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Publications

The majority of publications in this section address water resources in Utah or in bordering states. Some of the publications are included because one or more of the authors work at the Utah Water Science Center but have provided expertise to studies in other geographic areas.

Filter Total Items: 914

Estimation of baseflow and flooding characteristics for East Canyon Creek, Summit and Morgan Counties, Utah

An improved understanding of hydrologic responses to changing climatic conditions is needed to better inform water management practices. East Canyon Creek, a perennial, snowmelt-dominated stream in the Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah, is subjected to increasing development and demands on water in the Snyderville Basin and adjacent areas. In this study, streamflow and specific...
Authors
Jonathan Casey Root, Christine A. Rumsey

Using mercury and lead stable isotopes to assess mercury, lead, and trace metal source contributions to Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA

Great Salt Lake is a critical habitat for migratory birds that is threatened by elevated metal concentrations, including mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb), and is subject to severe hydrologic changes, such as declining lake level. When assessing metal profiles recorded in Great Salt Lake sediment, a large data gap exists regarding the sources of metals within the system, which is complicated by...
Authors
Samuel Francisco Lopez, Sarah Elizabeth Janssen, Michael Tate, Diego P. Fernandez, Christopher B. Anderson, Grace Jane Armstrong, Thomas Charng-Shuen Wang, William T.K. Johnson

Imperiled Great Basin terminal lakes: Synthesizing ecological and hydrological science gaps and research needs for waterbird conservation

Terminal lakes are declining globally because of human water demands, drought, and climate change. Through literature synthesis and feedback from the resource and conservation community, we review the state of research for terminal lakes in the Great Basin of the United States, which support millions of waterbirds annually, to prioritize ecological and hydrologic information needs. From...
Authors
Garth Herring, Ashley L. Whipple, Cameron L. Aldridge, Bryce Alan Pulver, Collin Eagles-Smith, Rich D. Inman, Elliott Matchett, Adrian Pierre-Frederic Monroe, Elizabeth Kari Orning, Benjamin Seward Robb, Jessica E. Shyvers, Bryan C. Tarbox, Nathan D. Van Schmidt, Cassandra Marie Smith, Matthew James Holloran, Cory T. Overton, David O'Leary, Michael L. Casazza, Rebecca J. Frus

Database of surface water diversion sites and daily withdrawals for the upper Colorado River Basin, 1980–2022

The Colorado River drains about 8% of the conterminous United States, provides water for 40 million people, and is one of the most overallocated rivers in the world. As the upper Colorado River Basin (UCOL) contributes an estimated 92% of the total basin natural streamflow, knowledge of the location and amount of surface water withdrawals in the UCOL is important for managing the...
Authors
Samuel Francisco Lopez, Jacob E. Knight, Fred D. Tillman, Melissa D. Masbruch, Daniel Wise, Casey J.R. Jones, Matthew Miller

Seasonally varying contributions of contemporaneous and lagged sources of instream total nitrogen and phosphorus load across the Illinois River basin

Quantifying nutrient sources in streams, their temporal and spatial variability, and drivers of that variability can support effective water resources management. Yet a lack of data and modeling capabilities has previously prevented comprehensive quantification across both space and time. Here a dynamic SPARROW (Spatially Referenced Regressions on Watershed attributes) model that...
Authors
Noah Schmadel, Olivia L. Miller, Scott Ator, Matthew Miller, Gregory E. Schwarz, Dale M. Robertson, Andrew J. Sekellick, Kenneth D. Skinner, David A. Saad

Dust in the Critical Zone: North American case studies

The dust cycle facilitates the exchange of particles among Earth's major systems, enabling dust to traverse ecosystems, cross geographic boundaries, and even move uphill against the natural flow of gravity. Dust in the atmosphere is composed of a complex and ever-changing mixture that reflects the evolving human footprint on the landscape. The emission, transport, and deposition of dust...
Authors
Janice Brahney, Ruth C. Heindel, Thomas E. Gill, Gregory Carling, Juan M Gonzalez-Olalla, Jenny L. Hand, Derek V. Mallia, Jeffrey S. Munroe, Kevin Perry, Annie L. Putman, S. McKenzie Skiles, Brad R. Adams, Zachary T. Aanderud, Sarah M. Aarons, Daniela Aguirre, Karin Ardon-Dryer, Molly Ann Blakowski, Jessie M. Creamean, Diego P. Fernandez, Hosein Foroutan, Cassandra J. Gaston, Maura Hahnenberger, Sebastian W. Hoch, Daniel K. Jones, Kerry E. Kelly, Otto I. Lang, Joshua J. LeMonte, Richard L. Reynolds, Ramesh K. Singh, Mark Sweeney, Thorn K. Merrill

