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.
Filter Total Items: 19035
Geologic influences on the quality of groundwater used for domestic supply in the northern Sierra Nevada Foothills Geologic influences on the quality of groundwater used for domestic supply in the northern Sierra Nevada Foothills
Approximately 2 million California residents depend on groundwater from domestic wells for their drinking-water supply. The State of California, in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey, created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program Priority Basin Project (GAMA-PBP) to assess the quality of groundwater used for domestic supply throughout the state and...
Authors
Zeno F. Levy, Miranda S. Fram
Sampling for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) by the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Priority Basin Project Sampling for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) by the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Priority Basin Project
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a family of human-made chemicals that can persist in the environment. In 2019, the California State Water Resources Control Board’s Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Priority Basin Project (GAMA-PBP) added PFAS to the projects’ on-going assessments of the quality of groundwater used for drinking-water supplies. This fact sheet...
Authors
Robert H. Kent
Discharge data collection and analysis and implications for surface-water/groundwater interactions in the lower Las Vegas Wash, Clark County, Nevada, 2016–18 Discharge data collection and analysis and implications for surface-water/groundwater interactions in the lower Las Vegas Wash, Clark County, Nevada, 2016–18
The lower Las Vegas Wash represents the terminal surface drainage for the Las Vegas Valley in southern Nevada. In 1997, high concentrations of perchlorate were found in seeps contributing to discharge in this area and traced to an industrial byproduct from manufacturing operations in the mid-1900s at the nearby Basic Magnesium, Incorporated, plant. The discovery prompted a water...
Authors
Jon W. Wilson
Improving flood-frequency analysis with a 4,000-year record of flooding on the Tennessee River near Chattanooga, Tennessee Improving flood-frequency analysis with a 4,000-year record of flooding on the Tennessee River near Chattanooga, Tennessee
This comprehensive field study applied paleoflood hydrology methods to estimate the frequency of low-probability floods for the Tennessee River near Chattanooga, Tennessee. The study combined stratigraphic records of large, previously unrecorded floods with modern streamflow records and historical flood accounts. The overall approach was to (1) develop a flood chronology for the...
Authors
Tessa M. Harden, Jim E. O'Connor, Meredith L. Carr, Mackenzie Keith
Identifying chemicals and mixtures of potential biological concern detected in passive samplers from Great Lakes tributaries using high-throughput data and biological pathways Identifying chemicals and mixtures of potential biological concern detected in passive samplers from Great Lakes tributaries using high-throughput data and biological pathways
Waterborne contaminants were monitored in 69 tributaries of the Laurentian Great Lakes in 2010 and 2014 using semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) and polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS). A risk-based screening approach was used to prioritize chemicals and chemical mixtures, identify sites at greatest risk for biological impacts, and identify potential hazards to...
Authors
David A. Alvarez, Steven R. Corsi, Laura A. DeCicco, Daniel L. Villeneuve, Austin K. Baldwin
Pilot-scale expanded assessment of inorganic and organic tapwater exposures and predicted effects in Puerto Rico, USA Pilot-scale expanded assessment of inorganic and organic tapwater exposures and predicted effects in Puerto Rico, USA
A pilot-scale expanded target assessment of mixtures of inorganic and organic contaminants in point-of-consumption drinking water (tapwater, TW) was conducted in Puerto Rico (PR) to continue to inform TW exposures and corresponding estimations of cumulative human-health risks across the US. In August 2018, a spatial synoptic pilot assessment of than 524 organic, 37 inorganic, and select
Authors
Paul M. Bradley, Ingrid Y. Padilla, Kristin M. Romanok, Kelly Smalling, Michael J. Focazio, Sara E. Breitmeyer, Mary C. Cardon, Justin M. Conley, Nicola Evans, Carrie E. Givens, James L. Gray, L. Earl Gray, Phillip C. Hartig, Michelle L. Hladik, Christopher P. Higgins, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Rachael F. Lane, Keith A. Loftin, R. Blaine McCleskey, Carrie A. McDonough, Elizabeth Medlock-Kakaley, Shannon M. Meppelink, Christopher P. Weis, Vickie S. Wilson
Exploring the factors controlling the error characteristics of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission discharge estimates Exploring the factors controlling the error characteristics of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission discharge estimates
The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission will measure river width, water surface elevation, and slope for rivers wider than 50-100 m. SWOT observations will enable estimation of river discharge by using simple flow laws such as the Manning-Strickler equation, complementing in-situ streamgages. Several discharge inversion algorithms designed to compute unobserved...
