Upper Midwest Water Science Center Products Published Winter 2023/2024
By Upper Midwest Water Science Center
February 29, 2024
Below are all products released by the Upper Midwest Water Science Center from December 1, 2023 through February 29, 2024.
Related Content
MODFLOW 6 models for simulating groundwater flow and a proposed remediation system in the sole-source aquifer system in southeastern Nassau County, New York
This model archive contains files for a set of groundwater flow, particle tracking, and management optimization models that simulate the area around the Navy-Northrop-Grumman contamination plume on Long Island, New York. These models were developed as in insets from the Long Island Regional “parent” Model, from which perimeter boundary conditions were inherited. In addition to input and output fil
Geochemical data, water-level data, and slug test analysis results from till confining units and confined aquifers in glacial deposits near Akeley, Cromwell, Litchfield, and Olivia, Minnesota, 2015-2018
Confined (or buried) aquifers overlain by till confining units are used to supply drinking water to millions of people. Till confining units are typically conceptualized as having very low potential for transmitting water. Thus, buried aquifers are thought to be less susceptible to surface contamination, but may recharge very slowly and may be prone to unsustainable groundwater withdrawals. Quanti
Walleye (Sander vitreus), Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) and Surface Water Mercury Concentrations in Minnesota Lakes
Water quality and fish tissue samples were collected and measured for mercury concentrations in a total of 23 small to medium size lakes in Minnesota to assess the impact that zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) invasion had on mercury bioaccumulation. Water samples were collected in October and November of 2021 from 22 lakes and analyzed for total mercury, methylmercury, dissolved organic carbon,
Concentrations and loads of phosphorus and suspended solids in the Fox River, Northeastern Wisconsin, 1989–2021
Concentrations and loads of total phosphorus, dissolved phosphorus, and suspended solids were estimated for three sites on the Lower Fox River for October 1988 through September 2021. The sites are the Fox River at Neenah-Menasha (040844105), Fox River at DePere (04085059), and Fox River at the Mouth (040851385). Data analysis was conducted with the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Sea
Model archive and output files for net infiltration, runoff, and irrigation water use for the Mississippi Embayment Regional Aquifer System, 2000 to 2020, simulated with the Soil-Water-Balance model
This item provides Soil-Water-Balance (SWB) model output and a model archive of water budget simulations for the Mississippi Embayment Regional Aquifer System (MERAS) during the period 2000 to 2020. Gridded daily data (1 kilometer resolution) include net infiltration (groundwater recharge), rejected net infiltration, runoff, irrigation, actual evapotranspiration and gross precipitation The model
Great Lakes Sediment Surveillance Program: Mercury Concentrations and Mercury Stable Isotopes in Sediments of the Laurentian Great Lakes
As part of the larger Great Lakes Sediment Surveillance Program (GLSSP), the U.S. Geological Survey Mercury Research Laboratory (MRL) partnered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the University of Minnesota-Duluth to assess contaminant concentrations within surface sediments and sediment cores from the Laurentian Great Lakes. Sediments were assessed for mercury concentrations and me
Measurements of mercury stable isotopes during planktonic uptake and photochemical demethylation of methylmercury
Laboratory experiments were performed between 2019 and 2020 to examine how dissolved organic matter (DOM) and phytoplankton (Raphidocelis subcapitata) cells alter mercury (Hg) uptake and isotope fractionation. Experiments were performed at ambient Hg to thiol ratios using natural organic matter isolates received from collaborators at the University of California-Davis. Two types of experiments wer
Precipitation uncertainty estimation and rainfall-runoff model calibration using iterative ensemble smoothers
The introduction of iterative ensemble smoothers (IES) for parameter calibration opens avenues for expanding parameter space in surface water hydrologic modeling. Here, we have introduced independent parameters into a model calibration experiment to estimate errors in rainfall forcing data. This approach has the potential to estimate rainfall errors using other hydrological observations and to imp
Authors
Davide Zoccatelli, Daniel B. Wright, Jeremy T. White, Michael N. Fienen, Guo Yu
