Publications
Browse the map above to filter and view publications by location. All of our publications are available through the USGS Publications Warehouse. USGS publications and journal articles by scientists of the Washington Water Science Center are listed below.
Filter Total Items: 776
Naturally occurring uranium in groundwater in northeastern Washington State
Uranium is a radioactive element (radionuclide) that occurs naturally in rock, soil, and water, usually in low concentrations. Radionuclides are unstable atoms with excess energy and as radionuclides decay, they emit radiation. The uranium decay sequence also includes other radionuclides of concern such as radium and radon. This fact sheet addresses naturally occurring uranium in groundwater in no
Authors
Sue C. Kahle
A conceptual framework for the identification and characterization of lacustrine spawning habitats for native lake charr Salvelinus namaycush
Lake charr Salvelinus namaycush are endemic to the formerly glaciated regions of North America and spawn primarily in lakes, unlike most other Salmoninae. Spawning habitats for lake charr are thought to be characterized by relatively large substrate particle sizes which provide sufficient interstitial spaces for egg incubation, but little is known about the physical processes that create or mainta
Authors
Stephen Riley, J. E. Marsden, M. S. Ridgway, Christopher Konrad, Steve A. Farha, Thomas R. Binder, Trevor A. Middel, Peter C. Esselman, Charles C. Krueger
Multivariate analysis of hydrochemical data for Jewel Cave, Wind Cave, and surrounding areas
Jewel Cave National Monument and Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota contain two of the six longest caves worldwide. These caves contain subterranean lakes that are important points of intersection between the water table of the Madison aquifer and the caves. During 2015 to 2017, several subterranean lakes were discovered in Jewel Cave, which previously was thought to be above the regional wat
Authors
Andrew J. Long, James B. Paces, William G. Eldridge
Analysis of groundwater response to tidal fluctuations, Operable Unit 1, Naval Base Kitsap, Keyport, Washington
Chlorinated volatile organic compounds have affected groundwater beneath a former 9-acre landfill at Operable Unit 1 (OU 1) of Naval Base Kitsap (NBK) Keyport, in Keyport, Washington. The landfill was the primary disposal area for domestic and industrial waste generated by NBK Keyport from the 1930s through 1973. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest, in conjunction with the Environmental
Authors
Chad C. Opatz, Richard S. Dinicola
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, and metals in ambient sediment at mussel biomonitoring sites, Puget Sound, Washington
Caged mussels used as biomonitors can provide insights about ambient contaminant assemblages and spatial patterns, sources of contaminants, and contaminant exposure risks for consumers of wild and farmed mussels. This study explored the potential role of ambient sediment in the uptake of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and potentially toxic inorganic elem
Authors
Renee K. Takesue, Pamela L. Campbell‐Swarzenski, Kathleen E. Conn
Survey of bioaccessible pyrethroid insecticides and sediment toxicity in urban streams of the northeast United States
Pyrethroids are a class of widely-used insecticides that can be transported from terrestrial applications to aquatic systems via runoff and tend to sorb to organic carbon in sediments. Pyrethroid occurrence is detrimental to stream ecosystems due to toxicity to sediment-dwelling invertebrates which are particularly at risk of pyrethroid exposure in urban streams. In this work, 49 streams located i
Authors
Kara E. Huff-Hartz, Samuel A. Nutile, Courtney Y. Fung, Federico L. Sinche, Patrick W. Moran, Peter C. Van Metre, Lisa H. Nowell, Michael J. Lydy
Estimating minimum streamflow from measurements at ungauged sites in regions with streamflow‐gauging networks
Estimation of low flows in rivers continues to be a vexing problem despite advances
in statistical and process‐based hydrological models. We develop a method to
estimate minimum streamflow at seasonal to annual timescales from measured
streamflow based on regional similarity in the deviations of daily streamflow from
minimum streamflow for a period of interest. The method is applied to 1,019 gauge
Authors
Christopher P. Konrad
Seasonal precipitation influences streamflow vulnerability to the 2015 drought in the western United States
Streamflow was exceptionally low in the spring and summer of 2015 across much of the western United States because of a regional drought that exploited the sensitivity of both snow- and rain-dominant rivers. Streamflow during 2015 was examined at 324 gauges in the region to assess its response to the amount, form, and seasonal timing of precipitation and the viability of using spatially aggregated
Authors
Christopher Konrad
Data management plan for the U.S. Geological Survey Washington Water Science Center
The primary mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Mission Area is to collect and disseminate reliable, impartial, and timely information needed to understand the water resources of the Nation, including data on streamflow, groundwater, water quality, water use, and availability. Management of data throughout the entire data lifecycle is necessary to meet the mission and maintain the U
Authors
Kathleen E. Conn, Mark C. Mastin, Andrew J. Long, Richard S. Dinicola, Cynthia Barton
Sediment storage and transport in the Nooksack River basin, northwestern Washington, 2006–15
The Nooksack River is a dynamic gravel-bedded river in northwestern Washington, draining off Mount Baker and the North Cascades into Puget Sound. Working in cooperation with the Whatcom County Flood Control Zone District, the U.S. Geological Survey studied topographic, hydrologic, and climatic data for the Nooksack River basin to document recent changes in sediment storage, long-term bed elevation
Authors
Scott W. Anderson, Christopher P. Konrad, Eric E. Grossman, Christopher A. Curran
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Pacific sand lance, Puget Sound, Washington
Forage fish are small, abundant, schooling planktivores that form a critical link in marine food webs by transferring energy from plankton up to birds, fishes, and marine mammals. Forage fishes in Puget Sound include the iconic Pacific herring as well as lesser known species such as surf smelt and the Pacific sand lance. There are significant knowledge gaps regarding the basic life history and p
Authors
Theresa Liedtke, Kathleen Conn, Richard Dinicola, Renee Takesue
The natural wood regime in rivers
The natural wood regime forms the third leg of a tripod of physical processes that supports river science and management, along with the natural flow and sediment regimes. The wood regime consists of wood recruitment, transport, and storage in river corridors. Each of these components can be characterized in terms of magnitude, frequency, rate, timing, duration, and mode. We distinguish the natura
Authors
Ellen Wohl, Natalie Kramer, Virgina Ruiz-Villanueva, Daniel Scott, F. Comiti, Angela M Gurnell, Hervé Piégay, Katherine B. Lininger, Kristin Jaeger, David Walters, Kurt D. Fausch