New York Water Science Center
Publications
New York Water Science Center publications
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Water for Long Island: Now and for the future
Do you ever wonder where your water comes from? If you live in Nassau or Suffolk County, the answer is, groundwater. Groundwater is water that started out as precipitation (rain and snow melt) and seeped into the ground. This seepage recharges the freshwater stored underground, in the spaces between the grains of sand and gravel in what are...
Masterson, John; Breault, Robert
Chemical and physical controls on mercury source signatures in stream fish from the northeastern United States
Streams in the northeastern U.S. receive mercury (Hg) in varying proportions from atmospheric deposition and legacy point sources, making it difficult to attribute shifts in fish concentrations directly back to changes in Hg source management. Mercury stable isotope tracers were utilized to relate sources of Hg to co-located fish and bed sediments...
Janssen, Sarah E.; Riva-Murray, Karen; DeWild, John F.; Ogorek, Jacob M.; Tate, Michael T.; Van Metre, Peter C.; Krabbenhoft, David P.; Coles, James F. The presence of antibiotic resistance genes in coastal soil and sediment samples from the eastern seaboard of the USA
Infections from antibiotic resistant microorganisms are considered to be one of the greatest global public health challenges that result in huge annual economic losses. While genes that impart resistance to antibiotics (AbR) existed long before the discovery and use of antibiotics, anthropogenic uses of antibiotics in agriculture, domesticated...
Griffin, Dale W.; Benzel, William M.; Fisher, Shawn C.; Focazio, Michael J.; Iwanowicz, Luke R.; Loftin, Keith A.; Reilly, Timothy J.; Jones, Daniel K. Response of water chemistry and young-of-year brook trout to channel and watershed liming in streams showing lagging recovery from acidic deposition
Reductions in sulfur emissions have initiated chemical recovery of surface waters impacted by acidic deposition in the Adirondack region of New York State. However, acidified streams remain common in the region, which limits recovery of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) populations. To investigate liming as a method to accelerate recovery of...
Josephson, Daniel C; Lawrence, Gregory B.; George, Scott D.; Siemion, Jason; Baldigo, Barry P.; Kraft, Clifford E.
Groundwater quality in the Delaware, Genesee, and St. Lawrence River Basins, New York, 2015
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, collected groundwater samples from 5 production wells and 5 domestic wells in the Delaware River Basin, 8 production wells and 7 domestic wells in the Genesee River Basin, and 1 municipal well, 7 production wells, and 13 domestic wells in...
Scott, Tia-Marie; Nystrom, Elizabeth A.; Reddy, James E. Resilience of benthic macroinvertebrates to extreme floods in a Catskill Mountain river, New York, USA: Implications for water quality monitoring and assessment
Changes in the timing, magnitude, frequency, and duration of extreme hydrologic events are becoming apparent and could disrupt species assemblages and stream ecosystems across the Northeastern United States. Between August 28 and 29 of 2011, an average of 31 cm of rain from Tropical Storm Irene fell across Eastern New York State in less than 24 h...
Smith, Alexander J.; Baldigo, Barry P.; Duffy, Brian T; George, Scott D.; Dresser, Brian Spatial and temporal variability of fish assemblages in acidified streams: Implications for long-term monitoring
Numerous studies have established strong linkages between acid deposition, soil and surface-water acidification, and toxicity to aquatic biota. Little is known however, about the effects of acidification on fish assemblages in headwater streams because they are highly variable, and pre-acidification data are often lacking. The primary purpose of...
George, Scott D.; Baldigo, Barry P.; Lawrence, Gregory B. Historical changes in New York State streamflow: Attribution of temporal shifts and spatial patterns from 1961 to 2016
To better understand the effects of climate change on streamflow, the hydrologic response to both temperature and precipitation needs to be examined at the mesoscale. New York State provides a hydrologically diverse mesoscale region, where sub-regional clusters of watersheds may respond differently to changes in temperature and in seasonal...
Glas, Robin; Burns, Douglas A.; Lautz, Laura K. Temporal variability in stream fish assemblage metrics and implications for long-term monitoring
High natural variability in the condition of fish communities in headwater streams complicates detection of long-term responses to changes in water quality. As a result, little is known about the impacts and recovery of fishes from acid deposition in streams of New York. Twenty-one fish metrics from annual electrofishing surveys at 13 streams...
George, Scott D.; Baldigo, Barry P.; Stich, Daniel S.
Drought forecasting for streams and groundwaters in northeastern United States
BackgroundWhen rainfall is lower than normal over an extended period, streamflows decline, groundwater levels fall, and hydrological drought can occur. Droughts can reduce the water available for societal needs, such as public and private drinking-water supplies, farming, and industry, and for ecological health, such as maintenance of water...
Austin, Samuel H.; Dudley, Robert W.
Harmful algal blooms
This postcard provides details about "Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms and U.S. Geological Survey Science Capabilities, "Open File Report 2016-1174, where you can find details about how U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists use traditional methods and emerging technologies in collaboration with numerous partners to lead a diverse range of...
Acidification impacts and goals for gauging recovery of Brook Trout populations and fish communities in streams of the Western Adirondack Mountains, New York, USA
Results from several long‐term monitoring programs in the western Adirondack Mountains, New York, indicate that acid–base chemistry of headwater streams has remained unchanged or improved only marginally since the 1990s. A paucity of quantitative fishery data, however, limits our understanding of the pre‐acidified communities as well as present‐...
Baldigo, Barry; George, Scott; Lawrence, Gregory; Paul, Eric