Quantitative microbial risk assessment for ingestion of antibiotic resistance genes from private wells contaminated by human and livestock fecal sources
We used quantitative microbial risk assessment to estimate ingestion risk for intI1, erm(B), sul1, tet(A), tet(W), and tet(X) in private wells contaminated by human and/or livestock feces. Genes were quantified with five human-specific and six bovine-specific microbial source-tracking (MST) markers in 138 well-water samples from a rural Wisconsin county. Daily ingestion risk (probability of swallo
Authors
Tucker R. Burch, Joel P. Stokdyk, Lisa Durso, Mark A. Borchardt
Prioritizing river basins for nutrient studies
Increases in fluxes of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the environment have led to negative impacts affecting drinking water, eutrophication, harmful algal blooms, climate change, and biodiversity loss. Because of the importance, scale, and complexity of these issues, it may be useful to consider methods for prioritizing nutrient research in representative drainage basins within a regional or n
Authors
Anthony J. Tesoriero, Dale M. Robertson, Christopher Green, John K. Böhlke, Judson Harvey, Sharon L. Qi
Peak streamflow trends in Wisconsin and their relation to changes in climate, water years 1921–2020
This study characterizes hydroclimatic variability and change in peak streamflow and daily streamflow in Wisconsin from water years 1921 through 2020. Nonstationarity in peak streamflow in Wisconsin can include monotonic trends, change points, and autocorrelation. Spatial patterns of nonstationarity in peak streamflow, daily streamflow, and monthly precipitation, temperature, and snowfall were exa
Authors
Sara B. Levin
Introduction and methods of analysis for peak streamflow trends and their relation to changes in climate in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin
Flood-frequency analysis, also called peak-flow frequency or flood-flow frequency analysis, is essential to water resources management applications including critical structure design and floodplain mapping. Federal guidelines for doing flood-frequency analyses are presented in a U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods Report known as Bulletin 17C. A basic assumption within Bulletin 17C is t
Authors
Karen R. Ryberg, Thomas M. Over, Sara B. Levin, David C. Heimann, Nancy A. Barth, Mackenzie K. Marti, Padraic S. O'Shea, Christopher A. Sanocki, Tara J. Williams-Sether, Harper N. Wavra, T. Roy Sando, Steven K. Sando, Milan S. Liu
Comparing single and multiple objective constrained optimization algorithms for tuning a groundwater remediation system
Groundwater flow and particle tracking models are critical tools to simulate the natural system, contaminant fate and transport, and effects of remediation. Constrained optimization uses models to systematically explore the interplay between remedial design and contaminant fate, considering uncertainty. Sequential Linear Programming (SLP) provides a design alternative addressing a single goal (e.g
Authors
Michael N. Fienen, Nicholas Corson-Dosch, Kalle L. Jahn, Jeremy T. White
Changes in phosphorus and suspended solids loading in the Fox River, northeastern Wisconsin, 1989–2021
The entire Lower Fox River and inner bay of Green Bay, in northeastern Wisconsin, have been listed as impaired by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) for low dissolved oxygen and degraded habitat, with total phosphorus (TP) and total suspended solids (TSS) concentrations listed as the likely causes of these impairments. To restore the Fox River and Green Bay, total maximum daily l
Authors
Dale M. Robertson, Matthew W. Diebel, Sarah L. Bartlett, Kevin J. Fermanich
Updated estimates of water budget components for the Mississippi Embayment Region using a soil-water-balance model, 2000–2020
A Soil-Water-Balance (SWB) model for the Mississippi embayment region in Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana was constructed and calibrated to gain insight into potential recharge patterns for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, which has had substantial drawdown under intense pumping stress over the last several decades. An analysis of the net infiltration term from the SWB
Authors
Martha G. Nielsen, Stephen, M. Westenbroek
Simulating groundwater flow in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain with a focus on the Mississippi Delta
The Mississippi Alluvial Plain has become one of the most important agricultural regions in the United States but relies heavily on groundwater for irrigation. On average, more than 12 billion gallons are withdrawn daily from the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer. Declining groundwater levels, especially in the Delta region of northwest Mississippi and the Cache and Grand Prairie regions o
