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: 19033
Water for Long Island: Now and for the future Water for Long Island: Now and for the future
Do you ever wonder where your water comes from? If you live in Nassau or Suffolk County, the answer is, groundwater. Groundwater is water that started out as precipitation (rain and snow melt) and seeped into the ground. This seepage recharges the freshwater stored underground, in the spaces between the grains of sand and gravel in what are referred to as aquifers. Long Island has three...
Authors
John P. Masterson, Robert F. Breault
Spatial and temporal variation in river corridor exchange across a 5th order mountain stream network Spatial and temporal variation in river corridor exchange across a 5th order mountain stream network
Although most field and modeling studies of river corridor exchange have been conducted a scales ranging from 10’s to 100’s of meters; results of these studies are used to predict their ecological and hydrological influences at the scale of river networks. Further complicating prediction, exchanges are expected to vary with hydrologic forcing and the local geomorphic setting. While we...
Authors
Adam S Ward, Steven Wondzell, Noah Schmadel, Skuyler Herzog, Jay P. Zarnetske, Viktor Baranov, Phillip J Blaen, Nicolai Brekenfeld, Rosalie Chu, Romain Derelle, Jennifer D. Drummond, Jan Fleckenstein, Vanessa Garayburu-Caruso, Emily B. Graham, David Hannah, Ciaran Harman, Jase Hixson, Julia L.A. Knapp, Stefan Krause, Marie Kurz, Jorg Lewandowski, Angang Li, Eugènia Martí, Melinda Miller, Alexander Milner, Kerry Neil, Luisa Orsini, Aaron I. Packman, Stephen Plont, Lupita Renteria, Kevin Roche, Todd V Royer, Catalina Segura, James Stegen, Jason Toyoda, Jacqueline Wells, Nathan Wisnoski
Hydrologic conditions in Kansas, water year 2018 Hydrologic conditions in Kansas, water year 2018
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Federal, State, and local agencies, maintains a long-term network of hydrologic monitoring stations in Kansas. In water year 2018, this network included 219 real-time streamgages. A water year is the 12-month period from October 1 through September 30 and is designated by the calendar year in which it ends. Real-time data are calibrated and...
Authors
Angela H. Unrein
Regression models for estimating sediment and nutrient concentrations and loads at the Iroquois River near Foresman, Indiana, March 2015 through July 2018 Regression models for estimating sediment and nutrient concentrations and loads at the Iroquois River near Foresman, Indiana, March 2015 through July 2018
In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Iroquois River Conservancy District, deployed continuous water-quality monitors and began collecting representative discrete water-quality samples at the Iroquois River near Foresman, Indiana, streamflow-gaging station (U.S. Geological Survey station 05524500). By relating continuously monitored water-quality data and discrete...
Authors
Timothy R. Lathrop, Aubrey R. Bunch, Myles S. Downhour, Daniel M. Perkins
Dissolved oxygen controls summer habitat of Clear Lake Hitch (Lavinia exilicauda chi), an imperilled potamodromous cyprinid Dissolved oxygen controls summer habitat of Clear Lake Hitch (Lavinia exilicauda chi), an imperilled potamodromous cyprinid
The Clear Lake Hitch is an imperiled minnow endemic to Clear Lake, Lake County, California, USA that is listed as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act (ESA) and is a candidate for listing under the United States ESA. It exhibits a potamodromous life cycle whereby adults, which reach up to 6+ years in age and over 350 mm in length, migrate into Clear Lake’s ephemeral...
Authors
Frederick V. Feyrer, Matt Young, Oliver Patton, David E. Ayers
Streamflow—Water year 2018 Streamflow—Water year 2018
The maps and graphs in this summary describe national streamflow conditions for water year 2018 (October 1, 2017, to September 30, 2018) in the context of streamflow ranks relative to the 89-year period of water years 1930–2018. The illustrations are based on observed data from the U.S. Geological Survey National Streamflow Network. Annual runoff in the Nation’s rivers and streams during...
