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: 19021
Tree sampling as a method to assess vapor intrusion potential at a site characterized by VOC-contaminated groundwater and soil Tree sampling as a method to assess vapor intrusion potential at a site characterized by VOC-contaminated groundwater and soil
Vapor intrusion (VI) by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the built environment presents a threat to human health. Traditional VI assessments are often time-, cost-, and labor-intensive; whereas traditional subsurface methods sample a relatively small volume in the subsurface and are difficult to collect within and near structures. Trees could provide a similar subsurface sample where...
Authors
Jordan L. Wilson, Matthew A. Limmer, V.A. Samaranayake, John G. Schumacher, Joel G. Burken
Loss of ecosystem services due to chronic pollution of forests and surface waters in the Adirondack region (USA) Loss of ecosystem services due to chronic pollution of forests and surface waters in the Adirondack region (USA)
Sustaining recent progress in mitigating acid pollution could require lower emissions caps that will give rise to real or perceived tradeoffs between healthy ecosystems and inexpensive energy. Because most impacts of acid rain affect ecosystem functions that are poorly understood by policy-makers and the public, an ecosystem services (ES) framework can help to measure how pollution...
Authors
Colin M. Beier, Jesse Caputo, Gregory B. Lawrence, Timothy J. Sullivan
Suspended sediment, turbidity, and stream water temperature in the Sauk River Basin, western Washington, water years 2012-16 Suspended sediment, turbidity, and stream water temperature in the Sauk River Basin, western Washington, water years 2012-16
The Sauk River is a federally designated Wild and Scenic River that drains a relatively undisturbed landscape along the western slope of the North Cascade Mountain Range, Washington, which includes the glaciated volcano, Glacier Peak. Naturally high sediment loads characteristic of basins draining volcanoes like Glacier Peak make the Sauk River a dominant contributor of sediment to the...
Authors
Kristin L. Jaeger, Christopher A. Curran, Scott W. Anderson, Scott T. Morris, Patrick W. Moran, Katherine A. Reams
Perspectives on chemical oceanography in the 21st century: Participants of the COME ABOARD Meeting examine aspects of the field in the context of 40 years of DISCO Perspectives on chemical oceanography in the 21st century: Participants of the COME ABOARD Meeting examine aspects of the field in the context of 40 years of DISCO
The questions that chemical oceanographers prioritize over the coming decades, and the methods we use to address these questions, will define our field's contribution to 21st century science. In recognition of this, the U.S. National Science Foundation and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration galvanized a community effort (the Chemical Oceanography MEeting: A BOttom-up...
Authors
Andrea J. Fassbender, Hilary I. Palevsky, Todd R. Martz, Anitra E. Ingalls, Martha Gledhill, Sarah E. Fawcett, Jay Brandes, Lihini Aluwihare, Robert M. Anderson, Sara Bender, Ed Boyle, Debbie Bronk, Ken Buesseler, David J. Burdige, Karen Casciotti, Hilary Close, Maureen Conte, Greg Cutter, Meg Estapa, Katja Fennel, Sara Ferron, Brian Glazer, Miguel Goni, Max Grand, Chris Guay, Mariko Hatta, Chris Hayes, Tristan Horner, Ellery Ingall, Kenneth G. Johnson, Laurie Juranek, Angela Knapp, Phoebe Lam, George Luther, Paty Matrai, David Nicholson, Adina Paytan, Robert Pellenbarg, Kim Popendorf, Christopher M. Reddy, Kathleen Ruttenberg, Chris Sabine, Frank Sansone, Nayrah Shaltout, Liz Sikes, Eric T. Sundquist, David Valentine, Zhao Wang, Sam Wilson, Pamela Barrett, Melanie Behrens, Anna Belcher, Lauren Biermann, Rene Boiteau, Jennifer Clarke, Jamie Collins, Alysha Coppola, Alina M. Ebling, Fenix Garcia-Tigreros, Johanna Goldman, Elisa F. Guallart, William Haskell, Sarah Hurley, David Janssen, Winn Johnson, Sinikka Lennhartz, Shuting Liu, Shaily Rahman, Daisy Ray, Amit Sarkar, Zvika Steiner, Brittany Widner, Bo Yang
Predicting outcomes of restored Everglades high flow: A model system for scientifically managed floodplains Predicting outcomes of restored Everglades high flow: A model system for scientifically managed floodplains
Restoration of higher flows through the Everglades is intended to reestablish sheetflow to rebuild a well-functioning ridge and slough landscape that supports a productive and diverse ecosystem. Our objective of the study was to use hydrologic simulations and biophysical analysis to predict restoration outcomes for five major subbasins of the Everglades. Five different scenarios of...
