Publications
The following list of California Water Science Center publications includes both official USGS publications and journal articles authored by our scientists.
Filter Total Items: 1811
Direct and indirect effects of tides on ecosystem-scale CO2 exchange in a brackish tidal marsh in Northern California Direct and indirect effects of tides on ecosystem-scale CO2 exchange in a brackish tidal marsh in Northern California
We investigated the direct and indirect influence of tides on net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of carbon dioxide (CO2) in a temperate brackish tidal marsh. NEE displayed a tidally driven pattern with obvious characteristics at the multiday scale, with greater net CO2uptake during spring tides than neap tides. Based on the relative mutual information between NEE and biophysical variables...
Authors
Sara Knox, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Frank Anderson, Cove Sturtevant, Brian A. Bergamaschi
Characterizing drought in California: new drought indices and scenario-testing in support of resource management Characterizing drought in California: new drought indices and scenario-testing in support of resource management
Introduction California’s recent drought (2012–2016) has implications throughout the state for natural resource management and adaptation planning and has generated many discussions about drought characterization and recovery. This study characterizes drought conditions with two indices describing deficits in natural water supply and increases in landscape stress developed on the basis...
Authors
Lorraine E. Flint, Alan L. Flint, John Mendoza, Julie Kalansky, F. M. Ralph
Use of flow cytometry and stable isotope analysis to determine phytoplankton uptake of wastewater derived ammonium in a nutrient-rich river Use of flow cytometry and stable isotope analysis to determine phytoplankton uptake of wastewater derived ammonium in a nutrient-rich river
Anthropogenic alteration of the form and concentration of nitrogen (N) in aquatic ecosystems is widespread. Understanding availability and uptake of different N sources at the base of aquatic food webs is critical to establishment of effective nutrient management programs. Stable isotopes of N (14N, 15N) are often used to trace the sources of N fueling aquatic primary production, but...
Authors
Calla M. Schmidt, Tamara E. C. Kraus, Megan B. Young, Carol Kendall
Groundwater quality in the shallow aquifers of the Madera–Chowchilla and Kings subbasins, San Joaquin Valley, California Groundwater quality in the shallow aquifers of the Madera–Chowchilla and Kings subbasins, San Joaquin Valley, California
Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The GAMA Program’s Priority Basin Project assesses the quality of groundwater resources used for drinking-water supply and increases public access to groundwater-quality information...
Authors
Miranda S. Fram, Jennifer L. Shelton
Evaluation of the Source and Transport of High Nitrate Concentrations in Ground Water, Warren Subbasin, California Evaluation of the Source and Transport of High Nitrate Concentrations in Ground Water, Warren Subbasin, California
Ground water historically has been the sole source of water supply for the Town of Yucca Valley in the Warren subbasin of the Morongo ground-water basin, California. An imbalance between ground-water recharge and pumpage caused ground-water levels in the subbasin to decline by as much as 300 feet from the late 1940s through 1994. In response, the local water district, Hi-Desert Water...
Authors
Tracy Nishikawa, Jill N. Densmore, Peter Martin, Jonathan C. Matti
Food web conceptual model Food web conceptual model
This chapter describes a general model of food webs within tidal wetlands and represents how physical features of the wetland affect the structure and function of the food web. This conceptual model focuses on how the food web provides support for (or may reduce support for) threatened fish species. This model is part of a suite of conceptual models designed to guide monitoring of...
Authors
Rosemary Hartman, Larry R. Brown, Jim Hobbs
Occurrence of dichloroacetamide herbicide safeners and co-applied herbicides in midwestern U.S. streams Occurrence of dichloroacetamide herbicide safeners and co-applied herbicides in midwestern U.S. streams
Dichloroacetamide safeners (e.g., AD-67, benoxacor, dichlormid, and furilazole) are co-applied with chloroacetanilide herbicides to protect crops from herbicide toxicity. While such safeners have been used since the early 1970s, there are minimal data about safener usage, occurrence in streams, or potential ecological effects. This study focused on one of these research gaps, occurrence...
