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: 19017
Geomorphic controls on hyporheic exchange across scales - Watersheds to particles Geomorphic controls on hyporheic exchange across scales - Watersheds to particles
We examined the relationship between fluvial geomorphology and hyporheic exchange flows. We use geomorphology as a framework to understand hyporheic processes and how these processes change with location within a stream network, and over time in response to changes in stream discharge and catchment wetness. We focus primarily on hydrostatic and hydrodynamic processes—the processes where...
Authors
Steven Wondzell, Skuyler Herzog, Michael Gooseff, Adam S Ward, Noah Schmadel
Yellowstone River Compact Commission sixty-eighth annual report 2019 Yellowstone River Compact Commission sixty-eighth annual report 2019
No abstract available.
Authors
Seth Davidson
Monitoring the effect of deep drawdowns of a flood control reservoir on sediment transport and dissolved oxygen, Fall Creek Lake, Oregon Monitoring the effect of deep drawdowns of a flood control reservoir on sediment transport and dissolved oxygen, Fall Creek Lake, Oregon
Annual reservoir drawdowns at Fall Creek Lake, Oregon, have occurred for eight consecutive years from December 2012 to November 2019. The annual drawdowns are the result of the 2008 Biological Opinion of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Willamette Valley Project operations, which directed the USACE to carry out interim operational measures that would provide volitional downstream...
Authors
Liam N. Schenk, Heather M. Bragg
Natural Attenuation in Source Zone and Groundwater Plume - Bemidji Crude Oil Spill Natural Attenuation in Source Zone and Groundwater Plume - Bemidji Crude Oil Spill
A long-term study of a 40-year-old crude oil spill provides insights about petroleum hydrocarbon natural attenuation processes and rates. In the source zone, fermentation coupled to methanogenesis is the dominant natural source zone depletion (NSZD) process, and most of the carbon mass exits the surface as CO2 efflux. Monitored natural attenuation (MNA) of the groundwater plume shows...
Authors
Barbara A. Bekins
Severity and extent of alterations to natural streamflow regimes based on hydrologic metrics in the conterminous United States, 1980–2014 Severity and extent of alterations to natural streamflow regimes based on hydrologic metrics in the conterminous United States, 1980–2014
Alteration of the natural streamflow regime by land and water management, such as land-cover change and dams, is associated with aquatic ecosystem degradation. The severity and geographic extent of streamflow alteration at regional and national scales, however, remain largely unquantified. The primary goal of this study is to characterize the severity and extent of alterations to natural
Authors
Ken Eng, Daren M. Carlisle, Theodore E. Grantham, David M. Wolock, Rosaly L. Eng
Metal bioavailability models: Current status, lessons learned, considerations for regulatory use, and the path forward Metal bioavailability models: Current status, lessons learned, considerations for regulatory use, and the path forward
Since the early 2000s, biotic ligand models and related constructs have been a dominant paradigm for risk assessment of aqueous metals in the environment. We critically review 1) the evidence for the mechanistic approach underlying metal bioavailability models; 2) considerations for the use and refinement of bioavailability-based toxicity models; 3) considerations for the incorporation...
Authors
Christopher A. Mebane, M. Jasim Chowdhury, Karel A.C. De Schamphelaere, Stephen Lofts, Paul R. Paquin, Robert C. Santore, Chris M. Wood
Microbial source tracking (MST) in Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area: Seasonal and precipitation trends in MST marker concentrations, and associations with E. coli levels, pathogenic marker presence, and land use Microbial source tracking (MST) in Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area: Seasonal and precipitation trends in MST marker concentrations, and associations with E. coli levels, pathogenic marker presence, and land use
Escherichia coli levels in recreational waters are often used to predict when fecal-associated pathogen levels are a human health risk. The reach of the Chattahoochee River that flows through the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA), located in the Atlanta-metropolitan area, is a popular recreation area that frequently exceeds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...
Authors
Anna M. McKee, Marirosa Molina, Mike Cyterski, Ann Couch
Flow modification in the Nation’s streams and rivers Flow modification in the Nation’s streams and rivers
This report summarizes a national assessment of flowing waters conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project and addresses several pressing questions about the modification of natural flows in streams and rivers. The assessment is based on the integration, modeling, and synthesis of monitoring data collected by the USGS and the U.S
Authors
Daren M. Carlisle, David M. Wolock, Christopher P. Konrad, Gregory J. McCabe, Ken Eng, Theodore E. Grantham, Barbara Mahler
Flood-inundation maps for the North Platte River at Scottsbluff and Gering, Nebraska, 2018 Flood-inundation maps for the North Platte River at Scottsbluff and Gering, Nebraska, 2018
Digital flood-inundation maps for an 8.8-mile reach of the North Platte River, from 1.5 miles upstream from the Highway 92 bridge to 3 miles downstream from the Highway 71 bridge in Scottsbluff County, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Cities of Scottsbluff and Gering, Nebraska. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the Flood...
Authors
Kellan R. Strauch
Methods for estimating the magnitude and frequency of peak streamflows for unregulated streams in Oklahoma developed by using streamflow data through 2017 Methods for estimating the magnitude and frequency of peak streamflows for unregulated streams in Oklahoma developed by using streamflow data through 2017
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, updated peak-streamflow regression equations for estimating flows with annual exceedance probabilities from 50 to 0.2 percent for the State of Oklahoma. These regression equations incorporate basin characteristics to estimate peak-streamflow magnitude and frequency throughout the State by...
Authors
Jason M. Lewis, Shelby L. Hunter, L.G. Labriola
Environmental tracer evidence for connection between shallow and bedrock aquifers and high intrinsic susceptibility to contamination of the conterminous U.S. glacial aquifer Environmental tracer evidence for connection between shallow and bedrock aquifers and high intrinsic susceptibility to contamination of the conterminous U.S. glacial aquifer
Covering a large portion of the northern conterminous United States (1.87 x 106 km2), the glacial aquifer serves as the primary water supply for 39 million public and domestic water users. Mean groundwater age, groundwater age distribution, and susceptibility to land surface contamination, using a new metric (Susceptibility Index; SI) based on the full age distribution and less prone to...
Authors
John E. Solder, Bryant Jurgens, Paul E. Stackelberg, Christopher L. Shope
An experimental evaluation of the feasibility of inferring concentrations of a visible tracer dye from remotely sensed data in turbid rivers An experimental evaluation of the feasibility of inferring concentrations of a visible tracer dye from remotely sensed data in turbid rivers
The movement of contaminants and biota within river channels is influenced by the flow field via various processes of dispersion. Understanding and modeling of these processes thus can facilitate applications ranging from the prediction of travel times for spills of toxic materials to the simulation of larval drift for endangered species of fish. A common means of examining dispersion in...
Authors
Carl J. Legleiter, Paul Manley, Susannah O. Erwin, Edward A. Bulliner