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Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center

Welcome to the USGS Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center, your source for water-resource data and information.

News

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USGS Media Alert: USGS crews continue to measure and assess Yellowstone River flood conditions and probabilities

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Environmental DNA Research Sheds Light on Invasive Species

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Bakken Shale unconventional oil and gas production has not caused widespread hydrocarbon contamination to date in groundwater used for water supply

Publications

Interim guidance for calibration checks on a submersible acoustic backscatter sediment sensor

Over the past two decades, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and other agencies have pioneered the use of active acoustic sensors to monitor suspended-sediment concentrations and particle sizes in rivers and streams at the subdaily time scale. The LISST-ABS submersible acoustic backscatter sediment sensor (or “ABS sensor”) was developed by Sequoia Scientific, Inc., as an alternative to turbidity s
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Jason S. Alexander, Jonathan P. O'Connell, Jeb E. Brown

U.S. Geological Survey and Blackfeet Water Department Hydrologic Assessment of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Montana

The Blackfeet Nation seeks an increased scientific understanding of the water resources within the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of northwestern Montana. Hydrologic information is needed to better inform water-management decisions as the Blackfeet Nation implements the Blackfeet Water Rights Compact, initiates new water-use projects, and improves the Blackfeet Irrigation Project.The U.S. Geological
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Sean M. Lawlor, Rodney R. Caldwell, Timothy T. Bartos, Brett Price

Algal amendment enhances biogenic methane production from coals of different thermal maturity

The addition of small amounts of algal biomass to stimulate methane production in coal seams is a promising low carbon renewable coalbed methane enhancement technique. However, little is known about how the addition of algal biomass amendment affects methane production from coals of different thermal maturity. Here, we show that biogenic methane can be produced from five coals ranging in rank from
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George A. Platt, Katherine J. Davis, Hannah D. Schweitzer, Heidi J. Smith, Matthew W. Fields, Elliott Barnhart, Robin Gerlach

Science

Wildfires and Water Quality in Montana

The WY-MT WSC is collaborating with the USGS Water Mission Area and other federal and state partners to quantify and understand the effects wildfires have on water quality. These findings provide high value datasets to researchers and assist resource managers with decision making in fire-prone landscapes throughout Wyoming and Montana. Two watersheds are currently being studied in Montana. Each...
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Wildfires and Water Quality in Montana

The WY-MT WSC is collaborating with the USGS Water Mission Area and other federal and state partners to quantify and understand the effects wildfires have on water quality. These findings provide high value datasets to researchers and assist resource managers with decision making in fire-prone landscapes throughout Wyoming and Montana. Two watersheds are currently being studied in Montana. Each...
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Future Streamflow Estimates for Tongue River to Enable Northern Cheyenne Data Driven Water Management and Planning

Atmospheric warming is driving: - a shift in precipitation from snow to rain - changing precipitation intensity and seasonality - increasing atmospheric demand for moisture in mountain river watersheds across the western United States (Seager and others, 2015). These changes will likely alter the timing and quantity of streamflow in rivers draining mountains. The Tongue River flows from the...
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Future Streamflow Estimates for Tongue River to Enable Northern Cheyenne Data Driven Water Management and Planning

Atmospheric warming is driving: - a shift in precipitation from snow to rain - changing precipitation intensity and seasonality - increasing atmospheric demand for moisture in mountain river watersheds across the western United States (Seager and others, 2015). These changes will likely alter the timing and quantity of streamflow in rivers draining mountains. The Tongue River flows from the...
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New Groundwater Monitoring Wells Installed on the Blackfeet Reservation, Montana

A cooperative effort by the Blackfeet Water Department, the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, and the U.S. Geological Survey has resulted in the drilling and instrumentation of a nested pair of new groundwater observation wells on the Blackfeet Reservation of northwest Montana. These wells are included in the USGS’s National Ground-Water Monitoring Network.
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New Groundwater Monitoring Wells Installed on the Blackfeet Reservation, Montana

A cooperative effort by the Blackfeet Water Department, the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, and the U.S. Geological Survey has resulted in the drilling and instrumentation of a nested pair of new groundwater observation wells on the Blackfeet Reservation of northwest Montana. These wells are included in the USGS’s National Ground-Water Monitoring Network.
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