Authors
Renato Frasson, Michael T. Durand, Kevin Lanier, Colin Gleason, Konstantinos Andreadis, Mark Hageman, Robert W. Dudley, David M. Bjerklie, Hind Oubanas, Pierre-Andre Garambois, Pierre-Olivier Malaterre, Peirong Lin, Tamlin M. Pavelsky, Jerome Monnier, Craig Binkerhoff, Cedric H. David
Evaporation from Lake Mead and Lake Mohave, Nevada and Arizona, 2010–2019 Evaporation from Lake Mead and Lake Mohave, Nevada and Arizona, 2010–2019
Evaporation-rate estimates at Lake Mead and Lake Mohave, Nevada and Arizona, were based on eddy covariance and available energy measurements from March 2010 through April 2019 at Lake Mead and May 2013 through April 2019 at Lake Mohave. The continuous data needed to compute monthly evaporation were collected from floating-platform and land-based measurement stations located at each...
Authors
Katherine J. Earp, Michael T. Moreo
Gradient self-potential logging in the Rio Grande to identify gaining and losing reaches across the Mesilla Valley Gradient self-potential logging in the Rio Grande to identify gaining and losing reaches across the Mesilla Valley
The Rio Grande/Río Bravo del Norte (hereinafter referred to as the “Rio Grande”) is the primary source of recharge to the Mesilla Basin/Conejos-Médanos aquifer system in the Mesilla Valley of New Mexico and Texas. The Mesilla Basin aquifer system is the U.S. part of the Mesilla Basin/Conejos-Médanos aquifer system and is the primary source of water supply to several communities along the...
Authors
Scott Ikard, Andrew Teeple, Delbert Humberson
Periphyton biomass and community compositions as indicators of water quality in the Lower Grand River hydrologic unit, Missouri and Iowa, 2011–18 Periphyton biomass and community compositions as indicators of water quality in the Lower Grand River hydrologic unit, Missouri and Iowa, 2011–18
Biological communities, including periphyton, are continuously affected by chemical, physical, and other biological factors, and the health of these communities can reflect the overall health of the aquatic system. A diverse community is more robust, and communities with lower richness and evenness often indicate a degraded community dominated by few taxa tolerant to the degraded...
Authors
Heather M. Krempa
Hydraulic conductivity can no longer be considered a fixed property when quantifying flow between groundwater and surface water Hydraulic conductivity can no longer be considered a fixed property when quantifying flow between groundwater and surface water
No abstract available.
Authors
Donald O. Rosenberry, Peter Engesgaard, Christine E. Hatch
Hydraulic characterization of carbonate-rock and basin-fill aquifers near Long Canyon, Goshute Valley, northeastern Nevada Hydraulic characterization of carbonate-rock and basin-fill aquifers near Long Canyon, Goshute Valley, northeastern Nevada
Understanding groundwater flow and pumping effects near pending mining operations requires accurate subsurface hydraulic characterization. To improve conceptual models of groundwater flow and development in the complex hydrogeologic system near Long Canyon Mine, in northwestern Goshute Valley, northeastern Nevada, the U.S. Geological Survey characterized the hydraulic properties of...
Authors
C. Amanda Garcia, Keith J. Halford, Philip M. Gardner, David W. Smith