Publications
This list of Upper Midwest Water Science Center publications spans from 1899 to present. It includes both official USGS publications and journal articles authored by our scientists. To access the full, searchable catalog of USGS publications, please visit the USGS Publications Warehouse.
Filter Total Items: 2293
Groundwater budget for the surficial aquifer surrounding Lake Nokomis, Minneapolis, Minnesota
During prolonged periods of above-average precipitation, rising groundwater levels have the potential to cause damage to and interfere with underground infrastructure and building foundations. To understand the relations between precipitation and groundwater in the vicinity of Lake Nokomis, the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with the University of Minnesota, quantified five...
Authors
Colin T. Livdahl
Suspended sediment and bedload transport along the Main and South Branches, Wild Rice River, northwestern Minnesota, 1979 through 2023
The geologic history and anthropogenic modifications of Minnesota’s Wild Rice River have caused major morphological adjustments, which induce erosion and excess fluvial sediment transport. The excess sediment deposits in the lower Wild Rice River, exacerbating flooding. To help mitigate these problems, the Wild Rice Watershed District has future plans to implement a river restoration on...
Authors
Joel T. Groten, Sara B. Levin, Gerald G. Storey, Erin N. Coenen, Jim D. Blount, J. William Lund, David J. Brannon
Sediment nutrient dynamics in selected Milwaukee metropolitan area streams, Wisconsin, 2022
The U.S. Geological Survey and Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District in Wisconsin have an ongoing partnership to monitor water quality in streams in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and to assess the effects of stream restoration on habitat and water quality. Because sediment nutrient dynamics can improve or further impair water quality, we measured sediment nitrogen and phosphorus...
Authors
Rebecca M. Kreiling, Lynn A. Bartsch, Kenna J. Gierke, Patrik M. Perner, Faith A. Fitzpatrick, Hayley T. Olds
Sulfate reduction drives elevated methylmercury formation in water column of eutrophic freshwater lake
Mercury (Hg) contamination of aquatic food webs is controlled in part by the formation and accumulation of toxic and bioaccumulative methylmercury (MeHg). MeHg production is mediated by metabolically diverse microorganisms carrying the hgcAB gene pair, while the demethylation reaction is mediated by several biotic and abiotic processes. However, the relative importance of these two...
Authors
Benjamin D. Peterson, Sarah E. Janssen, Brett A. Poulin, Jacob M. Ogorek, Amber White, Elizabeth A. McDaniel, Robert A. Marick, Grace Jane Armstrong, Nicholas D. Scheel, Michael T. Tate, David P. Krabbenhoft, Katherine D. McMahon
A model uncertainty quantification protocol for evaluating the value of observation data
The history-matching approach to parameter estimation with models enables a powerful offshoot analysis of data worth—using the uncertainty of a model forecast as a metric for the worth of data. Adding observation data will either have no impact on forecast uncertainty or will reduce it. Removing existing data will either have no impact on forecast uncertainty or will increase it. The...
Authors
Michael N. Fienen, Laura A. Schachter, Randall J. Hunt
Peak streamflow trends in Minnesota and their relation to changes in climate, water years 1921–2020
This report chapter summarizes the effect of hydroclimatic variability of annual peak streamflow in Minnesota and is part of a larger U.S. Geological Survey multistate study to assess potential nonstationarity in annual peak streamflows across the Midwest. Spatial and temporal patterns were examined for nonstationarity in annual peak streamflow, daily mean streamflow, and modeled...
Authors
Tara Williams-Sether, Chris Sanocki
Mercury speciation and stable isotopes in emperor penguins: First evidence for biochemical demethylation of methylmercury to mercury-dithiolate and mercury-tetraselenolate complexes
Apex marine predators, such as toothed whales and large petrels and albatrosses, ingest mercury (Hg) primarily in the form of methylmercury (MeHg) via prey consumption, which they detoxify as tiemannite (HgSe). One of the most intriguing current questions in Hg research is how more abundant lower trophic level predators detoxify MeHg, particularly in marine environments where tissue Hg...
Authors
Alain Manceau, Paco Bustamante, Etienne Richy, Yves Cherel, Sarah E. Janssen, Pieter Glatzel, Brett A. Poulin
Hydrogeomorphic history, hydrodynamic conditions, and simulations of water levels and velocities from varying lake levels and streamflow for the Sheboygan Rivermouth and area of concern, Wisconsin
In 2011–13, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a study of the hydrogeomorphic setting and hydrodynamic conditions of the lower Sheboygan River and island complex within the backwater zone of Lake Michigan. Analyses of historical aerial photographs from 1938–2010 indicated that the Wildwood Islands complex had experienced mainly erosion and what was mainly one island in 1938 had...
Authors
Faith A. Fitzpatrick, Stephen, M. Westenbroek, Paul C. Reneau, James D. Blount
Uranium mining, the Grand Canyon region, and the science of an ecosystem
Illustration of U.S. Geological Survey science at breccia pipe mines in the Grand Canyon region. The upper left portion shows a cross section of a breccia pipe and rock layers (far upper left) in a panoramic view of the Grand Canyon with upper right depicting rock pinnacles the Havasupai Tribe call Wi’i Gileeva. The right portion depicts a spring. The Colorado River bisects the...
Authors
Benjamin J. Siebers
Using machine learning in Minnesota’s StreamStats to predict fluvial sediment
A thorough understanding of fluvial sediment transport is essential for addressing key environmental issues such as aquatic habitat degradation, flooding, excess nutrients, and challenges with river restoration. Fluvial sediment samples are valuable for addressing these concerns, but their collection is often impractical across all rivers and timeframes of interest. In addition...
Authors
Joel T. Groten, J. William Lund, Erin N. Coenen, Andrea S. Medenblik, Harper N. Wavra, Mike Kennedy, Gregory D. Johnson
A comprehensive assessment of membrane bioreactor contaminant removal efficacy through analytical chemistry, fish exposures, and microbiome characterization
Treated municipal wastewater effluent is an important pathway for Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC) to enter aquatic ecosystems. As the aging wastewater infrastructure in many industrialized countries requires upgrades or replacement, assessing new treatment technologies in the context of CEC effects may provide additional support for science-based resource management. Here, we used...
Authors
Charles H. Christen, Sarah M. Elliott, Richard L. Kiesling, Alissa VanDenBoom, Satomi Kohno, Carrie E Givens, Heiko L. Schoenfuss
Using hydrogeologic context and water budgets to evaluate the potential for groundwater contributions to contaminants in Lake Superior
This study presents a synthesis of the hydrogeology in the U.S. Lake Superior watershed and the contribution of groundwater to the water budget of the U.S. Lake Superior basin. Much of the shoreline of Lake Superior in Minnesota and Michigan is composed of hydrogeologic units contributing very little direct groundwater discharge to the lake. Groundwater in watersheds adjacent to the lake...
Authors
Martha G. Nielsen, Sherry Lynn Martin