Authors
Andrew T. Leaf, Leslie L. Duncan, Connor J. Haugh, Randall J. Hunt, James R. Rigby
Automated construction of Streamflow-Routing networks for MODFLOW—Application in the Mississippi Embayment region
In humid regions with dense stream networks, surface water exerts a fundamental control on the water levels and flow directions of shallow groundwater. Understanding interactions between groundwater and surface water is critical for managing groundwater resources and groundwater-dependent ecosystems. Representing streams in groundwater models has historically been arduous and error prone. In recen
Authors
Andrew T. Leaf
Competition between dissolved organic matter and freshwater plankton control methylmercury isotope fractionation during uptake and photochemical demethylation
Isotope fractionation related to photochemical reactions and planktonic uptake at the base of the food web is a major uncertainty in the biological application of mercury (Hg) stable isotopes. In freshwater systems, it is unclear how competitive interactions among methylmercury (MeHg), dissolved organic matter (DOM), and phytoplankton govern the magnitude of mass-dependent and mass-independent fra
Authors
Grace Jane Armstrong, Sarah E. Janssen, Brett A. Poulin, Michael T. Tate, David P. Krabbenhoft, James P. Hurley
Documentation of a pilot workflow for reanalyzing the U.S. Geological Survey principal aquifers datasets and prototype principal aquifer version 2 dataset for three aquifer systems
A pilot workflow to refine the principal aquifers of the United States as defined in the Ground Water Atlas of the United States and create a new version of the principal aquifers (referred to as “version 2”) is documented in this report. The workflow incorporates decision points for creating finer scale spatial data for the principal aquifers and refining the original principal aquifer definition
Authors
Martha G. Nielsen
NO3GWT version 1.0.0
A groundwater Nitrate Decision Support Tool (GW-NDST) for wells in Wisconsin was developed to assist resource managers with assessing how legacy and possible future nitrate leaching rates, combined with groundwater lag times and potential denitrification, influence nitrate concentrations in wells (Juckem et al. 2024). The GW-NDST was reviewed and approved by the journal via this official USGS appr
Related Content
MODFLOW 6 models for simulating groundwater flow and a proposed remediation system in the sole-source aquifer system in southeastern Nassau County, New York
This model archive contains files for a set of groundwater flow, particle tracking, and management optimization models that simulate the area around the Navy-Northrop-Grumman contamination plume on Long Island, New York. These models were developed as in insets from the Long Island Regional “parent” Model, from which perimeter boundary conditions were inherited. In addition to input and output fil
Geochemical data, water-level data, and slug test analysis results from till confining units and confined aquifers in glacial deposits near Akeley, Cromwell, Litchfield, and Olivia, Minnesota, 2015-2018
Confined (or buried) aquifers overlain by till confining units are used to supply drinking water to millions of people. Till confining units are typically conceptualized as having very low potential for transmitting water. Thus, buried aquifers are thought to be less susceptible to surface contamination, but may recharge very slowly and may be prone to unsustainable groundwater withdrawals. Quanti
Walleye (Sander vitreus), Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) and Surface Water Mercury Concentrations in Minnesota Lakes
Water quality and fish tissue samples were collected and measured for mercury concentrations in a total of 23 small to medium size lakes in Minnesota to assess the impact that zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) invasion had on mercury bioaccumulation. Water samples were collected in October and November of 2021 from 22 lakes and analyzed for total mercury, methylmercury, dissolved organic carbon,
Concentrations and loads of phosphorus and suspended solids in the Fox River, Northeastern Wisconsin, 1989–2021
Concentrations and loads of total phosphorus, dissolved phosphorus, and suspended solids were estimated for three sites on the Lower Fox River for October 1988 through September 2021. The sites are the Fox River at Neenah-Menasha (040844105), Fox River at DePere (04085059), and Fox River at the Mouth (040851385). Data analysis was conducted with the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Sea
