Oregon Water Science Center
Publications
All of our publications are accessible through the USGS Publication Warehouse. Publications by scientists of the Oregon Water Science Center are listed below.
Water-quality modeling of Klamath Straits Drain recirculation, a Klamath River wetland, and 2011 conditions for the Link River to Keno Dam reach of the Klamath River, Oregon
Legacy and current‐use contaminants in sediments alter macroinvertebrate communities in southeastern US Streams
Sediment contamination of freshwater streams in urban areas is a recognized and growing concern. As a part of a comprehensive regional stream‐quality assessment, stream‐bed sediment was sampled from streams spanning a gradient of urban intensity in the Piedmont ecoregion of the southeastern United States. We evaluated relations between a broad...
Moran, Patrick W.; Kemble, Nile E.; Waite, Ian R.; Mahler, Barbara; Nowell, Lisa H.; Van Metre, Peter C.
Modeling a 2- and 4-foot drawdown in the Link River to Keno Dam reach of the upper Klamath River, south-central Oregon
Executive SummaryThe most upstream, pooled reach of the Klamath River in south-central Oregon, from Link River mouth to Keno Dam (Link-Keno), has a water-surface elevation that remains relatively constant throughout the year. Two model scenarios, using an existing two-dimensional hydrodynamic and water-quality model (CE-QUAL-W2), were constructed...
Sullivan, Annett B.; Rounds, Stewart A. Holocene paleofloods and their climatological context, Upper Colorado River Basin, USA
Given its singular importance for water resources in the southwestern U.S., the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) is remarkable for the paucity of its conventional hydrological record of extreme flooding. This study uses paleoflood hydrology to examine a small portion the underutilized, but very extensive natural record of Holocene extreme floods...
Liu, Taojun; Ji, Lin; Baker, Victor R.; Harden, Tessa M.; Cline, Michael L. Multi-region assessment of pharmaceutical exposures and predicted effects in USA wadeable urban-gradient streams
Human-use pharmaceuticals in urban streams link aquatic-ecosystem health to human health. Pharmaceutical mixtures have been widely reported in larger streams due to historical emphasis on wastewater-treatment plant (WWTP) sources, with limited investigation of pharmaceutical exposures and potential effects in smaller headwater streams. In 2014–...
Bradley, Paul; Journey, Celeste A.; Button, Daniel T.; Carlisle, Daren; Huffman, B.J.; Qi, Sharon L.; Romanok, Kristin; Van Metre, Peter C. Evaluation of hydrologic impact of an irrigation curtailment program in the Upper Klamath Lake Basin using Landsat satellite data
Upper Klamath Lake (UKL) is the source of the Klamath river that flows through southern Oregon and northern California. The UKL basin is home to two endangered species and provides water for 81,000+ ha (200,000+ acres) of irrigation on the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) Klamath Project located downstream of the UKL basin. Irrigated...
Velpuri, Naga Manohar ; Senay, Gabriel; Schauer, Matthew ; Garcia, C. Amanda; Singh, Ramesh ; Friedrichs, MacKenzie; Bohms, Stefanie; Haynes, Jonathan V.; Conlon, Terrence D.
Spatially referenced models of streamflow and nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads in streams of the Pacific region of the United States
Although spatial information describing the supply and quality of surface water is critical for managing water resources for human uses and for ecological health, monitoring is expensive and cannot typically be done over large scales or in all streams or waterbodies. To address the need for such data, the U.S. Geological Survey developed SPAtially...
Wise, Daniel R.
Spatially referenced models of streamflow and nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment transport in streams of the southwestern United States
Given the predicted imbalance between water supply and demand in the Southwest region of the United States, and the widespread problems with excessive nutrients and suspended sediment, there is a growing need to quantify current streamflow and water quality conditions throughout the region. Furthermore, current monitoring stations exist at a...
Wise, Daniel R.; Anning, David W.; Miller, Olivia L. Using age tracers and decadal sampling to discern trends in nitrate, arsenic and uranium in groundwater beneath irrigated cropland
Repeat sampling and age tracers were used to examine trends in nitrate, arsenic and uranium concentrations in groundwater beneath irrigated cropland. Much higher nitrate concentrations in shallow modern groundwater were observed at both the Columbia Plateau and High Plains sites (median values of 10.2 and 15.4 mg/L as N, respectively) than in...
Tesoriero, Anthony J.; Burow, Karen R.; Frans, Lonna; Haynes, Jonathan V.; Hobza, Christopher M.; Lindsey, Bruce D.; Solder, John E.
Differentiating sediment sources using sediment fingerprinting techniques, in the Sprague River Basin, South-Central Oregon
Identifying sources of sediment to streams in the Sprague River Basin, in south-central Oregon, is important for restoration efforts that are focused on reducing sediment erosion and transport. Reducing sediment loads in these streams also contributes to compliance with the total maximum daily load reduction requirements for total phosphorus in...
Schenk, Liam N.; Harden, Tessa M.; Kelson, Julia K. Seasonality of climatic drivers of flood variability in the conterminous United States
Flood variability due to changes in climate is a major economic and social concern. Climate drivers can affect the amount and distribution of flood-generating precipitation through seasonal shifts in storm tracks. An understanding of how the drivers may change in the future is critical for identifying the regions where the magnitude of floods may...
Dickinson, Jesse E.; Harden, Tessa M.; McCabe, Gregory J. Linking sedimentation and erosion patterns with reservoir morphology and dam operations during streambed drawdowns in a flood-control reservoir in the Oregon Cascades
Since water-year (WY) 2011, pool levels at Fall Creek Lake, Oregon, are temporarily lowered to an elevation near historical streambed each fall, creating free-flowing channel conditions that facilitate downstream passage of juvenile spring Chinook salmon. These drawdown operations have also mobilized substantial quantities of predominantly fine (...
Keith, Mackenzie K.; Stratton, Laurel Contaminant concentrations in sediments, aquatic invertebrates, and fish in proximity to rail tracks used for coal transport in the Pacific Northwest: A baseline assessment
Railway transport of coal poses an environmental risk because coal dust contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), mercury (Hg), and other trace metals. In the Pacific Northwest, proposed infrastructure projects could result in an increase in coal transport by train through the Columbia River corridor. Baseline information is needed on...
Hapke, Whitney B; Black, Robert W.; Eagles-Smith, Collin A.; Smith, Cassandra; Johnson, Lyndal; Ylitalo, Gina M; Boyd, Daryle; Davis, Jay W; Eldridge, Sara L. Caldwell; Nilsen, Elena