Information about water resources is fundamental to national and local economic well-being, protection of life and property, and effective management. The USGS works with domestic and international partners to monitor, assess, and conduct targeted research on a wide range of water resource conditions, including streamflow, groundwater, water quality, and water use and availability.
USGS provides reliable information to answer your questions and provide assistance related to international water resources science issues, including impacts to people and communities. Training and technology transfer often are integral to the technical assistance provided by USGS international activities.
International studies related to water are conducted by scientists from throughout USGS on topics including:
- streams, lakes, reservoirs
- aquifers, wells, springs
- snow, ice, glaciers
- groundwater/surface water exchange
- extreme hydrologic events
- floods & droughts
- transboundary assessments
- streamgaging networks
- stormwater & wastewater
- erosion & sedimentation
- contaminants & pollution
- eutrophication & harmful algal blooms
- water supply & demand
- water temperature & thermal stress
- hydrogeophysical studies
- sea level rise impacts
Latest Science
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Rancho Ancón – Water Cycle Augmentation
The USGS is working with partners to understand the impacts of installing structures made from rock, sandbags and wood in channels at a dryland ranch in southern Baja California. Hydrogeological instrumentation, recording observations, modeling hydrogeological scenarios, and an interdisciplinary scientific study of the watershed interactions between water, ecological systems, and human activities...
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Accelerating Aquifer Storage & Recovery in the Middle East and North Africa Region
In cooperation with the U.S. Agency for International Development, USGS helped regional partners assess the suitability for managing scarce groundwater resources, and improving water supply, using artificial recharge methods.
Latest Publications
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Virtual training prepared for the former Afghanistan Ministry of Energy and Water—Streamgaging, fluvial sediment sampling, bathymetry, and streamflow and sediment modeling
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) created a virtual training series for the Afghanistan Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW), now known as the National Water Affairs Regulation Authority (NWARA), to provide critical hydrological training as an alternative to an in-person training. The USGS was scheduled to provide in-person surface-water training for NWARA during 2020; however, travel was halted bec
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Managed aquifer recharge suitability—Regional screening and case studies in Jordan and Lebanon
The U.S. Geological Survey, at the request of the U.S. Agency for International Development, led a 5-year regional project to develop and apply methods for water availability and suitability mapping for managed aquifer recharge (MAR) in the Middle East and North Africa region. A regional model of surface runoff for the period from 1984 to 2015 was developed to characterize water availability using
Also see:
Water Mission Area International Activities
International Water Resources Branch (Archive)
Up to International Science Theme: Water
Rancho Ancón – Water Cycle Augmentation
Accelerating Aquifer Storage & Recovery in the Middle East and North Africa Region
U.S. National Committee for the International Hydrological Programme
Brazilian Agencies Partner With USGS On Water Programs
Mongolia - Building Groundwater Modeling Capacity
Armenia - Building Groundwater Management Capacity for the Ararat Valley
Virtual training prepared for the former Afghanistan Ministry of Energy and Water—Streamgaging, fluvial sediment sampling, bathymetry, and streamflow and sediment modeling
Managed aquifer recharge suitability—Regional screening and case studies in Jordan and Lebanon
Hydrogeologic framework and simulation of predevelopment groundwater flow, eastern Abu Dhabi Emirate, United Arab Emirates
Improving our understanding of hydraulic-electrical relations: A case study of the surficial aquifer in Emirate Abu Dhabi
Groundwater-level trends and forecasts, and salinity trends, in the Azraq, Dead Sea, Hammad, Jordan Side Valleys, Yarmouk, and Zarqa groundwater basins, Jordan
Stream gage descriptions and streamflow statistics for sites in the Tigris River and Euphrates River Basins, Iraq
Atmospheric bromine flux from the coastal Abu Dhabi sabkhat: A ground-water mass-balance investigation
Water-resources reconnaissance of Ile de la Gonave, Haiti
Source of solutes to the coastal sabkha of Abu Dhabi
Hydrology of the coastal sabkhas of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Overview
Information about water resources is fundamental to national and local economic well-being, protection of life and property, and effective management. The USGS works with domestic and international partners to monitor, assess, and conduct targeted research on a wide range of water resource conditions, including streamflow, groundwater, water quality, and water use and availability.
