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Publications

The scientific reputation of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for excellence, integrity and objectivity is one of the Bureau’s most important assets to ensuring long-term credibility and public trust. Below you can view OKI publications, and may search for them by TITLE or KEYWORD but not by AUTHOR.

For a more in-depth search, the USGS Pubs Warehouse provides access to over 130,000 publications.

Filter Total Items: 734

Phytoplankton community and algal toxicity at a recurring bloom in Sullivan Bay, Kabetogama Lake, Minnesota, USA

Kabetogama Lake in Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota, USA suffers from recurring late summer algal blooms that often contain toxin-producing cyanobacteria. Previous research identified the toxin microcystin in blooms, but we wanted to better understand how the algal and cyanobacterial community changed throughout an open water season and how changes in community structure were related to toxin pr

Authors
Victoria Christensen, Ryan P. Maki, Erin A. Stelzer, Jack E. Norland, Eakalak Khan

Comparison of groundwater-model construction methods, representations of glacial geology, model designs, and groundwater-model flow simulations within Elkhart County, Indiana

Automated data-processing methods allow hydrologists to efficiently incorporate digital well-record datasets into the construction of hydrostratigraphic frameworks for groundwater-flow models. The method selected to construct the hydrostratigraphic framework can affect the extent of geologic heterogeneity that can be included in the model. The detail generated from a hydrostratigraphic framework c
Authors
Leslie D. Arihood, David C. Lampe, E. Randall Bayless, Steven E. Brown

Spatial and temporal distribution of bacterial indicators and microbial-source tracking within Tumacácori National Historical Park and the upper Santa Cruz River, southern Arizona and northern Mexico, 2015–2016

Tumacácori National Historical Park (TUMA) in southern Arizona protects the culturally important Mission San José de Tumacácori, while also managing a part of the ecologically diverse riparian corridor of the Santa Cruz River. The quality of the water flowing through depends solely on upstream watershed activities, and among the water-quality issues concerning TUMA is the microbiological pathogens

Authors
Nicholas V. Paretti, Christopher M. Kephart, Thomas J. Porter, Edyth Hermosillo, Jay R. Cederberg, Justine P. Mayo, Bruce Gungle, Alissa L. Coes, Rachel S. Tucci, Laura M. Norman

Flood-frequency estimates for Ohio streamgages based on data through water year 2015 and techniques for estimating flood-frequency characteristics of rural, unregulated Ohio streams

Estimates of the magnitudes of annual peak streamflows with annual exceedance probabilities of 0.5, 0.2, 0.1, 0.04, 0.02, 0.01, and 0.002 (equivalent to recurrence intervals of 2-, 5-, 10-, 25-, 50-, 100-, and 500-years, respectively) were computed for 391 streamgages in Ohio and adjacent states based on data collected through the 2015 water year. The flood-frequency estimates were computed follow
Authors
G.F. Koltun

Flood-inundation maps for Nimishillen Creek near North Industry, Ohio, 2019

Digital flood-inundation maps for a 4-mile reach of Nimishillen Creek near North Industry, Ohio, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, Ohio, and the Stark County Board of Commissioners. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping (FIM) Program website at https://water.usgs.g
Authors
Matthew T. Whitehead

Real-time assessments of water quality—A nowcast for Escherichia coli and cyanobacterial toxins

Threats to our recreational and drinking waters include disease-causing (pathogenic) organisms from fecal contamination and toxins produced by some species of cyanobacteria (cyanotoxins) that can cause acute and (or) chronic illnesses. Because traditional laboratory methods for detecting these threats take too long for prompt public health protection, tools for real-time assessments are needed to
Authors
Donna S. Francy, Amie M.G. Brady, Tammy M. Zimmerman

Regression models for estimating sediment and nutrient concentrations and loads at the Iroquois River near Foresman, Indiana, March 2015 through July 2018

In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Iroquois River Conservancy District, deployed continuous water-quality monitors and began collecting representative discrete water-quality samples at the Iroquois River near Foresman, Indiana, streamflow-gaging station (U.S. Geological Survey station 05524500). By relating continuously monitored water-quality data and discrete water-qual
Authors
Timothy R. Lathrop, Aubrey R. Bunch, Myles S. Downhour, Daniel M. Perkins

Potential interaction of groundwater and surface water including autonomous underwater vehicle reconnaissance at Nolin River Lake, Kentucky, 2016

The U.S. Geological Survey collaborated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District, on a synoptic study of water quality at Nolin River Lake during August 2016. The purpose of the study was to develop a better understanding of the potential for interaction between groundwater and surface water at Nolin River Lake, Kentucky. Groundwater can have properties that are measurably differ
Authors
Angela S. Crain, Justin A. Boldt, Randall E. Bayless, Aubrey R. Bunch, Jade L. Young, Jennifer C. Thomason, Zachary L. Wolf

Tracking phosphorus and sediment sources and transport from fields and channels in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative priority watersheds

A multi-agency, integrated series of studies were initiated in 2017 under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) by the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Forest Service, and the University of Minnesota to quantify the source, downstream travel time, and storage of particulate-bound phosphorus and sediment in agricultural tributaries to the Great Lakes. Of particular interest are contributions at
Authors
Tanja N. Williamson, Faith A. Fitzpatrick, Diana L. Karwan, Randall K. Kolka, Edward G. Dobrowolski, James Blount, Ethan D. Pawlowski

Estimating potential wetland extent along selected river reaches in Indiana using streamflow statistics and flood-inundation mapping techniques

In this study potential wetland extents were estimated for 12 river reaches covering about 750 river miles in Indiana and parts of Illinois and Ohio. The study was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. This study follows and adds to the work completed in a pilot study and determines that potential wet
Authors
Kathleen K. Fowler, Benjamin J. Sperl, Moon H. Kim

Drinking water quality in the glacial aquifer system, northern USA

Groundwater supplies 50% of drinking water worldwide, but compromised water quality from anthropogenic and geogenic contaminants can limit usage of groundwater as a drinking water source. Groundwater quality in the glacial aquifer system, USA (GLAC), is presented in the context of a hydrogeologic framework that divides the study area into 17 hydrogeologic terranes. Results are reported at aquifer-
Authors
Melinda L. Erickson, Richard M. Yager, Leon J. Kauffman, John T. Wilson

Geochemical characterization of iron and steel slag and its potential to remove phosphate and neutralize acid

Iron and steel slags from legacy and modern operations in the Chicago-Gary area of Illinois and Indiana, USA, are predominantly composed of Ca (10 - 44 wt. % CaO), Fe, (0.3 - 28 wt. % FeO), and Si (10 - 44 wt. % SiO2), with generally lesser amounts of Al (< 1 15 wt. % Al2O3), Mg (2 11 wt. % MgO), and Mn (0.3 9 wt. % MnO). Mineralogy is dominated by CaMgAl silicates, FeCa oxides, Ca-carbonates,
Authors
Nadine M. Piatak, Robert R. Seal, Darryl Andre Hoppe, Carlin J. Green, Paul M. Buszka