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Publications

Cyanotoxin mixture models

Relating environmental variables and toxin co-occurrence to human exposure risk

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Organic contaminants assessed in 305 streams

Multi-region assessment of chemical mixture exposures and predicted cumulative effects in USA wadeable urban/agriculture-gradient streams

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Using infrared imagery to map agricultural drainage

Overall results and key findings on the use of UAV visible-color, multispectral, and thermal infrared imagery to map agricultural drainage

Full Publication

Utilizing locally available slag to treat waste or agricultural waters

Geochemical Characterization of Iron and Steel Slag and Its Potential to Remove Phosphate and Neutralize Acid

Full Publication

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

PAH in Streambed Sediment in Great Lakes Tributaries

PAH - Great Lakes

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Filter Total Items: 741

Nutrient and suspended-sediment concentrations in the Maumee River and tributaries during 2019 rain-induced fallow conditions

Above average precipitation from October 2018 through July 2019 in the Maumee River (R.) Basin resulted in 29% of cropland left fallow, providing a glimpse of potential effects from decreased nutrient application. Ongoing monitoring at 15 water-quality sites on the Maumee R. upstream from Defiance enabled comparison with 2017, which was hydrologically similar to 2019 in precipitation and streamflo
Authors
Tanja N. Williamson, Kimberly Shaffer, Donna L. Runkle, Matthew John Hardebeck, Edward G. Dobrowolski, Jeffrey W. Frey, Nancy T. Baker, Katie Marie Collier, Carrie A. Huitger, Stephanie P. Kula, Ralph J. Haefner, Lisa M Hartley, Hunter Frederick Crates, J. Jeremy Webber, Dennis P. Finnegan, Nicholas J. Reithel, Chad Toussant, Thomas L. Weaver
By
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Cyanobacteria, cyanotoxin synthetase gene, and cyanotoxin occurrence among selected large river sites of the conterminous United States, 2017–18

The U.S. Geological Survey measured cyanobacteria, cyanotoxin synthetase genes, and cyanotoxins at 11 river sites throughout the conterminous United States in a multiyear pilot study during 2017–19 through the National Water Quality Assessment Project to better understand the occurrence of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins in large inland and coastal rivers. This report focuses on the first 2 years of
Authors
Robert E. Zuellig, Jennifer L. Graham, Erin A. Stelzer, Keith A. Loftin, Barry H. Rosen
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Environmental Health Program, Colorado Water Science Center, Kansas Water Science Center, New York Water Science Center, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center, Ohio Water Microbiology Laboratory

Update of the groundwater flow model for the Great Miami buried-valley aquifer in the vicinity of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio

A previously constructed numerical model simulating the regional groundwater flow system in the vicinity of the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, was updated to incorporate current hydrologic stresses and conditions and improve the usefulness of the model for water-supply planning and protection. The original model, which simulated conditions from 1997 to 2001, was reconstructed w
Authors
Alexander D. Riddle
By
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center

Regression models for estimating sediment, nutrient concentrations and loads at School Branch at Brownsburg, Indiana, June 2015 through February 2019

Sediment and nutrient transport in the School Branch watershed (in central Indiana west of Indianapolis) is considered to be heavily affected by agricultural land use throughout the watershed. In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, deployed continuous water-quality monitors and began collecting discrete water-quality samples at
Authors
Myles S. Downhour, Aubrey R. Bunch, Timothy R. Lathrop
By
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center

Assessment of runoff volume reduction associated with soil amendments added to portions of highway median-strip catchments in Ohio, 2018–20

The U.S. Geological Survey installed 10 rain gages and 12 calibrated H-flumes to measure rainfall and runoff volumes at 10 locations in Ohio Department of Transportation highway median-strip catchments. Data were collected to facilitate comparisons of rainfall and runoff volumes at study sites before and after stormwater best management practices (BMPs) were installed and between sites with differ
Authors
Matthew T. Whitehead, G.F. Koltun
By
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center

