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Publications

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

Filter Total Items: 937

Interactive PHREEQ-N-AMDTreat water-quality modeling tools to evaluate performance and design of treatment systems for acid mine drainage

The PHREEQ-N-AMDTreat aqueous geochemical modeling tools described herein simulate changes in pH and solute concentrations resulting from passive and active treatment of acidic or alkaline mine drainage (AMD). The “user-friendly” interactive tools, which are publicly available software, utilize PHREEQC equilibrium aqueous and surface speciation models and kinetics models for O2 ingassing and CO2 o
Authors
Charles A. Cravotta

Arsenic and uranium occurrence in private wells in Connecticut, 2013–18—A spatially weighted and bedrock geology assessment

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Connecticut Department of Public Health, conducted a study to determine the presence of arsenic and uranium in private drinking water wells in Connecticut. Samples were collected during 2013–18 from wells completed in 115 geologic units, with 2,433 samples analyzed for arsenic and 2,191 samples analyzed for uranium. The study concluded four major
Authors
Eliza L. Gross, Craig J. Brown

Meeting the challenge: U.S. Geological Survey North Atlantic and Appalachian Region fiscal year 2020 in review

The utilization, preservation, and conservation of the Nation’s resources requires well-informed management decisions. The North Atlantic and Appalachian Region (NAAR) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) supports science-based decision making for Federal, State, and local policymakers to meet the challenges of today and into the future. The science centers in the NAAR have well-deserved reputatio
Authors

Spatial and temporal patterns of low streamflow and precipitation changes in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Spatial and temporal patterns in low streamflows were investigated for 183 streamgages located in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed for the period 1939–2013. Metrics that represent different aspects of the frequency and magnitude of low streamflows were examined for trends: (1) the annual time series of seven‐day average minimum streamflow, (2) the scaled average deficit at or below the 2% mean daily s
Authors
Brandon J. Fleming, Stacey A. Archfield, Robert M. Hirsch, Julie E. Kiang, David M. Wolock

QCam: sUAS-based doppler radar for measuring river discharge

The U.S. Geological Survey is actively investigating remote sensing of surface velocity and river discharge (discharge) from satellite-, high altitude-, small, unmanned aircraft systems- (sUAS or drone), and permanent (fixed) deployments. This initiative is important in ungaged basins and river reaches that lack the infrastructure to deploy conventional streamgaging equipment. By coupling alternat
Authors
John W. Fulton, Isaac E. Anderson, C.-L. Chiu, Wolfram Sommer, Josip Adams, Tommaso Moramarco, David M. Bjerklie, Janice M. Fulford, Jeff L. Sloan, Heather Best, Jeffrey S. Conaway, Michelle J. Kang, Michael S. Kohn, Matthew J. Nicotra, Jeremy J. Pulli

Development of a suite of functional immune assays and initial assessment of their utility in wild smallmouth bass health assessments

Methods were developed for measuring immune function in Micropterus dolomieu (smallmouth bass). The ultimate objective is to monitor and evaluate changes over time in immune status and disease resistance in conjunction with other characteristics of fish health and environmental stressors. To test these methods for utility in ecotoxicological studies, 192 smallmouth bass, age 2 years and older, wer
Authors
Cheyenne R. Smith, Christopher A. Ottinger, Heather L. Walsh, Vicki S. Blazer

Hydro-climatic drought in the Delaware River Basin

The Delaware River Basin (DRB) supplies water to approximately 15 million people and is essential to agriculture and industry. In this study, a monthly water balance model is used to compute monthly water balance components (i.e., potential evapotranspiration, actual evapotranspiration, and runoff [R]) for the DRB for the 1901 through 2015 period. Water‐year R is used to identify drought periods i
Authors
Gregory J. McCabe, David M. Wolock

Groundwater quality in relation to drinking water health standards and hydrogeologic and geochemical characteristics for 47 domestic wells in Potter County, Pennsylvania, 2017

As part of a regional effort to characterize groundwater in rural areas of Pennsylvania, water samples from 47 domestic wells in Potter County were collected from May through September 2017. The sampled wells had depths ranging from 33 to 600 feet in sandstone, shale, or siltstone aquifers. Groundwater samples were analyzed for physicochemical properties that could be evaluated in relation to drin
Authors
Daniel G. Galeone, Charles A. Cravotta, Dennis W. Risser

Estimating streamflow and base flow within the nontidal Chesapeake Bay riverine system

Daily mean streamflow was estimated for all the nontidal parts of the Chesapeake Bay riverine system with the Unit Flows in Networks of Channels computer application using measured streamflow at the most downstream gage of selected rivers. The streamflows estimated by the Unit Flows in Networks of Channels computer application were aggregated at the 12-digit Hydrologic Unit Code level, after which
Authors
Patrick C. Buffington, Paul D. Capel

Groundwater quality in relation to drinking water health standards and geochemical characteristics for 54 domestic wells in Clinton County, Pennsylvania, 2017

Despite the reliance on groundwater by approximately 2.4 million rural Pennsylvania residents, publicly available data to characterize the quality of private well water are limited. As part of a regional effort to characterize groundwater in rural areas of Pennsylvania, samples from 54 domestic wells in Clinton County were collected and analyzed in 2017. The samples were evaluated for a wide range
Authors
John W. Clune, Charles A. Cravotta

Aquatic invasive species in the Chesapeake Bay drainage—Research-based needs and priorities of U.S. Geological Survey partners and collaborators

Executive SummaryThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is revising the Chesapeake Bay-based science plan to align it with recent U.S. Department of Interior and USGS science priorities that include, as stated in the plan, providing “an integrated understanding of the factors affecting fish habitat, fish health, and landscape conditions” in Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. A report of partner agencies
Authors
Christine L. Densmore

Sediment dynamics and implications for management: State of the science from long‐term research in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA

This review aims to synthesize the current knowledge of sediment dynamics using insights from long‐term research conducted in the watershed draining to the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the U.S., to inform management actions to restore the estuary and its watershed. The sediment dynamics of the Chesapeake are typical of many impaired watersheds and estuaries around the world, and this syn
Authors
Gregory B. Noe, Matt J. Cashman, Katherine Skalak, Allen C. Gellis, Kristina G. Hopkins, Doug L. Moyer, James S. Webber, Adam Benthem, Kelly O. Maloney, John Brakebill, Andrew Sekellick, Michael J. Langland, Qian Zhang, Gary W. Shenk, Jennifer L. D. Keisman, Cliff R. Hupp