Model archive and output files for net infiltration, runoff, and irrigation water use for the Mississippi Embayment Regional Aquifer System, 2000 to 2020, simulated with the Soil-Water-Balance model
This item provides Soil-Water-Balance (SWB) model output and a model archive of water budget simulations for the Mississippi Embayment Regional Aquifer System (MERAS) during the period 2000 to 2020. Gridded daily data (1 kilometer resolution) include net infiltration (groundwater recharge), rejected net infiltration, runoff, irrigation, actual evapotranspiration and gross precipitation The model
Great Lakes Sediment Surveillance Program: Mercury Concentrations and Mercury Stable Isotopes in Sediments of the Laurentian Great Lakes
As part of the larger Great Lakes Sediment Surveillance Program (GLSSP), the U.S. Geological Survey Mercury Research Laboratory (MRL) partnered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the University of Minnesota-Duluth to assess contaminant concentrations within surface sediments and sediment cores from the Laurentian Great Lakes. Sediments were assessed for mercury concentrations and me
Measurements of mercury stable isotopes during planktonic uptake and photochemical demethylation of methylmercury
Laboratory experiments were performed between 2019 and 2020 to examine how dissolved organic matter (DOM) and phytoplankton (Raphidocelis subcapitata) cells alter mercury (Hg) uptake and isotope fractionation. Experiments were performed at ambient Hg to thiol ratios using natural organic matter isolates received from collaborators at the University of California-Davis. Two types of experiments wer
Precipitation uncertainty estimation and rainfall-runoff model calibration using iterative ensemble smoothers
The introduction of iterative ensemble smoothers (IES) for parameter calibration opens avenues for expanding parameter space in surface water hydrologic modeling. Here, we have introduced independent parameters into a model calibration experiment to estimate errors in rainfall forcing data. This approach has the potential to estimate rainfall errors using other hydrological observations and to imp
Authors
Davide Zoccatelli, Daniel B. Wright, Jeremy T. White, Michael N. Fienen, Guo Yu
Quantitative microbial risk assessment for ingestion of antibiotic resistance genes from private wells contaminated by human and livestock fecal sources
We used quantitative microbial risk assessment to estimate ingestion risk for intI1, erm(B), sul1, tet(A), tet(W), and tet(X) in private wells contaminated by human and/or livestock feces. Genes were quantified with five human-specific and six bovine-specific microbial source-tracking (MST) markers in 138 well-water samples from a rural Wisconsin county. Daily ingestion risk (probability of swallo
Authors
Tucker R. Burch, Joel P. Stokdyk, Lisa Durso, Mark A. Borchardt
Prioritizing river basins for nutrient studies
Increases in fluxes of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the environment have led to negative impacts affecting drinking water, eutrophication, harmful algal blooms, climate change, and biodiversity loss. Because of the importance, scale, and complexity of these issues, it may be useful to consider methods for prioritizing nutrient research in representative drainage basins within a regional or n
Authors
Anthony J. Tesoriero, Dale M. Robertson, Christopher Green, John K. Böhlke, Judson Harvey, Sharon L. Qi
Peak streamflow trends in Wisconsin and their relation to changes in climate, water years 1921–2020
This study characterizes hydroclimatic variability and change in peak streamflow and daily streamflow in Wisconsin from water years 1921 through 2020. Nonstationarity in peak streamflow in Wisconsin can include monotonic trends, change points, and autocorrelation. Spatial patterns of nonstationarity in peak streamflow, daily streamflow, and monthly precipitation, temperature, and snowfall were exa
Authors
Sara B. Levin
Introduction and methods of analysis for peak streamflow trends and their relation to changes in climate in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin
Flood-frequency analysis, also called peak-flow frequency or flood-flow frequency analysis, is essential to water resources management applications including critical structure design and floodplain mapping. Federal guidelines for doing flood-frequency analyses are presented in a U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods Report known as Bulletin 17C. A basic assumption within Bulletin 17C is t
Authors
Karen R. Ryberg, Thomas M. Over, Sara B. Levin, David C. Heimann, Nancy A. Barth, Mackenzie K. Marti, Padraic S. O'Shea, Christopher A. Sanocki, Tara J. Williams-Sether, Harper N. Wavra, T. Roy Sando, Steven K. Sando, Milan S. Liu
