WaterMarks Newsletter - Fall 2022
Meet our New Staff at the New England WSC - September 2022
Join us in welcoming our recently hired staff at the New England Water Science Center.
Extreme Fluctuations in Dissolved Oxygen Measured in Norwalk River
Sustained high temperatures and continued drought this summer have led to below-normal streamflows in the Northeast, which can adversely affect water quality. Extreme fluctuations in dissolved oxygen levels were detected by three U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) continuous water-quality monitoring stations in the Norwalk River in Connecticut.
Provisional Data Detects Record-Low Streamflows from Drought
Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts had the second, tenth, and 16th driest Julys, respectively, since 1895, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.
New Map Identifies Optimal Stream Reaches for Endangered Atlantic Salmon
Satellite-based Remote Sensing of River Discharge
The U.S. Geological Survey and NASA are collaborating on a study to develop methods to estimate river flows from satellite observations.
Developing Synthetic Historical Record at Groundwater Wells Using Record Extension Techniques
The Groundwater Index in the Massachusetts Drought Management Plan provides a general overview of groundwater levels relative to long-term groundwater levels in Massachusetts. The methods used to compute the Groundwater Index were revised for the 2019 version of the Drought Management Plan. The 2019 plan aligns the drought categories and specifies the drought status from select percentile ranges of soil moisture, groundwater levels, streamflow, and precipitation with the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM). A percentile is a statistic that indicates the percentage of observations (such as groundwater level) that is equal to or below it. This enables Massachusetts to adopt a frequency-of-occurrence approach to determine drought severity, as is used by the USDM and the USGS. The 2019 Drought Management Plan indicates that the percentiles computed from groundwater data (water-level records), defined as groundwater level below which a given percentage falls under, should be used to calculate the groundwater index. However, the methods for computing these percentiles have not been evaluated and published in a peer-reviewed publication.
Scituate Reservoir Watershed Sees Rise in Chloride and Sodium
An increase in chloride and sodium concentrations were detected throughout the Scituate Reservoir watershed, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey study.
Predictive Analysis of Water Demand for Providence, Rhode Island
The Providence Water Supply Board (Providence Water) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are collaborating on a study to predict future water demand in and around the city of Providence.
New England Lidar-Derived Hydrography Project
High-quality light detection and ranging (lidar) data from USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) has unlocked the potential to derive new and innovative hydrography datasets such as the USGS next generation 3D Hydrography Program (3DHP) that can be used for many hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) modeling applications. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) mapping partners require elevation and hydrography data for H&H modeling input when conducting Base Level Engineering (BLE) for regulatory floodplain hazard mapping. The new 3DHP will provide high-resolution hydrography data that can be leveraged for FEMA BLE to produce model-backed approximate floodplain maps based on the most current topographic data sources.
Characterizing Future Flood Flows for Flood Insurance Studies
Current methods of flood-frequency analyses for flood insurance studies assume that the statistical distribution of data from past observations will continue unchanged in the future. This is known as the assumption of stationarity. This assumption allows scientists to estimate flood magnitude and frequency based on past records and the expectation that those estimates will represent current and future conditions. However, observed trends of increases in rainfall intensity and changes in seasonal snowmelt hydrology in the northeastern United States suggest that peak-flow stationarity may no longer be an appropriate assumption. To improve the information and mapping available for decision-making throughout New England in the face of a changing climate, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is developing a series of potential flood map scenarios in a pilot watershed in New England for the years 2030, 2050 and 2100.
Evaluation of Lakes and Impoundments Drought Index for the Massachusetts Drought Management Plan
Lake and impoundment levels are used for calculating a drought severity index.
Effects of Sea-Level Rise and Climate Change on the Groundwater-Flow System of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), is investigating the effects of sea-level rise and climate change on the groundwater resources of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
New England WSC Products in the Third Quarter of 2022
List of products from the New England Water Science Center released in the third quarter of 2022.