Design, development, and implementation of IsoBank: A centralized repository for isotopic data

Stable isotope data have made pivotal contributions to nearly every discipline of the physical and natural sciences. As the generation and application of stable isotope data continues to grow exponentially, so does the need for a unifying data repository to improve accessibility and promote collaborative engagement. This paper provides an overview of the design, development, and...
Authors
Oliver N. Shipley, Anna J. Dabrowski, Gabriel J. Bowen, Brian Hayden, Jonathan N. Pauli, Christopher E. Jordan, Lesleigh Anderson, Adriana Bailey, Clement P. Bataille, Carla Cicero, Hilary G. Close, Craig Cook, Joseph A. Cook, Ankur R. Desai, Jaivime Evaristo, Tim R. Filley, Christine A.M. France, Sora Lee Kim, Sebastian H. Kopf, Julie Loisel, Philip J. Manlick, Jamie M. McFarlin, Bailey C. McMeans, Tamsin C. O'Connel, Brice X. Semmens, Chris Stantis, Paul Szejner, Suzanne E. Pilaar Birch, Annie L. Putman, Craig A. Stricker, Tara L.E. Trammell, Mark D. Uhen, Samantha Weintraub-Leff, Matthew J. Wooller, John H. Williams, Christopher T. Yarnes, Hanna B. Vander Zanden, Seth D. Newsome

Hydrogeologic conceptual model of groundwater occurrence and brine discharge to the Dolores River in the Paradox Valley, Montrose County, Colorado

Salinity, or total dissolved solids (TDS), of the Colorado River is a major concern in the southwestern United States where the river provides water to about 40 million people for municipal and industrial use and is used to irrigate about 5.5 million acres of land. Much of the salinity in the Colorado River Basin is derived from natural interactions of surface water and groundwater with...
Authors
Suzanne S. Paschke, M. Alisa Mast, Philip M. Gardner, Connor P. Newman, Kenneth R. Watts

Wildland fire effects on sediment, salinity, and selenium yields in a basin underlain by Cretaceous marine shales near Rangely, Colorado

Understanding and quantifying soil erosion from rangelands is a high priority for land managers, especially in areas underlain by Cretaceous Mancos Shale, which is a natural source of sediment, salinity, and selenium to surface waters in many areas of western Colorado and eastern Utah. The purpose of this report is to present the results of a U.S. Geological Survey study that assessed...
Authors
Natalie K. Day, Todd M. Preston, Patrick C. Longley

High resolution identification and quantification of diffuse deep groundwater discharge in mountain rivers using continuous boat-mounted helium measurements

Discharge of deeply sourced groundwater to streams is difficult to locate and quantify, particularly where both discrete and diffuse discharge points exist, but diffuse discharge is one of the primary controls on solute budgets in mountainous watersheds. The noble gas helium is a unique identifier of deep groundwater discharge because groundwater with long residence times is commonly...
Authors
Connor P. Newman, Eric Humphrey, Matthias Brennwald, W. Payton Gardner, Kelli M Palko, Michael N. Gooseff, Kip Solomon

Evaluating distributed snow model resolution and meteorology parameterizations against streamflow observations: Finer Is not always better

Estimating snow conditions is often done using numerical snowpack evolution models at spatial resolutions of 500 m and greater; however, snow depth in complex terrain often varies on sub-meter scales. This study investigated how the spatial distribution of simulated snow conditions varied across seven model spatial resolutions from 30 to 1,000 m and over two meteorological data sets...
Authors
Theodore B. Barnhart, Annie L. Putman, Aaron Joseph Heldmyer, David Matthew Rey, John Christopher Hammond, Jessica M. Driscoll, Graham A. Sexstone

Isotopic evaluation of the National Water Model reveals missing agricultural irrigation contributions to streamflow across the western United States

The National Water Model (NWM) provides critical analyses and projections of streamflow that support water management decisions. However, the NWM performs poorly in lower-elevation rivers of the western United States (US). The accuracy of the NWM depends on the fidelity of the model inputs and the representation and calibration of model processes and water sources. To evaluate the NWM...
Authors
Annie L. Putman, Patrick C. Longley, Morgan C. McDonnell, James E. Reddy, Michelle Patricia Katoski, Olivia L. Miller, J. Renée Brooks
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