Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Groundwater and Streamflow Information

Surface-water Monitoring, Groundwater monitoring, and Flood Hazards

projects

Water Use and Availability

Surface-water Modeling, Groundwater-flow Modeling, Hydrogeologic Characterization, Water Use, Flood Science, Climate Change

projects

Water Quality

Surface-water-quality Monitoring, Groundwater-quality Monitoring, Water-quality Modeling, Wetlands, Ecosystem Health

projects

Coastal Science

Beach and Barrier Dynamics, Flood Hazards, Nearshore Environmental Health, Tide and Wave Hydrodynamics, Wetlands, Climate and Land-Use Change

projects

Ecosystem Health

Aquatic Community Health, Biogeochemical and Hydrologic Assessment, Climate Change, Ecological Assessment of Human and Natural Impacts

projects

New York Water Science Center

The New York Water Science Center will provide the hydrologic observations, research, and modeling needed for full integration of hydrogeologic, physiochemical, biological, and landscape processes across the freshwater to marine continuum. 

Connect

Current Water Conditions

outline of New York on map of the United States with a menu

Current water conditions in New York

View conditions...

Science

2 women kneeling in seawater on the Shinnecock Lands on Long Island

New York WSC science projects

View NYWSC Science

NY WSC Quick Links

Explore some of our most popular science topics, data, and tools

Laboratory

News

link

10th Anniversary of Hurricane Sandy

link

New USGS Maps Show Flood Levels on Lake Ontario’s US Shoreline by Lake Level

link

Project Underway to Identify Algal Toxins in US National Park Waterways

View All

Publications

Bedrock-surface elevation and overburden thickness maps of the five boroughs, New York City, New York

Digital maps of bedrock elevation and overburden thickness (depth to bedrock) were constructed for the five boroughs of New York City by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New York City Department of Design and Construction, from a compilation of historical and newly acquired data. Raster surfaces were interpolated from a point database containing data from more than 14,000 locati
Authors
Laura M. DeMott, Frederick Stumm, Jason S. Finkelstein
By
Water Resources Mission Area, New York Water Science Center

Use of environmental DNA to assess American Eel distribution, abundance, and barriers in a river-canal system

Objective: The American Eel Anguilla rostrata historically was one of the most common fish species in Atlantic coast watersheds, but extensive dam construction and other factors caused a widespread population decline. One of the watersheds where American Eels have declined considerably is the Mohawk River in eastern and central New York. Recent attempts to characterize the distribution and abundan
Authors
Scott D. George, Barry P. Baldigo, Christopher B. Rees, Meredith L. Bartron, John J. Wiley, Daniel S. Stich, Scott M. Wells, Dylan R. Winterhalter
By
Water Resources Mission Area, New York Water Science Center

Monitoring of wave, current, and sediment dynamics along the Chincoteague living shoreline, Virginia

Nature-based features, also called living shorelines, are increasingly applied in coastal protection and restoration. However, the processes and mechanisms (feedbacks and interactions) of wave attenuation, current velocity change, and sediment deposition and erosion along the living shoreline remain unclear, thus limiting the adaptive management of living shoreline restoration projects for coastal
Authors
Hongqing Wang, Qin Chen, Nan Wang, William D. Capurso, Lukasz M. Niemoczynski, Ling Zhu, Gregg A. Snedden, Kevin S. Holcomb, Bowdoin W. Lusk, Carol W. Wilson, Sean R. Cornell
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Ecosystems Mission Area, New York Water Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
View All

Science

link
Image Collage of Landsat, pollinator, and volcanologist

Development of a mapper-based Long Island Sound data and research portal (Clearinghouse)

In cooperation with the Long Island Sound Study (LISS) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is creating a mapper-based clearinghouse that will provide information on sources of data available throughout the Long Island Sound (LIS) watershed and allow for real-time metadata output and integration into visualization and modeling tools developed through a...
By
Water Resources Mission Area, New York Water Science Center, New York Water Science Center
link

Development of a mapper-based Long Island Sound data and research portal (Clearinghouse)

In cooperation with the Long Island Sound Study (LISS) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is creating a mapper-based clearinghouse that will provide information on sources of data available throughout the Long Island Sound (LIS) watershed and allow for real-time metadata output and integration into visualization and modeling tools developed through a...
Learn More
link
Autonomous environmental DNA sampler located in a USGS stream gage

READI-Net: Transitioning eDNA aquatic invasive species surveillance from research to actionable science

USGS researchers are working with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute to optimize autonomous, robotic samplers for detection of DNA fragments shed by biological threats (BT; invasive species, parasites, pathogens) in our nation’s waters. Finding DNA fragments (a method known as environmental DNA sampling) produced by an emerging BT in water is akin to finding a needle in a haystack—many...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, New York Water Science Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center , Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center, Pacific Northwest Environmental DNA Laboratory
link

READI-Net: Transitioning eDNA aquatic invasive species surveillance from research to actionable science

USGS researchers are working with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute to optimize autonomous, robotic samplers for detection of DNA fragments shed by biological threats (BT; invasive species, parasites, pathogens) in our nation’s waters. Finding DNA fragments (a method known as environmental DNA sampling) produced by an emerging BT in water is akin to finding a needle in a haystack—many...
Learn More
link
USGS Logo

Assessment of compound flood risk from the combined effects of sea level rise on storm surge, tidal and groundwater flooding, and stormwater

BACKGROUND Long Island Sound has 600 miles of coastline and there are over 23 million people living within 50 miles of its shores. In response to water-quality issues and nitrogen pollution in the Sound, Congress created the Long Island Sound Study (LISS) in 1985. LISS is a partnership of federal, state, and local government agencies, private organizations and educational institutions working tog
By
New York Water Science Center
link

Assessment of compound flood risk from the combined effects of sea level rise on storm surge, tidal and groundwater flooding, and stormwater

BACKGROUND Long Island Sound has 600 miles of coastline and there are over 23 million people living within 50 miles of its shores. In response to water-quality issues and nitrogen pollution in the Sound, Congress created the Long Island Sound Study (LISS) in 1985. LISS is a partnership of federal, state, and local government agencies, private organizations and educational institutions working tog
Learn More
View All