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Publications

Nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed - A Century of Change, 1950–2050

National Award for Superior Communication Product

News Event

Domestic Well Water Quality in Marcellus Shale Region

Factors Affecting Groundwater Quality Used for Domestic Supply in Marcellus Shale Region of North-Central and North-East Pennsylvania

Journal Article

Geohydrologic and water-quality characterization of a fractured-bedrock test hole in an area of Marcellus Shale gas development, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania

Report at Pennsylvania Geological Survey

Publications are the cornerstone of the Pennsylvania Water Science Center’s dissemination of scientific data and conclusions. 

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Filter Total Items: 937

Effects of return flows on stream water quality and availability in the Upper Colorado, Delaware, and Illinois River Basins

Understanding effects of human water use and subsequent return flows on the availability and suitability of water for downstream uses is critical to efficient and effective watershed management. We compared spatially detailed estimates of stream chemistry within three watersheds in diverse settings to available standards to isolate effects of wastewater and irrigation return flows on the suitabili
Authors
Scott Ator, Olivia L. Miller, David A. Saad
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Genome-wide genetic diversity may help identify fine-scale genetic structure among lake whitefish spawning groups in Lake Erie

In Lake Erie, lake whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis supported lucrative fisheries before populations were decimated by overfishing and water quality degradation. In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in lake whitefish and management of the fishery they support. Lake whitefish spawn on several reefs throughout Lake Erie, but the relative recruitment dynamics and contributions of spawni
Authors
Peter T. Euclide, Joseph Schmitt, Richard Kraus, Andy Cook, Jim Markham
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Great Lakes Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Thirteen novel ideas and underutilized resources to support progress towards a range-wide American eel stock assessment

A robust assessment of the American eel (Anguilla rostrata) stock, required to guide conservation efforts, is challenged by the species’ vast range, high variability in demographic parameters and data inadequacies. Novel ideas and underutilised resources that may assist both analytic assessments and spatially oriented modelling include (1) species and environmental databases; (2) mining of data fr
Authors
David K. Cairns, José Benchetrit, Louis Bernatchez, Virginie Bornarel, John M. Casselman, Martin Castonguay, Anthony Charsley, Malte Dorrow, Hilaire Drouineau, Jens Frankowski, Alexander Haro, Simon Hoyle, D. Craig Knickle, Marten A. Koops, Luke A. Poirier, James T. Thorson, John A. Young, Xinhua Zhu
By
Eastern Ecological Science Center, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Streambank and floodplain geomorphic change and contribution to watershed material budgets

Stream geomorphic change is highly spatially variable but critical to landform evolution, human infrastructure, habitat, and watershed pollutant transport. However, measurements and process models of streambank erosion and floodplain deposition and resulting sediment fluxes are currently insufficient to predict these rates in all perennial streams over large regions. Here we measured long-term lat
Authors
Gregory B. Noe, Kristina G. Hopkins, Peter Claggett, Edward R. Schenk, Marina Metes, Labeeb Ahmed, Tom Doody, Cliff R. Hupp
By
Chesapeake Bay Activities, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Compilation and evaluation of data used to identify groundwater sources under the direct influence of surface water in Pennsylvania

A study was conducted to compile and evaluate data used to identify groundwater sources that are under the direct influence of surface water (GUDI) in Pennsylvania. In the early 1990s, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) implemented the Surface Water Identification Protocol (SWIP) for the identification of GUDI sources. Since the establishment of the SWIP, PADEP has cla
Authors
Eliza L. Gross, Matthew D. Conlon, Dennis W. Risser, Chad E. Reisch
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Pennsylvania and Landsat

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania straddles an array of landscapes. From east to west, its 46,055 square miles connect the sea-level lowlands of the Atlantic seaboard with the rolling hills of the Midwest. It also acts as a bridge between regions from north to south, with the Appalachian Mountains swooping through its center from its northern border with New York to its southern borders with Maryla
Authors
By
National Land Imaging Program, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center , Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Water priorities for the Nation—U.S. Geological Survey Integrated Water Prediction science program

The U.S. Geological Survey Integrated Water Prediction science program focuses on the development of advanced models for forecasting water use and other components of the water cycle along with water quality attributes such as temperature, water constituents, and ecological conditions. The program also is developing the cyberinfrastructure required to implement national and local-scale models to b
Authors
Mark P. Miller, Katherine Skalak, David P. Lesmes
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Power analysis for detecting the effects of best management practices on reducing nitrogen and phosphorus fluxes to the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA

In 2010 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency established the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) which is a “pollution diet” that aims to reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus entering the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States, by 25 and 24% percent, respectively. To achieve this goal the TMDL requires the implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs), which are acce
Authors
Paul McLaughlin, Richard Alexander, Joel Blomquist, Olivia H. Devereux, Gregory B. Noe, Kelly L. Smalling, Tyler Wagner
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Cooperative Research Units, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Pollutant co-attenuation via in-stream interactions between mine drainage and municipal wastewater

Municipal wastewater (MWW) and mine drainage (MD) are common co-occurring sources of freshwater pollution in mining regions. The physicochemical interactions that occur after mixing MWW and MD in a waterway may improve downstream water quality of an impaired reach by reducing downstream concentrations of nutrients and metals (i.e., “co-attenuation”). A first-order stream (Bradley Run in central Pe
Authors
Charles J. Spellman, Peter M. Smyntek, Charles A. Cravotta, Travis L. Tasker, William H. J. Strosnider
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Report of the River Master of the Delaware River for the period December 1, 2011–November 30, 2012

A Decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, entered June 7, 1954, established the position of Delaware River Master within the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, the Decree authorizes diversion of water from the Delaware River Basin and requires compensating releases from certain reservoirs, owned by New York City, to be made under the supervision and direction of the River Master. The D
Authors
Vincent J. DiFrenna, William J. Andrews, Kendra L. Russell, J. Michael Norris, Robert R. Mason,
By
Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in groundwater used as a source of drinking water in the eastern United States

In 2019, 254 samples were collected from five aquifer systems to evaluate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) occurrence in groundwater used as a source of drinking water in the eastern United States. The samples were analyzed for 24 PFAS, major ions, nutrients, trace elements, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), pharmaceuticals, and tritium. Fourteen of the 24

Authors
Peter B. McMahon, Andrea K. Tokranov, Laura M. Bexfield, Bruce D. Lindsey, Tyler D. Johnson, Melissa Lombard, Elise Watson
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Environmental Health Program, California Water Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, New England Water Science Center, New Mexico Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Characterization of ambient groundwater quality within a statewide, fixed-station monitoring network in Pennsylvania, 2015–19

Pennsylvania leads the Nation in the number of individuals that use groundwater for private domestic water supply; more than 3 million rural and suburban Pennsylvania residents rely on private domestic supplies for drinking water. These supplies are not regulated nor routinely monitored; thus relevant groundwater-quality information is not widely available. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in co
Authors
Matthew D. Conlon, Joseph W. Duris
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center