Water Resources
Publications
This list of Water Resources Mission Area publications includes both official USGS publications and journal articles authored by our scientists. A searchable database of all USGS publications can be accessed at the USGS Publications Warehouse.
Post-fire temporal trends in soil-physical and -hydraulic properties and simulated runoff generation: Insights from different burn severities in the 2013 Black Forest Fire, CO, USA
Burn severity influences on post-fire recovery of soil-hydraulic properties controlling runoff generation are poorly understood despite the importance for parameterizing infiltration models. We measured soil-hydraulic properties of field-saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs), sorptivity (S), and wetting front potential (ψf) for four years after...
Ebel, Brian A.; Moody, John A.; Martin, Deborah A. Evaluation of ELISA for the analysis of imidacloprid in biological matrices: Cross-reactivities, matrix interferences, and comparison to LC-MS/MS
Imidacloprid is among the most used pesticides worldwide and there are toxicity concerns for nontarget organisms. Accurate and sensitive methods are necessary to quantitate imidacloprid concentrations in biological matrices to better understand their fate and effects. Here we evaluated an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit for...
Gross, Michael S.; Woodward, Emily; Hladik, Michelle
Hydrogeology and gain/loss assessment of two lakes contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, vicinity of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, 2020–21
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been identified in two lakes near Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL) in New Jersey—Little Pine Lake in Pemberton Township and Pine Lake in Manchester Township. The streams that enter these lakes begin in or near JBMDL where sources of PFAS contamination are located. The U.S. Geological Survey,...
Fiore, Alex R.; Witzigman, Christopher M.; Reiser, Robert G.
Near-field receiving-water monitoring of trace metals and a benthic community near the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant in south San Francisco Bay, California—2019
Trace-metal concentrations in sediment and in the clam Limecola petalum (formerly reported as Macoma balthica and M. petalum), clam reproductive activity, and benthic macroinvertebrate community structure were investigated in a mudflat 1 kilometer south of the discharge of the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (PARWQCP) in south San...
Cain, Daniel J.; Croteau, Marie-Noële; Thompson, Janet K.; Parchaso, Francis; Stewart, Robin; Shrader, Kelly H.; Zierdt Smith, Emily L.; Luoma, Samuel N. Anthropogenic landcover impacts fluvial dissolved organic matter composition in the Upper Mississippi River Basin
Landcover changes have altered the natural carbon cycle; however, most landcover studies focus on either forest conversion to agriculture or urban, rarely both. We present differences in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations and dissolved organic matter (DOM) molecular composition within Upper Mississippi River Basin low order streams and...
Vaughn, Derrick R.; Kellerman, Anne M.; Wickland, Kimberly; Striegl, Robert G.; Podgorski, David C.; Hawkings, Jon R.; Nienhuis, Jaap; Dornblaser, Mark; Stets, Edward G.; Spencer, Robert GM Complex vulnerabilities of the water and aquatic carbon cycles to permafrost thaw
The spatial distribution and depth of permafrost are changing in response to warming and landscape disturbance across northern Arctic and boreal regions. This alters the infiltration, flow, surface and subsurface distribution, and hydrologic connectivity of inland waters. Such changes in the water cycle consequently alter the source, transport,...
Walvoord, Michelle A.; Striegl, Robert G.
Utilizing multiple hydrogeologic and anthropogenic indicators to understand zones of groundwater contribution to water-supply wells near Kirtland Air Force Base Bulk Fuels Facility in southeast Albuquerque, New Mexico
In 1999, a jet-fuels release was discovered at the Bulk Fuels Facility on Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Contaminants had reached the water table and migrated north-northeast toward water-supply wells. Monitoring wells were installed downgradient from the facility to determine the primary zones of groundwater production for...
Travis, Rebecca E.; Bell, Meghan T.; Linhoff, Benjamin S.; Beisner, Kimberly R.
Delineation of areas contributing groundwater and travel times to receiving waters in Kings, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties, New York
To assist resource managers and planners in developing informed strategies to address nitrogen loading to coastal water bodies of Long Island, New York, the U.S. Geological Survey and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation initiated a program to delineate areas contributing groundwater to coastal water bodies by assembling a...
Misut, Paul E.; Casamassina, Nicole A.; Walter, Donald A.
Methods for estimating low-flow frequency statistics, mean monthly and annual flow, and flow-duration curves for ungaged locations in Kansas
Knowledge of the magnitude, frequency, and duration of low flows is critical for water-supply management; reservoir design; waste-load allocation; and the preservation of water quality and quantity for irrigation, recreation, and ecological conservation purposes. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Kansas Water Office,...
Lukasz, Bradley S.
Hydrogeologic framework, water levels, and selected contaminant concentrations at Valmont TCE Superfund Site, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, 2020
The Valmont TCE Superfund Site, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania is underlain by fractured and folded sandstones and shales of the Pottsville and Mauch Chunk Formations, which form a fractured-rock aquifer recharged locally by precipitation. Industrial activities at the former Chromatex Plant resulted in trichloroethene (TCE) contamination of...
Senior, Lisa A.; Fiore, Alex R.; Bird, Philip H.
Technical note—Relative variability of selected turbidity standards and sensors in use by the U.S. Geological Survey
The challenges associated with field measurements of turbidity are well known and result primarily from differences in reported values that depend on instrument design and the resulting need for reporting units that are specific to those designs. A critical challenge for making comparable turbidity measurements is the selection and use of...
Foster, Guy M.; King, Lindsey R.; Jastram, John D.; Joiner, John K.; Pellerin, Brian A.; Graham, Jennifer L.; Williams, Thomas J.
Characterization of water resources in the Big Lost River Basin, south-central Idaho
Water resources in the Big Lost River Basin, Idaho are vital to irrigated agriculture, domestic, municipal and other uses but declining groundwater levels, diminished streamflows, and concern about drought motivated an evaluation of water resources in the basin. This multichapter volume documents the findings of a hydrogeologic investigation of...
Zinsser, Lauren M.