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: 19018
Differentiable modelling to unify machine learning and physical models for geosciences Differentiable modelling to unify machine learning and physical models for geosciences
Process-based modelling offers interpretability and physical consistency in many domains of geosciences but struggles to leverage large datasets efficiently. Machine-learning methods, especially deep networks, have strong predictive skills yet are unable to answer specific scientific questions. In this Perspective, we explore differentiable modelling as a pathway to dissolve the...
Authors
Chaopeng Shen, Alison P. Appling, Pierre Gentine, Toshiyuki Bandai, Hoshin Gupta, Alexandre Tartakovsky, Marco Baity-Jesi, Fabrizio Fenicia, Daniel Kifer, Li Li, Xiaofeng Liu, Wei Ren, Yi Zheng, Ciaran Harman, Martyn Clark, Matthew Farthing, Dapeng Feng, Praveen Kumar, Doaa Aboelyazeed, Farshid Rahmani, Yalan Song, Hylke E. Beck, Tadd Bindas, Dipankar Dwivedi, Kuai Fang, Marvin Hoge, Chris Rackauckas, Binayak Mohanty, Roy, Chonggang Xu, Kathryn Lawson
Assessment of salinity retention or mobilization by sediment-retention ponds near Delta, Colorado, 2019 Assessment of salinity retention or mobilization by sediment-retention ponds near Delta, Colorado, 2019
Salinity control efforts in the Colorado River Basin have focused on mobilization of salts from irrigated land, but nonirrigated rangelands are also a source of salinity. In particular, lands where soils have formed from the Late Cretaceous Mancos Shale under arid and semiarid climates contain considerable quantities of salt, mainly in the subsurface. Hundreds of thousands of contour...
Authors
Rodney J. Richards, Carleton R. Bern, Victoria Moreno
Potential effects of projected pumping scenarios on future water-table elevations near Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico Potential effects of projected pumping scenarios on future water-table elevations near Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, simulated different groundwater pumping scenarios from 2016 to 2050 to determine the potential future changes in groundwater levels in areas around the Kirtland Air Force Base Bulk Fuels Facility and an ethylene dibromide (EDB) plume. Projections of water supply and demand created by the Albuquerque...
Authors
Allison K. Flickinger
Guidelines for field-measured water-quality properties Guidelines for field-measured water-quality properties
The “National Field Manual for the Collection of Water-Quality Data” (NFM) provides guidelines and procedures for U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) personnel who collect data used to assess the quality of the Nation’s surface-water and groundwater resources. This chapter, NFM A6.0, provides guidance and protocols for the measurement of field parameters on site, which include the selection of...
BioLake: A first assessment of lake temperature-derived bioclimatic predictors for aquatic invasive species BioLake: A first assessment of lake temperature-derived bioclimatic predictors for aquatic invasive species
Aquatic invasive species (AIS) present major ecological and economic challenges globally, endangering ecosystems and human livelihoods. Managers and policy makers thus need tools to predict invasion risk and prioritize species and areas of concern, and they often use native range climate matching to determine whether a species could persist in a new location. However, climate matching...
Authors
Ryan C. Burner, Wesley Daniel, Peder S. Engelstad, Christopher J. Churchill, Richard A. Erickson
Predicting inundation dynamics and hydroperiods of small, isolated wetlands using a machine learning approach Predicting inundation dynamics and hydroperiods of small, isolated wetlands using a machine learning approach
The duration of inundation or saturation (i.e., hydroperiod) controls many wetland functions. In particular, it is a key determinant of whether a wetland will provide suitable breeding habitat for amphibians and other taxa that often have specific hydrologic requirements. Yet, scientists and land managers often are challenged by a lack of sufficient monitoring data to enable the...
Authors
Jeffrey W. Riley, Charles C. Stillwell
Atmospheric deposition of inorganic reactive nitrogen at the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, 2017–19 Atmospheric deposition of inorganic reactive nitrogen at the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, 2017–19
The Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge (RFNWR) in Colorado is home to increasingly rare, xeric tallgrass prairie. The RFNWR is also located near many combustion and agricultural sources of inorganic reactive nitrogen (Nr), which emit Nr to the atmosphere. Wet atmospheric deposition of Nr was monitored at RFNWR during 2017–19 by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S...
Authors
Gregory A. Wetherbee
Beyond simple trend tests: Detecting significant changes in design-flood quantiles Beyond simple trend tests: Detecting significant changes in design-flood quantiles
Changes in annual maximum flood (AMF), which are usually detected using simple trend tests (e.g., Mann-Kendall test (MKT)), are expected to change design-flood estimates. We propose an alternate framework to detect significant changes in design-flood between two periods and evaluate it for synthetically generated AMF from the Log-Pearson Type-3 (LP3) distribution due to changes in...
Authors
Chandramauli Awasthi, Stacey A. Archfield, Brian J. Reich, Arumugam Sankarasubramanian
A novel suspended-sediment sampling method: Depth-Integrated Grab (DIG) A novel suspended-sediment sampling method: Depth-Integrated Grab (DIG)
Measuring suspended sediment in fluvial systems is critical to understanding and managing water resources. Sampling suspended sediment has been the primary means of understanding fluvial suspended sediment. Specialized samplers, sampling methods, and laboratory methods developed by select U.S. Federal Agencies are more representative of river and stream conditions than commonly used grab...
Authors
Joel T. Groten, Sara B. Levin, Erin N. Coenen, J. William Lund, Gregory D. Johnson
Frequently asked questions about water quality in the Coeur d’Alene Basin area Frequently asked questions about water quality in the Coeur d’Alene Basin area
No abstract available.
Authors
Lauren M. Zinsser
The "H," "A," and "B" of a HAB: A definitional framework The "H," "A," and "B" of a HAB: A definitional framework
The use of the phrase “harmful algal bloom” and the acronym HAB originated in the marine science world, and referred to blooms also known as red tides, which can kill fish and sea life. The organisms that make up marine HABs generally do not thrive in lakes. In freshwater, HABs are most often associated with blooms of toxin-producing cyanobacteria. The term HAB started to be used broadly...
Authors
Rebecca Michelle Gorney, Jennifer L. Graham, Jennifer C. Murphy
Hydrologic framework and characterization of the Little Colorado River alluvial aquifer near Leupp, Arizona Hydrologic framework and characterization of the Little Colorado River alluvial aquifer near Leupp, Arizona
The Little Colorado River alluvial aquifer near Leupp, Arizona, was investigated as a possible source of irrigation water for the Leupp and Birdsprings Chapters of the Navajo Nation. The physical, chemical, and hydraulic characteristics of the alluvial aquifer were studied using geophysical surveys, installation of observation wells, water-level measurements, chemical analyses...
Authors
Jon P. Mason, Jeffrey R. Kennedy, Jamie P. Macy, Bruce Gungle