Publications

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Park Service, Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, Cape Cod Commission, and the Towns of Eastham, Provincetown, Truro, and Wellfleet, began an investigation in 2000 to improve the understanding of the hydrogeology of the four freshwater lenses of the Lower Cape Cod aquifer system and to assess the effects of...

This report contains the major findings of a 1999-2001 assessment of water quality in the New England Coastal Basins. It is one of a series of reports by the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program that present major findings in 51 major river basins and aquifer systems across the Nation. In these reports, water quality is discussed in terms of local, State, and regional issues

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC), has developed a water-quality model, called SPARROW (Spatially Referenced Regressions on Watershed Attributes), to assist in regional total maximum daily load (TMDL) and nutrient-criteria activities in New...

The upper Charles River basin, located 30 miles southwest of Boston, Massachusetts, is experiencing water shortages during the summer. Towns in the basin have instituted water-conservation programs and water-use bans to reduce summertime water use. During July through October, streamflow in the Charles River and its tributaries regularly falls below 0.50 cubic foot per second per square...

Two experimental permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) of granular zero-valent iron were emplaced in the path of a tetrachloroethene plume (the Chemical Spill-10 plume) at the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in June 1998. The goal of the field experiment was to achieve emplacement of a granular-iron PRB deeper than attempted before. The PRBs were expected to...

Summary -- This online publication portrays regional data for pH, alkalinity, and specific conductance for stream waters and a multi-element geochemical dataset for stream sediments collected in the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. A series of interpolation grid maps portray the chemistry of the stream waters and sediments...

In Rhode Island, the availability of water of sufficient quality and quantity to meet current and future environmental and economic needs is vital to life and the State's economy. Water suppliers, the Rhode Island Water Resources Board (RIWRB), and other State agencies responsible for water resources in Rhode Island need information about available resources, the water-supply...

The ratio of snow to total precipitation (S/P) is a hydrologic indicator that is sensitive to climate variability and can be used to detect and monitor hydrologic responses to climatic change. Changes in S/P ratio over time could influence the magnitude and timing of spring runoff and recession to summer baseflow. The S/P ratio for 21 U.S. Historical Climatology Network sites in New...

Water resources data for the 2003 water year for Massachusetts and Rhode Island consists of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; contents of lakes and reservoirs; and water levels of ground-water wells. This report contains discharge records for 108 gaging stations, stage records for 2 gaging stations, stage records for 3 ponds; monthend contents of 1 reservoir...

The natural abundance of nitrogen and oxygen isotopes in nitrate can be a powerful tool for identifying the source of nitrate in streamwater in forested watersheds, because the two main sources of nitrate, atmospheric deposition and microbial nitrification, have distinct δ18O values. Using a simple mixing model, we estimated the relative fractions in streamwater derived from these...

The annual ratio of snow to total precipitation (S/P) for 11 out of 21 US Historical Climatology Network (USHCN) sites in New England decreased significantly from 1949 through 2000. One possible explanation for the observed decrease in S/P ratio is that their temperature increased in New England during the 20th century. The results are consistent with published reports indicating...

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