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
Climate and streamflow characteristics for selected streamgages in eastern South Dakota, water years 1945–2013 Climate and streamflow characteristics for selected streamgages in eastern South Dakota, water years 1945–2013
Upward trends in precipitation and streamflow have been observed in the northeastern Missouri River Basin during the past century, including the area of eastern South Dakota. Some of the identified upward trends were anomalously large relative to surrounding parts of the northern Great Plains. Forcing factors for streamflow trends in eastern South Dakota are not well understood, and it...
Authors
Galen K. Hoogestraat, John F. Stamm
Trends and natural variability of North American spring onset as evaluated by a new gridded dataset of spring indices Trends and natural variability of North American spring onset as evaluated by a new gridded dataset of spring indices
Climate change is expected to modify the timing of seasonal transitions this century, impacting wildlife migrations, ecosystem function, and agricultural activity. Tracking seasonal transitions in a consistent manner across space and through time requires indices that can be used for monitoring and managing biophysical and ecological systems during the coming decades. Here a new gridded...
Authors
Toby R. Ault, Mark D. Schwartz, Raul Zurita-Milla, Jake F. Weltzin, Julio L. Betancourt
LIMS for Lasers 2015 for achieving long-term accuracy and precision of δ2H, δ17O, and δ18O of waters using laser absorption spectrometry LIMS for Lasers 2015 for achieving long-term accuracy and precision of δ2H, δ17O, and δ18O of waters using laser absorption spectrometry
Rationale Although laser absorption spectrometry (LAS) instrumentation is easy to use, its incorporation into laboratory operations is not easy, owing to extensive offline manipulation of comma-separated-values files for outlier detection, between-sample memory correction, nonlinearity (δ-variation with water amount) correction, drift correction, normalization to VSMOW-SLAP scales, and...
Authors
Tyler B. Coplen, Leonard I Wassenaar
In Response: Biological arguments for selecting effect sizes in ecotoxicological testing—A governmental perspective In Response: Biological arguments for selecting effect sizes in ecotoxicological testing—A governmental perspective
Criticisms of the uses of the no-observed-effect concentration (NOEC) and the lowest-observed-effect concentration (LOEC) and more generally the entire null hypothesis statistical testing scheme are hardly new or unique to the field of ecotoxicology [1-4]. Among the criticisms of NOECs and LOECs is that statistically similar LOECs (in terms of p value) can represent drastically different...
Authors
Christopher A. Mebane
Stable carbon isotope fractionation during bacterial acetylene fermentation: Potential for life detection in hydrocarbon-rich volatiles of icy planet(oid)s Stable carbon isotope fractionation during bacterial acetylene fermentation: Potential for life detection in hydrocarbon-rich volatiles of icy planet(oid)s
We report the first study of stable carbon isotope fractionation during microbial fermentation of acetylene (C2H2) in sediments, sediment enrichments, and bacterial cultures. Kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) averaged 3.7 ± 0.5‰ for slurries prepared with sediment collected at an intertidal mudflat in San Francisco Bay and 2.7 ± 0.2‰ for a pure culture of Pelobacter sp. isolated from these...
Authors
Laurence Miller, Shaun Baesman, Ron Oremland
Mercury in stream water at five Czech catchments across a Hg and S deposition gradient Mercury in stream water at five Czech catchments across a Hg and S deposition gradient
The Czech Republic was heavily industrialized in the second half of the 20th century but the associated emissions of Hg and S from coal burning were significantly reduced since the 1990s. We studied dissolved (filtered) stream water mercury (Hg) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations at five catchments with contrasting Hg and S deposition histories in the Bohemian part of the...
Authors
Tomáš Navrátil, James B. Shanley, Jan Rohovec, Filip Oulehle, Pavel Kram, Sarka Matouskova, Miroslav Tesar, Maria Hojdová
A bootstrap method for estimating uncertainty of water quality trends A bootstrap method for estimating uncertainty of water quality trends
Estimation of the direction and magnitude of trends in surface water quality remains a problem of great scientific and practical interest. The Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) method was recently introduced as an exploratory data analysis tool to provide flexible and robust estimates of water quality trends. This paper enhances the WRTDS method through the...
Authors
Robert M. Hirsch, Stacey A. Archfield, Laura A. DeCicco
Widespread occurrence of (per)chlorate in the Solar System Widespread occurrence of (per)chlorate in the Solar System
Perchlorate (ClO− 4 ) and chlorate (ClO− 3 ) are ubiquitous on Earth and ClO− 4 has also been found on Mars. These species can play important roles in geochemical processes such as oxidation of organic matter and as biological electron acceptors, and are also indicators of important photochemical reactions involving oxyanions; on Mars they could be relevant for human habitability both in...
Authors
W. Andrew Jackson, Alfonso F Davila, Derek W. G. Sears, John D. Coates, Christopher P. McKay, Meaghan Brundrett, Nubia Estrada, J.K. Bohlke
Interpretation of hydraulic conductivity in a fractured-rock aquifer over increasingly larger length dimensions Interpretation of hydraulic conductivity in a fractured-rock aquifer over increasingly larger length dimensions
A comparison of the hydraulic conductivity over increasingly larger volumes of crystalline rock was conducted in the Piedmont physiographic region near Bethesda, Maryland, USA. Fluid-injection tests were conducted on intervals of boreholes isolating closely spaced fractures. Single-hole tests were conducted by pumping in open boreholes for approximately 30 min, and an interference test...
Authors
Allen M. Shapiro, Jeffery Ladderud, Richard M. Yager
Nutrient-enhanced decomposition of plant biomass in a freshwater wetland Nutrient-enhanced decomposition of plant biomass in a freshwater wetland
We studied soil decomposition in a Panicum hemitomon (Schultes)-dominated freshwater marsh located in southeastern Louisiana that was unambiguously changed by secondarily-treated municipal wastewater effluent. We used four approaches to evaluate how belowground biomass decomposition rates vary under different nutrient regimes in this marsh. The results of laboratory experiments...
Authors
James E. Bodker, Robert Eugene Turner, Andrew Tweel, Christopher Schulz, Christopher M. Swarzenski
Global climate simulations at 3000-year intervals for the last 21 000 years with the GENMOM coupled atmosphere–ocean model Global climate simulations at 3000-year intervals for the last 21 000 years with the GENMOM coupled atmosphere–ocean model
We apply GENMOM, a coupled atmosphere–ocean climate model, to simulate eight equilibrium time slices at 3000-year intervals for the past 21 000 years forced by changes in Earth–Sun geometry, atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs), continental ice sheets, and sea level. Simulated global cooling during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is 3.8 ◦C and the rate of post-glacial warming is in overall...
Authors
Jay R. Alder, Steven W. Hostetler
Bringing GRACE down to Earth Bringing GRACE down to Earth
No abstract available.
Authors
William M. Alley, Leonard F. Konikow