estimating bankfull geometry—width, mean depth, cross-sectional area—and discharge for streams in Massachusetts. The equations provide water-resource and conservation managers with methods for estimating bankfull characteristics at specific stream sites in Massachusetts. This information can be used for the adminstration of the Commonwealth of...

Research on the hydrogeologic setting of Mirror Lake near West Thornton, New Hampshire (43° 56.5’ N, 71° 41.5’ W), includes the study of the physical, chemical, and isotopic characteristics of groundwater in the vicinity of the lake and nearby Hubbard Brook. Presented here are those physical, chemical, and isotopic data for the period 1983 to 1997. Data were collected from observation...

We used a numerical model to investigate how a barrier island groundwater system responds to increases of up to 60 cm in sea level. We found that a sea-level rise of 20 cm leads to substantial changes in the depth of the water table and the extent and depth of saltwater intrusion, which are key determinants in the establishment, distribution and succession of vegetation assemblages and...

Many studies have shown that lake ice-out (break-up) dates in the Northern Hemisphere are useful indicators of late winter/early spring climate change. Trends in lake ice-out dates in New England, USA, were analyzed for 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, and 175 year periods ending in 2008. More than 100 years of ice-out data were available for 19 of the 28 lakes in this study. The magnitude of...

Wastewater discharges to the Assabet River contribute substantial amounts of phosphorus, which support accumulations of nuisance aquatic plants that are most evident in the river’s impounded reaches during the growing season. To restore the Assabet River’s water quality and aesthetics, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency required the major wastewater-treatment plants in the drainage...

Resource managers need to make decisions to plan for future environmental conditions, particularly sea level rise, in the face of substantial uncertainty. Many interacting processes factor in to the decisions they face. Advances in process models and the quantification of uncertainty have made models a valuable tool for this purpose. Long-simulation runtimes and, often, numerical...

Streamflow and concentrations of sodium and chloride estimated from records of specific conductance were used to calculate loads of sodium and chloride during water year (WY) 2011 (October 1, 2010, to September 30, 2011), for tributaries to the Scituate Reservoir, Rhode Island. Streamflow and water-quality data used in the study were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) or the...

A Presidential Disaster Declaration was issued for Massachusetts, with a focus on the northwestern counties, following flooding from tropical storm Irene on August 28–29, 2011. Three to 10 inches of rain fell during the storm on soils that were susceptible to flash flooding because of wet antecedent conditions. The gage height at one U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgage rose nearly...

Record-high hydrologic conditions in New Hampshire and Vermont occurred during water year 2011, according to data from 125 streamgages and lake gaging stations, 27 creststage gages, and 41 groundwater wells. Annual runoff for the 2011 water year was the sixth highest on record for New Hampshire and the highest on record for Vermont on the basis of a 111-year reference period (water years...

The discharge of excess nitrogen into Popponesset Bay, an estuarine system on western Cape Cod, has resulted in eutrophication and the loss of eel grass habitat within the estuaries. Septic-system return flow in residential areas within the watershed is the primary source of nitrogen. Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for nitrogen have been assigned to the six estuaries that compose the...