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
Competitive interactions among H, CU, and Zn ion moderate aqueous uptake of Cu and Zn by an aquatic insect Competitive interactions among H, CU, and Zn ion moderate aqueous uptake of Cu and Zn by an aquatic insect
The absorption of aqueous copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) by aquatic insects, a group widely used to assess water quality, is unresolved. This study examined interactions among Cu, Zn, and protons that potentially moderate Cu and Zn uptake by the acid-tolerant stonefly Zapada sp. Saturation uptake kinetics was imposed to identify competitive mechanisms. Decreasing pH reduced the maximum...
Authors
Daniel J. Cain, Marie Noele Croteau, Christopher C. Fuller
Vertical distribution of microplastics in the water column and surficial sediment from the Milwaukee River basin to Lake Michigan Vertical distribution of microplastics in the water column and surficial sediment from the Milwaukee River basin to Lake Michigan
Microplastic contamination was studied along a freshwater continuum from inland streams to the Milwaukee River estuary to Lake Michigan, and vertically from the water surface, water subsurface and sediment. Microplastics were detected in all 96 water samples and nine sediment samples collected. Results indicated a gradient of polymer presence with depth: low-density particles decreased...
Authors
Peter L. Lenaker, Austin K. Baldwin, Steven R. Corsi, Sherri A. Mason, Paul C. Reneau, John W Scott
Projected urban growth in the Southeastern USA puts small streams at risk Projected urban growth in the Southeastern USA puts small streams at risk
Future land-use development has the potential to profoundly affect the health of aquatic ecosystems in the coming decades. We developed regression models predicting the loss of sensitive fish (R2=0.39) and macroinvertebrate (R2=0.64) taxa as a function of urban and agricultural land uses and applied them to projected urbanization of the rapidly urbanizing Piedmont ecoregion of the...
Authors
Peter C. Van Metre, Ian R. Waite, Sharon L. Qi, Barbara Mahler, Adam Terando, Michael Wieczorek, Michael R. Meador, Paul M. Bradley, Celeste A. Journey, Travis S. Schmidt, Daren M. Carlisle
Escherichia coli in the Santa Cruz River in Tumacácori National Historical Park, Arizona Escherichia coli in the Santa Cruz River in Tumacácori National Historical Park, Arizona
At Tumacácori National Historical Park in southern Arizona, resource managers are concerned about microbial pathogens in the Santa Cruz River that could pose a serious health risk to employees and visitors. The U.S. Geological Survey recently completed a comprehensive 3-year study of water quality in the Santa Cruz River watershed that investigated the possible sources of microbial...
Authors
Nicholas V. Paretti
Spatial and temporal distribution of bacterial indicators and microbial-source tracking within Tumacácori National Historical Park and the upper Santa Cruz River, southern Arizona and northern Mexico, 2015–2016 Spatial and temporal distribution of bacterial indicators and microbial-source tracking within Tumacácori National Historical Park and the upper Santa Cruz River, southern Arizona and northern Mexico, 2015–2016
Tumacácori National Historical Park (TUMA) in southern Arizona protects the culturally important Mission San José de Tumacácori, while also managing a part of the ecologically diverse riparian corridor of the Santa Cruz River. The quality of the water flowing through depends solely on upstream watershed activities, and among the water-quality issues concerning TUMA is the microbiological...
Authors
Nicholas V. Paretti, Christopher M. Kephart, Thomas J. Porter, Edyth Hermosillo, Jay R. Cederberg, Justine P. Mayo, Bruce Gungle, Alissa L. Coes, Rachel S. Tucci, Laura M. Norman
River water-quality concentration and flux estimation can be improved by accounting for serial correlation through an autoregressive model River water-quality concentration and flux estimation can be improved by accounting for serial correlation through an autoregressive model
Accurate quantification of riverine water‐quality concentration and flux is challenging because monitoring programs typically collect concentration data at lower frequencies than discharge data. Statistical methods are often used to estimate concentration and flux on days without observations. One recently developed approach is the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season...