Authors
Emily Woodward, Michelle L. Hladik, Dana W. Kolpin
Water-resources and land-surface deformation evaluation studies at Fort Irwin National Training Center, Mojave Desert, California Water-resources and land-surface deformation evaluation studies at Fort Irwin National Training Center, Mojave Desert, California
The U.S. Army Fort Irwin National Training Center (NTC), in the Mojave Desert, obtains all of its potable water supply from three groundwater basins (Irwin, Langford, and Bicycle) within the NTC boundaries (fig. 1; California Department of Water Resources, 2003). Because of increasing water demands at the NTC, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army...
Authors
Jill N. Densmore, Justine E. Dishart, David M. Miller, David C. Buesch, Lyndsay B. Ball, Paul A. Bedrosian, Linda R. Woolfenden, Geoffrey Cromwell, Matthew K. Burgess, Joseph Nawikas, David O’Leary, Adam Kjos, Michelle Sneed, Justin T. Brandt
Complex mixtures of dissolved pesticides show potential aquatic toxicity in a synoptic study of Midwestern U.S. streams Complex mixtures of dissolved pesticides show potential aquatic toxicity in a synoptic study of Midwestern U.S. streams
Aquatic organisms in streams are exposed to pesticide mixtures that vary in composition over time in response to changes in flow conditions, pesticide inputs to the stream, and pesticide fate and degradation within the stream. To characterize mixtures of dissolved-phase pesticides and degradates in Midwestern streams, a synoptic study was conducted at 100 streams during May–August 2013...
Authors
Lisa H. Nowell, Patrick W. Moran, Travis S. Schmidt, Julia E. Norman, Naomi Nakagaki, Megan E. Shoda, Barbara Mahler, Peter C. Van Metre, Wesley W. Stone, Mark W. Sandstrom, Michelle L. Hladik
Sampling uncharted waters: Examining rearing habitat of larval Longfin Smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys) in the upper San Francisco Estuary Sampling uncharted waters: Examining rearing habitat of larval Longfin Smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys) in the upper San Francisco Estuary
The southern-most reproducing Longfin Smelt population occurs in the San Francisco Estuary, California, USA. Long-term monitoring of estuarine habitat for this species has generally only considered deep channels, with little known of the role shallow waters play in supporting their early life stage. To address the need for focused research on shallow-water habitat, a targeted study of...
Authors
Lenny Grimaldo, Frederick V. Feyrer, Jillian Burns, Donna Maniscalco
Management of arthropod pathogen vectors in North America: Minimizing adverse effects on pollinators Management of arthropod pathogen vectors in North America: Minimizing adverse effects on pollinators
Tick and mosquito management is important to public health protection. At the same time, growing concerns about declines of pollinator species raise the question of whether vector control practices might affect pollinator populations. We report the results of a task force of the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) that examined potential effects of vector management...
Authors
Howard S. Ginsberg, Timothy A. Bargar, Michelle L. Hladik, Charles Lubelczyk
Geochemistry of mercury and other constituents in subsurface sediment—Analyses from 2011 and 2012 coring campaigns, Cache Creek Settling Basin, Yolo County, California Geochemistry of mercury and other constituents in subsurface sediment—Analyses from 2011 and 2012 coring campaigns, Cache Creek Settling Basin, Yolo County, California
Cache Creek Settling Basin was constructed in 1937 to trap sediment from Cache Creek before delivery to the Yolo Bypass, a flood conveyance for the Sacramento River system that is tributary to the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta. Sediment management options being considered by stakeholders in the Cache Creek Settling Basin include sediment excavation; however, that could expose sediments...
Authors
Michelle R. Arias, Charles N. Alpers, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Christopher C. Fuller, Jennifer L. Agee, Michelle Sneed, Andrew Y. Morita, Antonia Salas