Publications

Mercury can adversely affect humans and wildlife through consumption of contaminated fish, particularly by sensitive individuals, such as children and women of childbearing age. Mercury is currently the leading cause of impairment in the Nation’s estuaries and lakes and was cited in nearly 80 percent of fish-consumption advisories (2,242 of 2,838) reported by states in 2000. The...

No abstract available.

Acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP) were used to measure flow velocities in St. Clair River during a survey in May and June of 2002, as part of a study to assess the susceptibility of public water intakes to contaminants on the St. Clair-Detroit River Waterway. The survey provides 2.7 million point velocity measurements at 104 cross sections. Sections are spaced about 1,630 ft...

No abstract available.

A reconnaissance-level assessment to characterize total mercury and methylmercury concentrations during summer lowflow conditions was conducted in the St. Croix River Basin during July 2000 through October 2001. Samples were collected at 6 main stem and 16 tributary sites. Loads of total mercury and methylmercury increased in the St. Croix River main stem between Nevers Dam and Franconia...

Water-resources data for the 2002 water year for Wisconsin include records of streamflow at gaging stations, partial record stations, and miscellaneous sites, records of precipitation, and records of chemical, biological, and physical characteristics of surface water. In addition, water levels in observation wells are reported. These data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in...

No abstract available.

Shallow ground-water flow in the vicinity of Silver Lake, Washington County, Wisconsin, was investigated to develop an understanding of the hydrology of the shallow aquifer, define a water balance for the lake, delineate ground-water recharge areas for the lake, and to estimate solute flux toward the lake. A single-layer, steady-state, analytic-element model was used to simulate shallow...

The effects of shoreline development on water quality and nutrient yields in nearshore areas of four lakes in northern Wisconsin were investigated from October 1999 through September 2001. The study measured surface runoff and ground-water flows from paired developed (sites containing lawn, rooftops, sidewalks, and driveways) and undeveloped (mature and immature woods) catchments...

Mercury contamination of aquatic ecosystems is a resource concern in Voyageurs National Park. High concentrations of mercury in fish pose a potential risk to organisms that consume large amounts of those fish. During 2000–02, the U.S. Geological Survey measured mercury in water collected from 20 lakes in Voyageurs National Park. Those lakes span a gradient in fish-mercury concentrations...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the city of Big Rapids, investigated the environmental effects of removal of a dam-foundation remnant and downstream cofferdam from the Muskegon River in Big Rapids, Mich. The USGS applied a multidiscipline approach, which determined the water quality, sediment character, and stream habitat before and after dam removal. Continuous...

The Red Cedar Lakes consist of three mainstem lakes (Balsam, Hemlock and Red Cedar) on the Red Cedar River in Barron and Washburn Counties, Wisconsin. These lakes are productive because of high phosphorus loading, and classified as mesotrophic to eutrophic. Because of concerns that the water quality of these lakes was degrading, three cooperative studies were conducted by the U.S...