USGS provides reliable information to answer your questions and provide assistance related to international water resources science issues, including impacts to people and communities. Training and technology transfer often are integral to the technical assistance provided by USGS international activities.
International studies related to water are conducted by scientists from throughout USGS on topics including:
- streams, lakes, reservoirs
- aquifers, wells, springs
- snow, ice, glaciers
- groundwater/surface water exchange
- extreme hydrologic events
- floods & droughts
- transboundary assessments
- streamgaging networks
- stormwater & wastewater
- erosion & sedimentation
- contaminants & pollution
- eutrophication & harmful algal blooms
- water supply & demand
- water temperature & thermal stress
- hydrogeophysical studies
- sea level rise impacts
Latest Science-
Rancho Ancón – Water Cycle Augmentation
The USGS is working with partners to understand the impacts of installing structures made from rock, sandbags and wood in channels at a dryland ranch in southern Baja California. Hydrogeological instrumentation, recording observations, modeling hydrogeological scenarios, and an interdisciplinary scientific study of the watershed interactions between water, ecological systems, and human activities...
-
Accelerating Aquifer Storage & Recovery in the Middle East and North Africa Region
In cooperation with the U.S. Agency for International Development, USGS helped regional partners assess the suitability for managing scarce groundwater resources, and improving water supply, using artificial recharge methods.
Latest Publications-
Virtual training prepared for the former Afghanistan Ministry of Energy and Water—Streamgaging, fluvial sediment sampling, bathymetry, and streamflow and sediment modeling
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) created a virtual training series for the Afghanistan Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW), now known as the National Water Affairs Regulation Authority (NWARA), to provide critical hydrological training as an alternative to an in-person training. The USGS was scheduled to provide in-person surface-water training for NWARA during 2020; however, travel was halted bec
-
Managed aquifer recharge suitability—Regional screening and case studies in Jordan and Lebanon
The U.S. Geological Survey, at the request of the U.S. Agency for International Development, led a 5-year regional project to develop and apply methods for water availability and suitability mapping for managed aquifer recharge (MAR) in the Middle East and North Africa region. A regional model of surface runoff for the period from 1984 to 2015 was developed to characterize water availability using
Also see:
Water Mission Area International Activities
International Water Resources Branch (Archive)
Up to International Science Theme: Water
- Science
Rancho Ancón – Water Cycle Augmentation
The USGS is working with partners to understand the impacts of installing structures made from rock, sandbags and wood in channels at a dryland ranch in southern Baja California. Hydrogeological instrumentation, recording observations, modeling hydrogeological scenarios, and an interdisciplinary scientific study of the watershed interactions between water, ecological systems, and human activities...Accelerating Aquifer Storage & Recovery in the Middle East and North Africa Region
In cooperation with the U.S. Agency for International Development, USGS helped regional partners assess the suitability for managing scarce groundwater resources, and improving water supply, using artificial recharge methods.U.S. National Committee for the International Hydrological Programme
The International Hydrological Programme (IHP) is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) international scientific cooperative program in water research, water resources management, education, and capacity-building.Brazilian Agencies Partner With USGS On Water Programs
The USGS International Programs Office has intermittently collaborated with Brazil's Geological Survey (CPRM) since the early 1970's. With the creation of the Brazilian National Water Agency (ANA), Brazil's hydrologic monitoring network has taken on a higher socioeconomic importance. The collaboration agreements between USGS and ANA/CPRM have strengthened the Brazilian streamgaging network as well...Mongolia - Building Groundwater Modeling Capacity
Project Period: 2015-2016Cooperator: U.S. Army Corps of EngineersProject Chief: Joshua ValderArmenia - Building Groundwater Management Capacity for the Ararat Valley
Project Period: 2016-17Cooperator: U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)Project Chief: Joshua Valder - Publications
Virtual training prepared for the former Afghanistan Ministry of Energy and Water—Streamgaging, fluvial sediment sampling, bathymetry, and streamflow and sediment modeling