Hydrologic and ecological investigations in the School Branch watershed, Hendricks County, Indiana—Water years 2016–2018

School Branch in Hendricks County in central Indiana, is a small stream with a variety of agricultural and suburban land uses that drains into the Eagle Creek Reservoir, a major source of drinking water for Indianapolis, Indiana. The School Branch watershed has become the focus of a collaborative partnership of Federal, State, and local agencies; a university research center; and agricultural prod
Authors
Aubrey R. Bunch, Dawn R. McCausland, E. Randall Bayless
By
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center

Accuracy of flowmeters measuring horizontal flow in fractured-rock simulators

Laboratory evaluations of flowmeter response to flow in fractured-rock simulators are needed to improve understanding of data collected in field settings. The ability of flowmeters to accurately measure the velocity and direction of water flowing between parallel plates was used as a surrogate for instrument response in fractured-rock aquifers. A colloidal borescope flowmeter and a heat-pulse flow
Authors
E. Randall Bayless
By
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center

Populations using public-supply groundwater in the conterminous U.S. 2010; Identifying the wells, hydrogeologic regions, and hydrogeologic mapping units

Most Americans receive their drinking water from publicly supplied sources, a large portion of it from groundwater. Mapping these populations consistently and at a high resolution is important for understanding where the resource is used and needs to be protected. The results show that 269 million people are supplied by public supply, 107 million are supplied by groundwater and 162 million are sup
Authors
Tyler D. Johnson, Kenneth Belitz, Leon J. Kauffman, Elise Watson, John T. Wilson
By
Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, New England Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center

Using microbial source tracking to identify fecal contamination sources in an embayment in Hempstead Harbor on Long Island, New York

The U.S. Geological Survey worked collaboratively with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to assess the potential sources of fecal contamination entering Hempstead Harbor, an embayment on the northern shore of Nassau County, Long Island, New York. Water samples are routinely collected by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in the harbor and analyzed

Authors
Tristen N. Tagliaferri, Shawn C. Fisher, Christopher M. Kephart, Natalie Cheung, Ariel P. Reed, Robert J. Welk
By
Water Resources Mission Area, New York Water Science Center, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Ohio Water Microbiology Laboratory, USGS Science in Long Island Sound and its Watershed

Evaluation of a modified rapid viability-polymerase chain reaction method for Bacillus atrophaeus spores in water matrices

A rapid method that provides information on the viability of organisms is needed to protect public health and ensure that remediation efforts following a release of a biological agent are effective. The rapid viability-polymerase chain reaction (RV-PCR) method combines broth culture and molecular methods to provide results on whether viable organisms are present in less than 15 h. In this study, a
Authors
Rebecca N. Bushon, Amie M.G. Brady, Christopher M. Kephart, Vicente Gallardo
By
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Ohio Water Microbiology Laboratory

Workflow for using unmanned aircraft systems and traditional geospatial data to delineate agricultural drainage tiles at edge-of-field sites

Managing nutrient and sediment runoff from fields that drain to the Great Lakes is key to mitigating harmful algal blooms. Implementation of best management practices on agricultural land is considered a critical step to improving water quality in these streams, however the effect of these best management practices is difficult to quantify. The purpose of this study was to use a suite of high-reso
Authors
J. Jeremy Webber, Tanja N. Williamson
By
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center

Overview and methodology for a study to identify fecal contamination sources using microbial source tracking in seven embayments on Long Island, New York

Between June 2018 and July 2019, the U.S. Geological Survey collaborated with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to analyze water quality in seven embayments on Long Island, New York, for a study to examine fecal contamination using microbial source tracking. This report documents the approach, methodology, and quality-assurance data used in the study. All samples and fiel
Authors
Tristen N. Tagliaferri, Shawn C. Fisher, Christopher M. Kephart, Natalie Cheung, Ariel P. Reed, Robert J. Welk
By
Water Resources Mission Area, New York Water Science Center, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Ohio Water Microbiology Laboratory