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Publications

This list of New Mexico Water Science Center publications spans from 1961 to the present. It includes both official USGS publications and journal articles authored by our scientists.

Filter Total Items: 349

Summary of Flow Loss between Selected Cross Sections on the Rio Grande in and near Albuquerque, New Mexico

The upper middle Rio Grande Basin, as defined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, extends from the headwaters of the Rio Grande in southwestern Colorado to Fort Quitman, Texas. Most of the basin has a semiarid climate typical of the southwestern United States. This climate drives a highly variable streamflow regime that contributes to the complexity of water management in the basin. Currently, ra
Authors
Jack E. Veenhuis

Effects of Wildfire on the Hydrology of Capulin and Rito de los Frijoles canyons, Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico

In June of 1977, the La Mesa wildfire burned 15,270 acres in and around Frijoles Canyon in Bandelier National Monument and the adjacent Santa Fe National Forest, New Mexico. The Dome wildfire in April of 1996 in Bandelier National Monument burned 16,516 acres in Capulin Canyon and the surrounding Dome Wilderness area. Both watersheds are characterized by abundant and extensive archeological sites
Authors
Jack E. Veenhuis

Spatial patterns and temporal variability in water quality from City of Albuquerque drinking-water supply wells and piezometer nests, with implications for the ground-water flow system

Water-quality data for 93 City of Albuquerque drinking-water supply wells, 7 deep piezometer nests, and selected additional wells were examined to improve understanding of the regional ground-water system and its response to pumpage. Plots of median values of several major parameters showed discernible water-quality differences both areally and with depth in the aquifer. Areal differences were suf
Authors
Laura M. Bexfield, Scott K. Anderholm

Analysis of the magnitude and frequency of the 4-day annual low flow and regression equations for estimating the 4-day, 3-year low-flow frequency at ungaged sites on unregulated streams in New Mexico

Two regression equations were developed for estimating the 4-day, 3-year (4Q3) low-flow frequency at ungaged sites on unregulated streams in New Mexico. The first, a statewide equation for estimating the 4Q3 low-flow frequency from drainage area and average basin mean winter precipitation, was developed from the data for 50 streamflow-gaging stations that had non-zero 4Q3 low-flow frequency. The 4
Authors
Scott D. Waltemeyer

Water Resources Data, New Mexico, Water Year 2001

Water-resources data for the 2001 water year for New Mexico consist of records of discharge and water quality of streams; stage, contents, and water quality of lakes and reservoirs; and water levels and water quality in wells and springs. This report contains discharge records for 173 gaging stations; stage and contents for 24 lakes and reservoirs; water quality for 37 gaging stations, 43 wells, a
Authors
Dave Byrd, Kathy Lange, Linda Beal

Ground-water resources of the Middle Rio Grande Basin

The Middle Rio Grande Basin, as defined for this study, is the area within the Rio Grande Valley extending from about Cochiti Lake downstream to about San Acacia. It covers approximately 3,060 square miles in central New Mexico, encompassing parts of Santa Fe, Sandoval, Bernalillo, Valencia, Socorro, Torrance, and Cibola Counties and includes a ground-water basin composed of the Santa Fe Group aqu
Authors
James R. Bartolino, J. C. Cole, D. J. Hester

Spatial and temporal variations in streamflow, dissolved solids, nutrients, and suspended sediment in the Rio Grande Valley study unit, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas, 1993–95

Streamflow and water quality vary spatially and temporally in the Rio Grande from Del Norte, Colorado, to El Paso, Texas. The variations in streamflow and in concentrations of selected waterquality constituents—dissolved solids, dissolved nitrite plus nitrate as nitrogen, total phosphorus, and suspended sediment—are described in this report. A multivariate linear regression model, ESTIMATOR2000, w
Authors
Stephanie J. Moore, Scott K. Anderholm

Ground displacements caused by aquifer-system water-level variations observed using interferometric synthetic aperture radar near Albuquerque, New Mexico

Six synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images were processed to form five unwrapped interferometric (InSAR) images of the greater metropolitan area in the Albuquerque Basin. Most interference patterns in the images were caused by range displacements resulting from changes in land-surface elevation. Loci of land- surface elevation changes correlate with changes in aquifer-system water leve
Authors
Charles E. Heywood, Devin L. Galloway, Sylvia V. Stork

Estimated water-level declines in the Santa Fe Group aquifer system in the Albuquerque area, central New Mexico, predevelopment to 2002

In the Albuquerque metropolitan area of central New Mexico, residential water-supply requirements have historically been met almost exclusively by ground-water withdrawal from the Santa Fe Group aquifer system. The rapid population growth of the metropolitan area from about 262,200 residents in 1960 (Karen D. Thompson, U.S. Census Bureau, written commun., 2002) to about 712,700 residents in 2000 (
Authors
Laura M. Bexfield, Scott K. Anderholm

Estimation of alluvial-fill thickness in the Mimbres ground-water basin, New Mexico, from interpretation of isostatic residual gravity anomalies

The geologic structure of the Mimbres ground-water basin in southwest New Mexico is characterized by north- and northwest-trending structural subbasins. Sedimentation of Miocene and Pliocene age has filled and obscured the boundaries of these subbasins and formed potentially productive aquifers of varied thickness. The location and depth of the subbasins can be estimated from analysis of isostatic
Authors
Charles E. Heywood

Twentieth century arroyo changes in Chaco Culture National Historical Park

Chaco Wash arroyo channel changes in the 20th century have become a major concern of the National Park Service. Several archeologic and cultural sites are located in the Chaco Wash corridor; thus, increased erosional activity of Chaco Wash, such as channel incision and increased meandering, may affect these sites. Through field surveys, photogrammetric analyses, and reviews of existing reports and
Authors
Allen C. Gellis

Water-quality assessment of the Rio Grande Valley, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas — Surface-water quality, shallow ground-water quality, and factors affecting water quality in the Rincon Valley, south-central New Mexico, 1994-95

As part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program, surface-water and ground-water samples were collected in 1994 and 1995 for analysis of common constituents, nutrients, dissolved organic carbon, trace elements, radioactivity, volatile organic compounds, and pesticides to characterize surface water quality and shallow ground-water quality and to determine factors affecting water quality in
Authors
Scott K. Anderholm