Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
Publications
Browse more than 150,000 publications authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS. Publications available are: USGS-authored journal articles, series reports, book chapters, other government publications, and more.
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center Publications
Groundwater-quality and select quality-control data from the National Water-Quality Assessment Project, January 2017 through December 2019
Groundwater-quality environmental data were collected from 983 wells as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Project of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Program and are included in this report. The data were collected from six types of well networks: principal aquifer study networks, which are used to assess the quality...
Kingsbury, James A.; Bexfield, Laura M.; Arnold, Terri; Musgrove, MaryLynn; Erickson, Melinda L.; Degnan, James R.; Tesoriero, Anthony J.; Lindsey, Bruce D.; Belitz, KennethMapping climate change vulnerability of aquatic-riparian ecosystems using decision-relevant indicators
Climate change has and is projected to continue to alter historical regimes of temperature, precipitation, and hydrology. To assess the vulnerability of climate change from a land management perspective and spatially identify where the most extreme changes are anticipated to occur, we worked in collaboration with land managers to develop a climate...
Delaney, John Thomas; Bouska, Kristen L.; Eash, Josh D; Heglund, Patricia J.; Allstadt, Andrew AExamining historical mercury sources in the Saint Louis River estuary: How legacy contamination influences biological mercury levels in Great Lakes coastal regions
Industrial chemical contamination within coastal regions of the Great Lakes can pose serious risks to wetland habitat and offshore fisheries, often resulting in fish consumption advisories that directly affect human and wildlife health. Mercury (Hg) is a contaminant of concern in many of these highly urbanized and industrialized coastal...
Janssen, Sarah E.; Hoffman, Joel C.; Lepak, Ryan F.; Krabbenhoft, David P.; Walters, David; Eagles-Smith, Collin; Peterson, Greg; Ogorek, Jacob M.; DeWild, John F.; Cotter, Anne M; Pearson, Mark; Tate, Michael T.; Yeardley, Roger B.; Mills, Marc A.U.S. Geological Survey migratory bird science, 2020–21
Bird conservation as an endeavor engages a broad range of partners and a coordinated effort across State and Federal agencies, nongovernment organizations, universities and, at times, international partnerships. To understand information needs and respond to the many challenges in bird conservation, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists...
Pearse, Aaron T.; Sherfy, Mark H.; Wimer, Mark; Khalil, Mona; Wiltermuth, MarkAvoidance behavior of cold-, cool-, and warm-water fish species to Zequanox®, a biopesticide for dreissenid mussel control
Zequanox® is a biopesticide registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency for controlling dreissenid mussels with demonstrated selective toxicity. However, some research has indicated that Zequanox may impact the body condition and survival of some non-target species. We assessed...
Barbour, Matthew T.; Luoma, James A.; Severson, Todd J.; Wise, Jeremy K.; Bennie, BarbaraHydrographic and benthic mapping—St. Croix National Scenic Riverway—Osceola landing
High-resolution topographic and bathymetric mapping can assist in the analysis of river habitat. The National Park Service has been planning to relocate a boat ramp along the St. Croix River in Minnesota, across the river from the town of Osceola, Wisconsin, to improve visitor safety, improve operations for commercial use, enhance the overall...
Hanson, Jenny L.; Strange, Jayme M.Re‐purposing groundwater flow models for age assessments ‐‐ important characteristics
Groundwater flow model construction is often time‐consuming and costly, with development ideally focused on a specific purpose, such as quantifying well capture from water bodies or providing flow fields for simulating advective transport. As environmental challenges evolve, the incentive to re‐purpose existing groundwater flow models may increase...
Juckem, Paul F.; Starn, J. JeffreyNational-scale reservoir thermal energy storage pre-assessment for the United States
The U.S. Geological Survey is performing a pre-assessment of the cooling potential for reservoir thermal energy storage (RTES) in five generalized geologic regions (Basin and Range, Coastal Plains, Illinois Basin, Michigan Basin, Pacific Northwest) across the United States. Reservoir models are developed for the metropolitan areas of eight cities...
Pepin, Jeff D.; Burns, Erick; Dickinson, Jesse E.; Duncan, Leslie L.; Kuniansky, Eve L.; Reeves, Howard W.Estimation of suspended sediment at a discontinued streamgage on the lower Minnesota River at Fort Snelling State Park, Minnesota
In the spring of 2019, ice sheets transported down-stream during a large streamflow rise event in the lower Minnesota River destroyed an index-velocity streamgage at the Minnesota River at Fort Snelling State Park, Minnesota (U.S. Geological Survey station 05330920; hereafter referred to as “Ft. Snelling”). The streamgage previously used an...
Groten, Joel T.; Hendrickson, Jon S.; Loomis, Linda R.Songbird use of interior and edge floodplain forest sites along the Upper Mississippi River, USA, during spring migration and breeding seasons
Floodplain forests of large rivers in the midwestern United States are naturally fragmented by sloughs, backwaters, wetlands, and shrub carr. On the highly altered Upper Mississippi River (UMR), resource managers want to protect and manage floodplain forests to benefit forest “interior” bird species. To discover bird relations with interior and...
Kirsch, Eileen M.; Gray, Brian R.Summary of fish communities along Underwood Creek, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 2004–2019
Beginning in 2010, sections of Underwood Creek in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, have undergone reconstruction to allow for improved fish habitat and better management of storm flows. In addition, dam and drop structures were removed to help improve fish migration while reintroducing several native fish species. With the reconstruction of Underwood...
Bell, Amanda H.; Sullivan, Daniel J.; Eikenberry, Barbara C. ScudderSummary of available data from the monarch overwintering colonies in central Mexico, 1976–1991
Historical estimates of the area occupied by overwintering Danaus plexippus (monarchs) in central Mexico (between winters of 1976 and 1991) were published in García-Serrano and others (2004) and more recently in Mawdsley and others (2020). Our primary objectives were to identify the specific data that informed those estimates and, importantly,...
Zylstra, Erin R; Thogmartin, Wayne E.; Ramirez, M. Isabel; Zipkin, Elise F.