Authors
Xiaodong Jian, David M. Wolock, Steven J. Brady, Harry F. Lins
Potential interaction of groundwater and surface water including autonomous underwater vehicle reconnaissance at Nolin River Lake, Kentucky, 2016 Potential interaction of groundwater and surface water including autonomous underwater vehicle reconnaissance at Nolin River Lake, Kentucky, 2016
The U.S. Geological Survey collaborated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District, on a synoptic study of water quality at Nolin River Lake during August 2016. The purpose of the study was to develop a better understanding of the potential for interaction between groundwater and surface water at Nolin River Lake, Kentucky. Groundwater can have properties that are...
Authors
Angela S. Crain, Justin A. Boldt, Randall E. Bayless, Aubrey R. Bunch, Jade L. Young, Jennifer C. Thomason, Zachary L. Wolf
Regionalization of groundwater residence time using metamodeling Regionalization of groundwater residence time using metamodeling
Groundwater residence-time distributions (RTDs) are critical for assessing susceptibility of water resources to degradation. A novel combination of numerical modeling and statistical methods allows estimation of regional RTDs with unprecedented speed. In this method, particle RTDs are generated in 30 type locales in the northeastern glaciated U.S using automated generalized finite...
Authors
J. Jeffrey Starn, Kenneth Belitz
Anthropogenic and geologic causes of anomalously high uranium concentrations in groundwater used for drinking water supply in the southeastern San Joaquin Valley, CA Anthropogenic and geologic causes of anomalously high uranium concentrations in groundwater used for drinking water supply in the southeastern San Joaquin Valley, CA
Concentrations of uranium (U) >30 µg/L in groundwater are relatively uncommon in drinking water in the United States but can be of concern in those areas where complex interactions of aquifer materials and anthropogenic alterations of the natural flow regime mobilize uranium. High concentrations (>30 µg/L) of U in the southeastern San Joaquin Valley, California, USA, have been detected...
Authors
Michael R. Rosen, Karen R. Burow, Miranda Fram
Coastal Salinity Index along the southeastern Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico, 1983 to 2018 Coastal Salinity Index along the southeastern Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico, 1983 to 2018
Coastal droughts have a different dynamic than upland droughts, which are typically characterized by agricultural, hydrologic, meteorological, and (or) socioeconomic effects. Drought uniquely affects coastal ecosystems because of changes in the salinity conditions of estuarine creeks and rivers. The location of the freshwater-saltwater interface in surface-water bodies is an important...
Authors
Matthew D. Petkewich, Kirsten Lackstrom, Bryan J. McCloskey, Lauren F. Rouen, Paul A. Conrads
Spatial fingerprinting of biogenic and anthropogenic volatile organic compounds in an arid unsaturated zone Spatial fingerprinting of biogenic and anthropogenic volatile organic compounds in an arid unsaturated zone
Subsurface volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can pose risks to human and environmental health and mediate biological processes. VOCs have both anthropogenic and biogenic origins, but the relative importance of these sources has not been explored in subsurface environments. This study synthesizes 17 years of VOC data from the Amargosa Desert Research Site (ADRS) with the goal of improving
Authors
Christopher Green, Wentai Luo, Christopher H. Conaway, Karl B. Haase, Ronald J. Baker, Brian J. Andraski
Linking sedimentation and erosion patterns with reservoir morphology and dam operations during streambed drawdowns in a flood-control reservoir in the Oregon Cascades Linking sedimentation and erosion patterns with reservoir morphology and dam operations during streambed drawdowns in a flood-control reservoir in the Oregon Cascades
Since water-year (WY) 2011, pool levels at Fall Creek Lake, Oregon, are temporarily lowered to an elevation near historical streambed each fall, creating free-flowing channel conditions that facilitate downstream passage of juvenile spring Chinook salmon. These drawdown operations have also mobilized substantial quantities of predominantly fine (
Authors
Mackenzie K. Keith, Laurel E. Stratton