Publications

Study region: The upper Gallatin River watershed, an alpine headwater system in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, in Wyoming and Montana. Study focus: As global and regional air temperatures rise, mountain headwaters across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) are projected to see more precipitation falling as rain. While the hydrologic effects of this snow-to-rain transition depends...

Purpose Eutrophication and nuisance filamentous algal blooms (i.e. Cladophora) are increasingly common occurrences throughout much of the western United States. Wildfire may be contributing to the frequency and magnitude of algal blooms through excess sediment and nutrient loading to streams and rivers. Our objective was to evaluate the effects the 2021 Woods Creek Fire had on sediment...

Use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the petroleum industry could be a cause for concern due to the large volumes of produced water (PW) generated during oil and gas extraction, the reuse of these wastes in water-stressed regions, and adverse health outcomes related to PFAS exposures. However, PW PFAS characterization is nearly absent in the literature, and hydraulic...

Headwater streams play critical roles in hydrologic and biogeochemical processes and functions, yet their spatial distribution and land cover context remain poorly understood at continental scales, and no dedicated geospatial dataset exists. Building from a high-resolution conterminous United States (CONUS) hydrography network dataset, we quantified the spatial extent, density, and...

Mining-related contaminants such as selenium (Se) and mercury (Hg) accumulate in aquatic organisms and transfer through aquatic food webs, where they can exert toxic effect undermining the ecological health of aquatic resources. Yet, how Se and Hg co-distribute within food webs and within individual organisms remains poorly understood. We compiled muscle and ovary Se and Hg concentration...

Water quality post-wildfire is often impaired by increased turbidity and elevated concentrations of elements such as manganese (Mn) and iron (Fe). Precipitation events exacerbate these issues, due in part to increased erosion and transport of sediment from hillslopes to surface water. Both Mn and Fe are major redox-active elements in sediments that drive a variety of biogeochemical...

Worldwide, freshwater systems contain more than 18,000 fish species1,2,3, which are critical to the functioning of these ecosystems4 and are vital cultural and economic resources to humans5,6,7; despite this value, fish biodiversity is at risk globally8,9. In the USA, leading threats to fish communities in rivers and streams include climate change and invasive fish introductions and game...

No abstract available.

Sedimentation affects many of the aging reservoirs in the United States. Dams and water diversions from rivers have been central elements of infrastructure supporting agricultural irrigation in the arid and semiarid regions of the Western United States for more than a century. The Willwood Irrigation District diversion dam (hereafter referred to as “Willwood Dam”) in Park County, Wyoming...

Flood-frequency analysis provides the basis for flood risk estimates used by water-resource managers in land-use planning, and it informs the design of essential infrastructure such as bridges and culverts. Federal guidelines for flood-frequency analysis do not offer guidance on addressing changing climate and land-use conditions when estimating floods. However, failing to consider...

Lake Koocanusa, a reservoir, receives mine wastes from metallurgical coal mines in the Elk River Valley of British Columbia, Canada. Selenium and other elements discharged by the mines into the waters of the United States can pose unknown risks to aquatic life. The U.S. Geological Survey Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center can collaborate with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and other...

Drilling fluid waste land application, a process where drilling wastes are spread and tilled into the land surface, has become common in some petroleum-producing states, however, the potential benefits and risks of this practice are not well studied. Drilling fluids can be water- or oil-based and can have high concentrations of total soluble salts and total petroleum hydrocarbons...