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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: 2230

PCB source assessment in the lower Clinton River, Clinton River Area of Concern, Mount Clemens, Michigan

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), some of the earliest “forever chemicals,” were used for decades in the United States before 1979 when PCB manufacturing was banned. High PCB concentrations were found recently in the lower Clinton River in the Great Lakes drainage. To determine the possible existence, location, and significance of a current source of PCBs, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deploye
Authors
Barbara C. Scudder Eikenberry, Hayley Olds, Owen M. Stefaniak, David A. Alvarez

GRiMeDB: The Global River Database Methane Database of concentrations and fluxes

Despite their small spatial extent, fluvial ecosystems play a significant role in processing and transporting carbon in aquatic networks, which results in substantial emission of methane (CH4) into the atmosphere. For this reason, considerable effort has been put into identifying patterns and drivers of CH4 concentrations in streams and rivers and estimating fluxes to the atmosphere across broad s
Authors
Emily H. Stanley, Luke C. Loken, Nora J. Casson, Samantha K. Oliver, Ryan A. Sponseller, Marcus B. Wallin, Liwei Zhang, Gerard Rocher-Ros

A novel suspended-sediment sampling method: Depth-Integrated Grab (DIG)

Measuring suspended sediment in fluvial systems is critical to understanding and managing water resources. Sampling suspended sediment has been the primary means of understanding fluvial suspended sediment. Specialized samplers, sampling methods, and laboratory methods developed by select U.S. Federal Agencies are more representative of river and stream conditions than commonly used grab sampling
Authors
Joel T. Groten, Sara B. Levin, Erin N. Coenen, John (William) Lund, Gregory D. Johnson

Community cloud computing infrastructure to support equitable water research and education

No abstract available.
Authors
Anthony M. Castronova, Ayman Nassar, Wouter Knoben, Michael N. Fienen, Louise Arnal, Martyn Clark

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in United States tapwater: Comparison of underserved private-well and public-supply exposures and associated health implications

Drinking-water quality is a rising concern in the United States (US), emphasizing the need to broadly assess exposures and potential health effects at the point-of-use. Drinking-water exposures to per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a national concern, however, there is limited information on PFAS in residential tapwater at the point-of-use, especially from private-wells. We conducted
Authors
Kelly L. Smalling, Kristin M. Romanok, Paul M. Bradley, Matthew C. Morriss, James L. Gray, Leslie K. Kanagy, Stephanie Gordon, Brianna Williams, Sara E. Breitmeyer, Daniel Jones, Laura A. DeCicco, Collin Eagles-Smith, Tyler Wagner

Modeled predictions of human-associated and fecal-indicator bacteria concentrations and loadings in the Menomonee River, Wisconsin using in-situ optical sensors

Human sewage contamination of waterways is a major issue in the United States and throughout the world. Models were developed for estimation of two human-associated fecal-indicator and three general fecal-indicator bacteria (HIB and FIB) using in situ optical field-sensor data for estimating concentrations and loads of HIB and FIB and the extent of sewage contamination in the Menomonee River in Mi
Authors
Peter L. Lenaker, Steven R. Corsi, Laura A. DeCicco, Hayley T. Olds, Debra K. Dila, Mari Danz, Sandra L. McLellan, Troy D. Rutter

Evaluating pharmaceuticals and other organic contaminants in the Lac du Flambeau Chain of Lakes using risk-based screening techniques

In an investigation of pharmaceutical contamination in the Lac du Flambeau Chain of Lakes (hereafter referred to as “the Chain”), few contaminants were detected; only eight pharmaceuticals and one pesticide were identified among the 110 pharmaceuticals and other organic contaminants monitored in surface water samples. This study, conducted in cooperation with the Lac du Flambeau Tribe’s Water Reso
Authors
Matthew A. Pronschinske, Steven R. Corsi, Celeste Hockings

Groundwater residence times in glacial aquifers—A new general simulation-model approach compared to conventional inset models

Groundwater is important as a drinking-water source and for maintaining base flow in rivers, streams, and lakes. Groundwater quality can be predicted, in part, by its residence time in the subsurface, but the residence-time distribution cannot be measured directly and must be inferred from models. This report compares residence-time distributions from four areas where groundwater flow and travel t
Authors
J. Jeffrey Starn, Leon J. Kauffman, Daniel T. Feinstein

State of the science and decision support for measuring suspended sediment with acoustic instrumentation

Acoustic instrumentation can be used to provide time-series and discrete estimates of suspended-sediment concentration, load, and sediment particle sizes in fluvial systems, which are essential for creating informed solutions to many sediment-related environmental, engineering, and land management concerns. Historically, scientists have developed relations between suspended sediment characteristic
Authors
Molly S. Wood, Joel T. Groten, Timothy D. Straub, Dan R.W. Haught, Ronald E. Griffiths, Justin A. Boldt, Zulimar Lucena, Jeb E. Brown, Steven E. Suttles, Patrick J. Dickhudt

Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in Pennsylvania surface waters: A statewide assessment, associated sources, and land-use relations

The objectives of this study are to identify per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Pennsylvania surface waters, corresponding associations with potential sources of PFAS contamination (PSOC) and other parameters, and compare raw surface water concentrations to human and ecological benchmarks. Surface water samples from 161 streams were collected in September 2019 and were analyzed for 33 t
Authors
Sara E. Breitmeyer, Amy Williams, Joseph W. Duris, Lee W. Eicholtz, Dustin R. Shull, Timothy A. Wertz, Emily Woodward

Study design and methods of the Wells and Enteric disease Transmission (WET) Trial, a randomised controlled trial

Introduction: The burden of disease attributed to drinking water from private wells is not well characterised. The Wells and Enteric disease Transmission trial is the first randomised controlled trial to estimate the burden of disease that can be attributed to the consumption of untreated private well water. To estimate the attributable incidence of gastrointestinal illness (GI) associated with pr
Authors
Debbie Lee, Donna Denno, Phil Tarr, Jingwei Wu, Joel P. Stokdyk, Mark A. Borchardt, Heather Murphy

New capabilities in MT3D-USGS for simulating unsaturated-zone heat transport

Changes in climate and land use will alter groundwater heat transport dynamics in the future. These changes will in turn affect watershed processes (e.g., nutrient cycling) as well as watershed characteristics (e.g., distribution and persistence of cold-water habitat). Thus, groundwater flow and heat transport models at watershed scales that can characterize and quantify thermal impacts of surfac
Authors
Eric D. Morway, Daniel T. Feinstein, Randall J. Hunt, Richard W. Healy