USGS Station ID: 03321500
Station Description
Latitude: 37°51'30"
Longitude: 87°24'35"
Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC): 05110005
Datum:
Drainage Area: 9,181.00 square miles
County in which site is located: Henderson
Site managed by: Murray Field Office
Station Funding
This station is operated in cooperation with the Kentucky Governor’s Office of Agriculture Policy and the USGS Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program.
Hydrologic Conditions
The Green River is a large river that originates in South Central Kentucky. It is a tributary of the Mississippi River. The Green River flows westward from its origin through Green River Lake, several Kentucky counties, and into the Ohio River near Spottsville. At its mouth at the Ohio River, the Green River has a drainage area of 9,181 square miles. The largest tributary of the Green River is Barren River, which originates in southern Kentucky and flows northwest across Kentucky to its confluence with the Green River near Woodbury, KY in central Kentucky.
Sample Collection and Use
Discrete samples of suspended sediment concentrations and nutrients (phosphorus and nitrate) are collected at this site throughout the range of hydrologic and chemical conditions. Typically, discrete samples are collected more frequently during the growing season. Continuous water-quality measurements and discrete samples collected at a super gage are combined in statistical surrogate models. Models are developed to relate in-stream instrument measurements to analyzed discrete constituent concentrations. After peer review and approval, a model can be used to continuously compute constituent concentrations based upon real-time continuous water-quality measurements.
Why Continuous Monitoring is Important
Delivery of excess nutrients, primarily nitrogen and phosphorus, from the Green River to the Mississippi River is a potential problem. Each year, a hypoxic zone (water without dissolved oxygen) forms in the northern Gulf of Mexico that can cause fish to leave the area and that can cause stress of depth to bottom-dwelling organisms that can’t move out of the hypoxic zone. Hypoxia is believed to be caused primarily by excess nutrients delivered from the Mississippi River in combination with seasonal stratification of Gulf waters. Excess nutrients promote algal and attendant zooplankton growth. The associated organic matter sinks to the bottom where it decomposes, consuming available oxygen. Stratification of fresh and saline waters prevents oxygen replenishment by mixing of oxygen-rich surface water with oxygen-depleted bottom water.
The Lower Green River Basin is a highly agricultural area in Kentucky that was selected as a priority basin for the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI) led by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The goal of the MRBI is to improve water quality while maintaining agricultural productivity. Since 2013, the USGS, in cooperation with the Kentucky Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy, has been measuring continuous nitrate concentrations and computing nitrate loads discharged from the Lower Green River to the Ohio River, a major tributary to the Mississippi River. These data are critical for evaluating the effectiveness of agricultural-nutrient management plans and strategies implemented in the basin.
Megan Shoda did an interview with a reporter for the Environmental Monitor back when the super gage fact sheet was published in 2015. The full article can be found here....White River Monitoring Backs Work to Boost River's Civic Profile.
Real-time, continuous water-quality monitoring in Indiana and Kentucky
Plastic debris in 29 Great Lakes tributaries: Relations to watershed attributes and hydrology
Sediment acoustic index method for computing continuous suspended-sediment concentrations
Organic contaminants in Great Lakes tributaries: Prevalence and potential aquatic toxicity
National Field Manual for the Collection of Water-Quality Data. U.S. Geological Survey Techniques of Water-Resources Investigations, Book 9
Optical techniques for the determination of nitrate in environmental waters: Guidelines for instrument selection, operation, deployment, maintenance, quality assurance, and data reporting
Precipitation-runoff relations and water-quality characteristics at edge-of-field stations, Discovery Farms and Pioneer Farm, Wisconsin, 2003-8
Guidelines and Procedures for Computing Time-Series Suspended-Sediment Concentrations and Loads from In-Stream Turbidity-Sensor and Streamflow Data
Guidelines and standard procedures for continuous water-quality monitors: Station operation, record computation, and data reporting
- Overview
USGS Station ID: 03321500
Station DescriptionLatitude: 37°51'30"
Longitude: 87°24'35"
Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC): 05110005
Datum:
Drainage Area: 9,181.00 square miles
County in which site is located: Henderson
Site managed by: Murray Field Office
Station FundingThis station is operated in cooperation with the Kentucky Governor’s Office of Agriculture Policy and the USGS Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program.
Hydrologic Conditions
The Green River is a large river that originates in South Central Kentucky. It is a tributary of the Mississippi River. The Green River flows westward from its origin through Green River Lake, several Kentucky counties, and into the Ohio River near Spottsville. At its mouth at the Ohio River, the Green River has a drainage area of 9,181 square miles. The largest tributary of the Green River is Barren River, which originates in southern Kentucky and flows northwest across Kentucky to its confluence with the Green River near Woodbury, KY in central Kentucky.
Sample Collection and Use
Discrete samples of suspended sediment concentrations and nutrients (phosphorus and nitrate) are collected at this site throughout the range of hydrologic and chemical conditions. Typically, discrete samples are collected more frequently during the growing season. Continuous water-quality measurements and discrete samples collected at a super gage are combined in statistical surrogate models. Models are developed to relate in-stream instrument measurements to analyzed discrete constituent concentrations. After peer review and approval, a model can be used to continuously compute constituent concentrations based upon real-time continuous water-quality measurements.
Why Continuous Monitoring is Important
Delivery of excess nutrients, primarily nitrogen and phosphorus, from the Green River to the Mississippi River is a potential problem. Each year, a hypoxic zone (water without dissolved oxygen) forms in the northern Gulf of Mexico that can cause fish to leave the area and that can cause stress of depth to bottom-dwelling organisms that can’t move out of the hypoxic zone. Hypoxia is believed to be caused primarily by excess nutrients delivered from the Mississippi River in combination with seasonal stratification of Gulf waters. Excess nutrients promote algal and attendant zooplankton growth. The associated organic matter sinks to the bottom where it decomposes, consuming available oxygen. Stratification of fresh and saline waters prevents oxygen replenishment by mixing of oxygen-rich surface water with oxygen-depleted bottom water.