Authors
Qian Zhang, Robert M. Hirsch
Calibration of the USGS National Hydrologic Model in ungauged basins using statistical at-site streamflow simulations Calibration of the USGS National Hydrologic Model in ungauged basins using statistical at-site streamflow simulations
In the absence of measured streamflow, statistically simulated daily streamflow can be used to support the ability of physical models to represent hydrologic processes at ungauged locations. The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of using statistical simulations in place of measured streamflow to calibrate physical models in ungauged basins. Daily streamflow was...
Authors
William Farmer, Jacob LaFontaine, Lauren Hay
Records of engagement and decision making for environmental and socio-ecological challenges Records of engagement and decision making for environmental and socio-ecological challenges
We propose creating and maintaining records of engagement and decision-making (RoED) to help us and our communities better understand ourselves, our goals, our decisions, and the dynamic systems in which we all live. The purpose of RoED is to go well beyond noting that dialogue occurred or a decision was reached. The records should, in ways appropriate to the context and participants...
Authors
Kristan Cockerill, Pierre D. Glynn, Ilan Chabay, Mahmud Farooque, Raimo Hamalainen, Ben Miyamoto, Patricia McKay
A novel method for the extraction, purification and characterization of noble gases in produced fluids A novel method for the extraction, purification and characterization of noble gases in produced fluids
Hydrocarbon systems with declining or viscous oil production are often stimulated using enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques, such as the injection of water, steam and CO2, in order to increase oil and gas production. As EOR and other methods of enhancing production such as hydraulic fracturing have become more prevalent, environmental concerns about the impact of both new and...
Authors
Rebecca L. Tyne, Peter H Barry, D J Hillegonds, Andrew G. Hunt, Justin T. Kulongoski, Michael J. Stephens, D.J. Byrne, C. J. Ballentine
Adapterama II: Universal amplicon sequencing on Illumina platforms (TaggiMatrix) Adapterama II: Universal amplicon sequencing on Illumina platforms (TaggiMatrix)
Next-generation sequencing (NGS) of amplicons is used in a wide variety of contexts. In many cases, NGS amplicon sequencing remains overly expensive and inflexible, with library preparation strategies relying upon the fusion of locus-specific primers to full-length adapter sequences with a single identifying sequence or ligating adapters onto PCR products. In Adapterama I, we presented...
Authors
Travis C Glenn, Todd W Pierson, Natalia J Bayona-Vasquez, Troy J. Kieran, Sandra L. Hoffberg, Jesse Thomas, Daniel E. Lefever, John W. Finger Jr., Bei Gao, Xiaoming Bian, Swarnali Louha, Ramya Kolli, Kerin Bentley, Julie Rushmore, Kelvin Wong, Michael Rothrock, Anna M. McKee, Tai L. Guo, Rodney Mauricio, Marirosa Molina, Brian Cummings, Lawrence H. Lash, Kun Lu, Gregory S. Gilbert, Stephen P. Hubbell, Brant C. Faircloth
sUAS-based remote sensing of river discharge using thermal particle image velocimetry and bathymetric lidar sUAS-based remote sensing of river discharge using thermal particle image velocimetry and bathymetric lidar
This paper describes a non-contact methodology for computing river discharge based on data collected from small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS). The approach is complete in that both surface velocity and channel geometry are measured directly under field conditions. The technique does not require introducing artificial tracer particles for computing surface velocity, nor does it rely upon...
Authors
Paul J. Kinzel, Carl J. Legleiter
PFHydro: A new watershed-scale model for post-fire runoff simulation PFHydro: A new watershed-scale model for post-fire runoff simulation
Runoff increases after wildfires that burn vegetation and create a condition of soil-water repellence (SWR). A new post-fire watershed hydrological model, PFHydro, was created to explicitly simulate vegetation interception and SWR effects for four burn severity categories: high, medium, low severity and unburned. The model was applied to simulate post-fire runoff from the Upper Cache...
Authors
Jun Wang, Michelle A. Stern, Vanessa M. King, Charles N. Alpers, Nigel W. T. Quinn, Alan L. Flint, Lorraine E. Flint