Publications

We have developed pyEMU, a python framework for Environmental Modeling Uncertainty analyses, open-source tool that is non-intrusive, easy-to-use, computationally efficient, and scalable to highly-parameterized inverse problems. The framework implements several types of linear (first-order, second-moment (FOSM)) and non-linear uncertainty analyses. The FOSM-based analyses can also be completed prio

The Texas Department of State Health Services issued fish consumption advisories in 2003 and 2010 for Leon Creek in San Antonio, Texas, based on elevated concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in fish tissues. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured elevated PCB concentrations in stream-sediment samples collected during 2007–9 from Leon Creek at Lackland Air Force Base (now known as

Many karst regions are undergoing rapid population growth and expansion of urban land accompanied by increases in wastewater generation and changing patterns of nitrate (NO3−) loading to surface and groundwater. We investigate variability and sources of NO3− in a regional karst aquifer system, the Edwards aquifer of central Texas. Samples from streams recharging the aquifer, groundwater wells, and

As a Federal science agency within the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collects and disseminates streamflow stage and discharge information along with other types of water information as a major part of its Water mission area. Data collected at USGS streamflow-gaging stations (hereinafter referred to as “streamgages”) are used for a variety of purposes including flood

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Lubbock and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, developed and calibrated a Soil and Water Assessment Tool watershed model of the Double Mountain Fork Brazos River watershed in western Texas to simulate monthly mean streamflow and to evaluate the effects of brush management on water yields in the watershed, particularly to L

Landfills are the final repository for most of the discarded material from human society and its “built environments.” Microorganisms subsequently degrade this discarded material in the landfill, releasing gases (largely CH4 and CO2) and a complex mixture of soluble chemical compounds in leachate. Characterization of “landfill microbiomes” and their comparison across several landfills should allow

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the City of Houston, began a study in 2007 to determine concentrations, spatial extent, and associated geochemical conditions that might be conducive for mobility and transport of selected naturally occurring trace elements and radionuclides in the Gulf Coast aquifer system in Houston, Texas. Water samples were collected from 91 municipal supp

The Edwards aquifer is an important water resource in south-central Texas, providing water for residents, businesses, and ecosystems. The aquifer is a highly complex karst system characterized by areas of rapid groundwater flow, faulted and fractured Cretaceous-age rocks, and multiple water-quality zones. Karst aquifer systems include soluble rocks such as limestone and dolomite that can convey tr

The U.S. Geological Survey conducted hydrologic studies and published three U.S. Geological Survey scientific investigations reports in cooperation with the Citizen Potawatomi Nation from 2011 to 2014 to characterize the quality and quantity of water resources. The study areas of those reports consisted of approximately 960 square miles in parts of three counties in central Oklahoma. This study ar

This report describes a study of the hydrology, hydrogeological framework, numerical groundwater-flow models, and results of simulations of the effects of water use and drought for the Beaver-North Canadian River alluvial aquifer, northwestern Oklahoma. The purpose of the study was to provide analyses, including estimating equal-proportionate-share (EPS) groundwater-pumping rates and the effects o

Lake Houston, an important water resource for the Houston, Texas, area, receives inflows from seven major tributaries that compose the San Jacinto River Basin upstream from the reservoir. The effects of different inflows from the watersheds drained by these tributaries on the residence time of water in Lake Houston and closely associated physical and chemical properties including lake elevation, s

myScience (http://txpub.usgs.gov/myscience/) is a Web application developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Texas Water Science Center through a partnership with the USGS Community for Data Integration to address the need for increasing public awareness and participation in existing USGS citizen science projects. The myScience application contains data for 20 projects available for public par