Publications
All of our publications are accessible through the USGS Publication Warehouse. Publications by scientists of the Oregon Water Science Center are listed below.
Filter Total Items: 751
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 this basin. In the Sprague River Basin, phosphorus oc
Authors
Liam N. Schenk, Tessa M. Harden, Julia K. Kelson
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 change. Here we show the regions in the conterminou
Authors
Jesse E. Dickinson, Tessa M. Harden, Gregory J. McCabe
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 (<2 mm) reservoir sediment as well as some coarser gr
Authors
Mackenzie K. Keith, Laurel E. Stratton
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 current distributions, levels, and spatial patterns of
Authors
Whitney B Hapke, Robert W. Black, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Cassandra Smith, Lyndal Johnson, Gina M Ylitalo, Daryle Boyd, Jay W. Davis, Sara L. Caldwell Eldridge, Elena Nilsen
Spatial variability of phytoplankton in a shallow tidal freshwater system reveals complex controls on abundance and community structure
Estuaries worldwide are undergoing changes to patterns of aquatic productivity because of human activities that alter flow, impact sediment delivery and thus the light field, and contribute nutrients and contaminants like pesticides and metals. These changes can influence phytoplankton communities, which in turn can alter estuarine food webs. We used multiple approaches-including high-resolution w
Authors
Elizabeth B. Stumpner, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Tamara E. C. Kraus, Alexander Parker, Francis Wilkerson, Bryan D. Downing, Richard Dugdale, Michael T. Murrell, Kurt D. Carpenter, James Orlando, Carol Kendall
Using the precipitation-runoff modeling system to predict seasonal water availability in the upper Klamath River basin, Oregon and California
Accurate forecasts of the streamflow expected during late spring and summer in the Upper Klamath River Basin in southern-central Oregon and northern California are used by water management agencies to balance water allocations for agriculture, aquatic habitat, and hydropower-production needs. Streamflow forecasts are also used by irrigation farmers for planning. The forecasts are typically made tw
Authors
John C. Risley
Timber harvest alters mercury bioaccumulation and food web structure in headwater streams
Timber harvest has many effects on aquatic ecosystems, including changes in hydrological, biogeochemical, and ecological processes that can influence mercury (Hg) cycling. Although timber harvest’s influence on aqueous Hg transformation and transport are well studied, the effects on Hg bioaccumulation are not. We evaluated Hg bioaccumulation, biomagnification, and food web structure in 10 paired c
Authors
James Willacker, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Brandon M Kowalski, Robert J Danehy, Allyson K. Jackson, Evan M. Adams, David C. Evers, Chris S. Eckley, Michael T. Tate, David P. Krabbenhoft
Refining the Baseline Sediment Budget for the Klamath River, California
Four dams in the Klamath River Hydroelectric Project (KHP) in Oregon and California (Figure 1) are currently scheduled to be removed over a period of a few weeks or months, beginning in January 2021. The Klamath dam removal will be the largest in the world by almost all measures, and is an unprecedented opportunity to advance science of river responses to such events. The KHP contains approximatel
Authors
Chauncey W. Anderson, Scott A. Wright, Liam N. Schenk, Katherine Skalak, Jennifer A. Curtis, Amy E. East, Adam Benthem
Assessing potential effects of highway and urban runoff on receiving streams in total maximum daily load watersheds in Oregon using the stochastic empirical loading and dilution model
The Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM) was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration to simulate stormwater quality. To assess the effects of runoff, SELDM uses a stochastic mass-balance approach to estimate combinations of pre-storm streamflow, stormflow, highway runoff, event mean concentrations (EMCs) and stormwate
Authors
Adam J. Stonewall, Gregory E. Granato, Kira M. Glover-Cutter
Annual variations in microcystin occurrence in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, based on high-throughput DNA sequencing, qPCR, and environmental parameters
Cyanobacteria-dominated blooms in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, create poor water quality and produce microcystins that may be detrimental to local wildlife and human health. Genetic tools, including high-throughput DNA sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), have been shown to improve the identification and quantification of key groups associated with these blooms over more tr
Authors
Sara L. Caldwell Eldridge, Tamara M. Wood
Predicting attenuation of salinized surface- and groundwater-resources from legacy energy development in the Prairie Pothole Region
Oil and gas (energy) development in the Williston Basin, which partly underlies the Prairie Pothole Region in central North America, has helped meet U.S. energy demand for decades. Historical handling and disposal practices of saline wastewater co-produced during energy development resulted in salinization of surface and groundwater at numerous legacy energy sites. Thirty years of monitoring (1988
Authors
Todd M. Preston, Chauncey W. Anderson, Joanna N. Thamke, Blake R. Hossack, Katherine Skalak, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli
Relationships between diatom metrics based on species nutrient traits and agricultural land use
We assessed how diatom metrics were related to different ranges of agricultural land use. Diatom assemblage composition, nutrients, and landscape characteristics were determined at 232 sites in eight agriculturally dominated study areas of the continental United States. Two regional groups based on differences in diatom relations to human disturbance were determined. Changes in diatom species comp
Authors
Robert Pillsbury, R. Jan Stevenson, Mark D. Munn, Ian R. Waite