Comparing single and multiple objective constrained optimization algorithms for tuning a groundwater remediation system
Groundwater flow and particle tracking models are critical tools to simulate the natural system, contaminant fate and transport, and effects of remediation. Constrained optimization uses models to systematically explore the interplay between remedial design and contaminant fate, considering uncertainty. Sequential Linear Programming (SLP) provides a design alternative addressing a single goal (e.g
Authors
Michael N. Fienen, Nicholas Corson-Dosch, Kalle L. Jahn, Jeremy T. White
Changes in phosphorus and suspended solids loading in the Fox River, northeastern Wisconsin, 1989–2021
The entire Lower Fox River and inner bay of Green Bay, in northeastern Wisconsin, have been listed as impaired by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) for low dissolved oxygen and degraded habitat, with total phosphorus (TP) and total suspended solids (TSS) concentrations listed as the likely causes of these impairments. To restore the Fox River and Green Bay, total maximum daily l
Authors
Dale M. Robertson, Matthew W. Diebel, Sarah L. Bartlett, Kevin J. Fermanich
Updated estimates of water budget components for the Mississippi Embayment Region using a soil-water-balance model, 2000–2020
A Soil-Water-Balance (SWB) model for the Mississippi embayment region in Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana was constructed and calibrated to gain insight into potential recharge patterns for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, which has had substantial drawdown under intense pumping stress over the last several decades. An analysis of the net infiltration term from the SWB
Authors
Martha G. Nielsen, Stephen, M. Westenbroek
Simulating groundwater flow in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain with a focus on the Mississippi Delta
The Mississippi Alluvial Plain has become one of the most important agricultural regions in the United States but relies heavily on groundwater for irrigation. On average, more than 12 billion gallons are withdrawn daily from the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer. Declining groundwater levels, especially in the Delta region of northwest Mississippi and the Cache and Grand Prairie regions o
Authors
Andrew T. Leaf, Leslie L. Duncan, Connor J. Haugh, Randall J. Hunt, James R. Rigby
Automated construction of Streamflow-Routing networks for MODFLOW—Application in the Mississippi Embayment region
In humid regions with dense stream networks, surface water exerts a fundamental control on the water levels and flow directions of shallow groundwater. Understanding interactions between groundwater and surface water is critical for managing groundwater resources and groundwater-dependent ecosystems. Representing streams in groundwater models has historically been arduous and error prone. In recen
Authors
Andrew T. Leaf
Competition between dissolved organic matter and freshwater plankton control methylmercury isotope fractionation during uptake and photochemical demethylation
Isotope fractionation related to photochemical reactions and planktonic uptake at the base of the food web is a major uncertainty in the biological application of mercury (Hg) stable isotopes. In freshwater systems, it is unclear how competitive interactions among methylmercury (MeHg), dissolved organic matter (DOM), and phytoplankton govern the magnitude of mass-dependent and mass-independent fra
Authors
Grace Jane Armstrong, Sarah E. Janssen, Brett A. Poulin, Michael T. Tate, David P. Krabbenhoft, James P. Hurley
Documentation of a pilot workflow for reanalyzing the U.S. Geological Survey principal aquifers datasets and prototype principal aquifer version 2 dataset for three aquifer systems
A pilot workflow to refine the principal aquifers of the United States as defined in the Ground Water Atlas of the United States and create a new version of the principal aquifers (referred to as “version 2”) is documented in this report. The workflow incorporates decision points for creating finer scale spatial data for the principal aquifers and refining the original principal aquifer definition
Authors
Martha G. Nielsen
NO3GWT version 1.0.0
A groundwater Nitrate Decision Support Tool (GW-NDST) for wells in Wisconsin was developed to assist resource managers with assessing how legacy and possible future nitrate leaching rates, combined with groundwater lag times and potential denitrification, influence nitrate concentrations in wells (Juckem et al. 2024). The GW-NDST was reviewed and approved by the journal via this official USGS appr
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