Publications

A novel application of a commonly used statistical approach was used to examine differences in polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congener Patterns among locations and sample matrices in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) nesting in the Housatonic River watershed in western Massachusetts. USA. The most prevalent PCB congeners in tree swallow tissue samples from the Housatonic River...

In 1990, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed a study of the hydrogeology of Huron County, Michigan (Sweat, 1991). In 1993, Huron County and the USGS entered into a continuing agreement to measure water levels at selected wells throughout Huron County. As part of the agreement, USGS has operated four continuous water-level recorders, installed from 1988 to 1991 on wells in Bingham

As part of the Lake St. Clair Regional Monitoring Project, the U.S. Geological Survey evaluated data collected from surficial streambed and lakebed sediments in the Lake Erie-Lake St. Clair drainages. This study incorporates data collected from 1990 through 2003 and focuses primarily on the U.S. part of the Lake St. Clair Basin, including Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair River, and...

Nagawicka Lake is a 986-acre, usually mesotrophic, calcareous lake in southeastern Wisconsin. Because of concern over potential water-quality degradation of the lake associated with further development in its watershed, a study was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey from 2002 to 2006 to describe the water quality and hydrology of the lake; quantify sources of phosphorus, including...

Turbulent shear stress in the boundary layer of a natural river system largely controls the deposition and resuspension of sediment, as well as the longevity and effectiveness of granular-material caps used to cover and isolate contaminated sediments. This report documents measurements and calculations made in order to estimate shear stress and shear velocity on the Lower Fox River...

The ground-water resource potential of Chippewa Township, Isabella County, Mich. was characterized on the basis of existing hydrogeologic data, water-level records, analyses of water samples, and interpretation of geophysical survey data. Eight ground-water samples were collected and analyzed for major ions, nutrients, and trace-metal composition. In addition, 10 direct current...

Nitrogen (N) has been linked to increasing eutrophication in the Gulf of Mexico and as a result there is increased interest in managing and improving water quality in the Mississippi River system. Water level reductions, or 'drawdowns', are being used more frequently in large river impoundments to improve vegetation growth and sediment compaction. We selected two areas of the Upper...

Survival and reproduction directly affect population growth rate (lambda) making lambda a fundamental parameter for assessing habitat quality. We used field data, literature review, and a computer simulation to predict annual productivity and lambda for several species of landbirds breeding in floodplain and upland forests in the Midwestern United States. We monitored 1735 nests of 27...

We examined data collected on fish assemblage structure among three differing floodplain types (broad, moderate, and narrow) during the 1993 flood in the unimpounded reach of the upper Mississippi River. This 500 year flood event provided a unique opportunity to investigate fish-floodplain function because the main river channel is otherwise typically disjunct from approximately 82% of...

Hydrograph separations were performed using the PART, HYSEP 1, 2, and 3, BFLOW and UKIH methods on 104,293 years of daily streamflow records from 3,936 streamflow-gaging stations in Ontario, Canada and the eight Great Lakes States of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin to estimate base-flow index (BFI) and base flow. BFI ranged an average...

This report describes the Great Lakes hydrologic system and methods used to quantify individual components of the water balance. Potential sources of uncertainty are identified and, where appropriate, alternate or additional data, models, and estimation methods suitable for reducing uncertainties are discussed. Finally, approximate uncertainties of all components are identified, compared...

Population growth and commercial and industrial development in the Red River of the North Basin in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota have prompted the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior, to evaluate sources of water to sustain this growth. Nine surficial-glacial (surficial) aquifers (Buffalo, Middle River, Two Rivers, Beach Ridges, Pelican River, Otter Tail...