Authors
Jay Choi, Judson Harvey
Estimating the high-arsenic domestic-well population in the conterminous United States Estimating the high-arsenic domestic-well population in the conterminous United States
Arsenic concentrations from 20 450 domestic wells in the U.S. were used to develop a logistic regression model of the probability of having arsenic >10 μg/L (“high arsenic”), which is presented at the county, state, and national scales. Variables representing geologic sources, geochemical, hydrologic, and physical features were among the significant predictors of high arsenic. For U.S...
Authors
Joseph D. Ayotte, Laura Medalie, Sharon L. Qi, Lorraine C. Backer, Bernard T. Nolan
Disrupted carbon cycling in restored and unrestored urban streams: Critical timescales and controls Disrupted carbon cycling in restored and unrestored urban streams: Critical timescales and controls
Carbon fixation and respiration in flowing waterways play significant roles in global and regional carbon budgets, yet how land use and watershed management interact with temporal disturbances (storms) to influence metabolism remains poorly understood. Here, we combine long-term with synoptic sampling of metabolism and its variable controls in neighboring watersheds of the Chesapeake Bay...
Authors
L. G. Larsen, Judson Harvey
Updated polychlorinated biphenyl mass budget for Lake Michigan Updated polychlorinated biphenyl mass budget for Lake Michigan
This study revisits and updates the Lake Michigan Mass Balance Project (LMMBP) for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that was conducted in 1994–1995. This work uses recent concentrations of PCBs in tributary and open lake water, air, and sediment to calculate an updated mass budget. Five of the 11 LMMBP tributaries were revisited in 2015. In these five tributaries, the geometric mean...
Authors
Jiehong Guo, Kevin Romanak, Stephen M. Westenbroek, An Li, Russell Kreis, Ronald A. Hites, Marta Venier
Submersed aquatic vegetation in Chesapeake Bay: Sentinel species in a changing world Submersed aquatic vegetation in Chesapeake Bay: Sentinel species in a changing world
Chesapeake Bay has undergone profound changes since European settlement. Increases in human and livestock populations, associated changes in land use, increases in nutrient loadings, shoreline armoring, and depletion of fish stocks have altered the important habitats within the Bay. Submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) is a critical foundational habitat and provides numerous benefits and...
Authors
Robert J. Orth, William C. Dennison, Jonathon S. Lefcheck, Cassie Gurbisz, Michael P. Hannam, Jennifer L. Keisman, J. Brooke Landry, Kenneth A. Moore, Rebecca Murphy, Christopher J. Patrick, Jeremy Testa, Donald E. Weller, David J. Wilcox
The response of soil and stream chemistry to decreases in acid deposition in the Catskill Mountains, New York, USA The response of soil and stream chemistry to decreases in acid deposition in the Catskill Mountains, New York, USA
The Catskill Mountains have been adversely impacted by decades of acid deposition, however, since the early 1990s, levels have decreased sharply as a result of decreases in emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. This study examines trends in acid deposition, stream-water chemistry, and soil chemistry in the southeastern Catskill Mountains. We measured significant reductions in...
Authors
Michael McHale, Douglas A. Burns, Jason Siemion, Michael R. Antidormi
Simulation of groundwater flow and pumping scenarios for 1900–2050 near Mount Pleasant, South Carolina Simulation of groundwater flow and pumping scenarios for 1900–2050 near Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Groundwater withdrawals from the Upper Cretaceous-age Middendorf aquifer in South Carolina have created a large, regional cone of depression in the potentiometric surface of the Middendorf aquifer in Charleston and Berkeley Counties, South Carolina. Groundwater-level declines of as much as 249 feet have been observed in wells over the past 125 years and are a result of groundwater use...
Authors
Jason M. Fine, Matthew D. Petkewich, Bruce G. Campbell
Flow and residence times of dynamic river bank storage and sinuosity-driven hyporheic exchange Flow and residence times of dynamic river bank storage and sinuosity-driven hyporheic exchange
Hydrologic exchange fluxes (HEFs) vary significantly along river corridors due to spatiotemporal changes in discharge and geomorphology. This variability results in the emergence of biogeochemical hot-spots and hot-moments that ultimately control solute and energy transport and ecosystem services from the local to the watershed scales. In this work, we use a reduced-order model to gain...
Authors
J.D. Gomez-Velez, J.L. Wilson, M.B. Cardenas, Judson Harvey