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) created a virtual training series for the Afghanistan Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW), now known as the National Water Affairs Regulation Authority (NWARA), to provide critical hydrological training as an alternative to an in-person training. The USGS was scheduled to provide in-person surface-water training for NWARA during 2020; however, travel was halted becManaged aquifer recharge suitability—Regional screening and case studies in Jordan and Lebanon
The U.S. Geological Survey, at the request of the U.S. Agency for International Development, led a 5-year regional project to develop and apply methods for water availability and suitability mapping for managed aquifer recharge (MAR) in the Middle East and North Africa region. A regional model of surface runoff for the period from 1984 to 2015 was developed to characterize water availability usingHydrogeologic framework and simulation of predevelopment groundwater flow, eastern Abu Dhabi Emirate, United Arab Emirates
Groundwater in eastern Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates is an important resource that is widely used for irrigation and domestic supplies in rural areas. The U.S. Geological Survey and the Environment Agency—Abu Dhabi cooperated on an investigation to integrate existing hydrogeologic information and to answer questions about regional groundwater resources in Abu Dhabi by developing a numericaImproving our understanding of hydraulic-electrical relations: A case study of the surficial aquifer in Emirate Abu Dhabi
Transmissivity is a bulk hydraulic property that can be correlated with bulk electrical properties of an aquifer. In aquifers that are electrically-resistive relative to adjacent layers in a horizontally stratified sequence, transmissivity has been shown to correlate with bulk transverse resistance. Conversely, in aquifers that are electrically-conductive relative to adjacent layers, transmissivitGroundwater-level trends and forecasts, and salinity trends, in the Azraq, Dead Sea, Hammad, Jordan Side Valleys, Yarmouk, and Zarqa groundwater basins, Jordan
Changes in groundwater levels and salinity in six groundwater basins in Jordan were characterized by using linear trends fit to well-monitoring data collected from 1960 to early 2011. On the basis of data for 117 wells, groundwater levels in the six basins were declining, on average about -1 meter per year (m/yr), in 2010. The highest average rate of decline, -1.9 m/yr, occurred in the Jordan SideStream gage descriptions and streamflow statistics for sites in the Tigris River and Euphrates River Basins, Iraq
Statistical summaries of streamflow data for all long-term streamflow-gaging stations in the Tigris River and Euphrates River Basins in Iraq are presented in this report. The summaries for each streamflow-gaging station include (1) a station description, (2) a graph showing annual mean discharge for the period of record, (3) a table of extremes and statistics for monthly and annual mean discharge,Atmospheric bromine flux from the coastal Abu Dhabi sabkhat: A ground-water mass-balance investigation
A solute mass-balance study of ground water of the 3000 km2 coastal sabkhat (salt flats) of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, documents an annual bromide loss of approximately 255 metric tons (0.0032 Gmoles), or 85 kg/km2. This value is an order of magnitude greater than previously published direct measurements from the atmosphere over an evaporative environment of a salar in BoliviaWater-resources reconnaissance of Ile de la Gonave, Haiti
Île de la Gonâve is a 750-km2 island off the coast of Haiti. The depth to the water table ranges from less than 30 m in the Eocene and Upper Miocene limestones to over 60 m in the 300-m-thick Quaternary limestone. Annual precipitation ranges from 800-1,400 mm. Most precipitation is lost through evapotranspiration and there is virtually no surface water. Roughly estimated from chloride mass balancSource of solutes to the coastal sabkha of Abu Dhabi
An ascending-brine model is proposed to address the observed isotope geochemistry, solute composition, and solute and water fluxes in the coastal sabkha of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Mass-balance measurements document that >95% of the solutes are derived from ascending continental brines; minor amounts are derived from rainfall and from groundwater entering from upgradient areas. Nearly 100% of theHydrology of the coastal sabkhas of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Water fluxes were estimated and a water budget developed for the land surface and a surficial 10-m-deep section of the coastal sabkhas that extend from the city of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, west to the border with Saudi Arabia. The fluxes were estimated on the basis of water levels and hydraulic conductivities measured in wells and evaporation rates measured with a humidity chamber. In cont