The Lower Green River Basin is a highly agricultural area in Kentucky that was selected as a priority basin for the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI) led by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The goal of the MRBI is to improve water quality while maintaining agricultural productivity. Since 2013, the USGS, in cooperation with the Kentucky Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy, has been measuring continuous nitrate concentrations and computing nitrate loads discharged from the Lower Green River to the Ohio River, a major tributary to the Mississippi River. These data are critical for evaluating the effectiveness of agricultural-nutrient management plans and strategies implemented in the basin.
- Publications
Megan Shoda did an interview with a reporter for the Environmental Monitor back when the super gage fact sheet was published in 2015. The full article can be found here....White River Monitoring Backs Work to Boost River's Civic Profile.
Real-time, continuous water-quality monitoring in Indiana and Kentucky
Water-quality “super” gages (also known as “sentry” gages) provide real-time, continuous measurements of the physical and chemical characteristics of stream water at or near selected U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgages in Indiana and Kentucky. A super gage includes streamflow and water-quality instrumentation and representative stream sample collection for laboratory analysis. USGS scientistAuthorsMegan E. Shoda, Timothy R. Lathrop, Martin R. RischPlastic debris in 29 Great Lakes tributaries: Relations to watershed attributes and hydrology
Plastic debris is a growing contaminant of concern in freshwater environments, yet sources, transport, and fate remain unclear. This study characterized the quantity and morphology of floating micro- and macroplastics in 29 Great Lakes tributaries in six states under different land covers, wastewater effluent contributions, population densities, and hydrologic conditions. Tributaries were sampledAuthorsAustin K. Baldwin, Steven R. Corsi, Sherri A. MasonSediment acoustic index method for computing continuous suspended-sediment concentrations
Suspended-sediment characteristics can be computed using acoustic indices derived from acoustic Doppler velocity meter (ADVM) backscatter data. The sediment acoustic index method applied in these types of studies can be used to more accurately and cost-effectively provide time-series estimates of suspended-sediment concentration and load, which is essential for informed solutions to many sediment-AuthorsMark N. Landers, Timothy D. Straub, Molly S. Wood, Marian M. DomanskiOrganic contaminants in Great Lakes tributaries: Prevalence and potential aquatic toxicity
Organic compounds used in agriculture, industry, and households make their way into surface waters through runoff, leaking septic-conveyance systems, regulated and unregulated discharges, and combined sewer overflows, among other sources. Concentrations of these organic waste compounds (OWCs) in some Great Lakes tributaries indicate a high potential for adverse impacts on aquatic organisms. DuringAuthorsAustin K. Baldwin, Steven R. Corsi, Laura A. De Cicco, Peter L. Lenaker, Michelle A. Lutz, Daniel J. Sullivan, Kevin D. RichardsNational Field Manual for the Collection of Water-Quality Data. U.S. Geological Survey Techniques of Water-Resources Investigations, Book 9
The mission of the Water Resources Discipline of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is to provide the information and understanding needed for wise management of the Nation's water resources. Inherent in this mission is the responsibility to collect data that accurately describe the physical, chemical, and biological attributes of water systems. These data are used for environmental and resource asOptical techniques for the determination of nitrate in environmental waters: Guidelines for instrument selection, operation, deployment, maintenance, quality assurance, and data reporting
The recent commercial availability of in situ optical sensors, together with new techniques for data collection and analysis, provides the opportunity to monitor a wide range of water-quality constituents on time scales in which environmental conditions actually change. Of particular interest is the application of ultraviolet (UV) photometers for in situ determination of nitrate concentrations inAuthorsBrian A. Pellerin, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Bryan D. Downing, John Franco Saraceno, Jessica D. Garrett, Lisa D. OlsenPrecipitation-runoff relations and water-quality characteristics at edge-of-field stations, Discovery Farms and Pioneer Farm, Wisconsin, 2003-8
A cooperative study between the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison Discovery Farms program (Discovery Farms), and the UW-Platteville Pioneer Farm program (Pioneer Farm) was developed to identify typical ranges and magnitudes, temporal distributions, and principal factors affecting concentrations and yields of sediment, nutrients, and other selected constituents in runAuthorsTodd D. Stuntebeck, Matthew J. Komiskey, Marie C. Peppler, David W. Owens, Dennis R. FrameGuidelines and Procedures for Computing Time-Series Suspended-Sediment Concentrations and Loads from In-Stream Turbidity-Sensor and Streamflow Data
In-stream continuous turbidity and streamflow data, calibrated with measured suspended-sediment concentration data, can be used to compute a time series of suspended-sediment concentration and load at a stream site. Development of a simple linear (ordinary least squares) regression model for computing suspended-sediment concentrations from instantaneous turbidity data is the first step in the compAuthorsPatrick P. Rasmussen, John R. Gray, G. Douglas Glysson, Andrew C. ZieglerGuidelines and standard procedures for continuous water-quality monitors: Station operation, record computation, and data reporting
The U.S. Geological Survey uses continuous water-quality monitors to assess the quality of the Nation's surface water. A common monitoring-system configuration for water-quality data collection is the four-parameter monitoring system, which collects temperature, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, and pH data. Such systems also can be configured to measure other properties, such as turbidity oAuthorsRichard J. Wagner, Robert W. Boulger, Carolyn J. Oblinger, Brett A. Smith