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
GFDL's ESM2 global coupled climate-carbon Earth System Models. Part I: physical formulation and baseline simulation characteristics GFDL's ESM2 global coupled climate-carbon Earth System Models. Part I: physical formulation and baseline simulation characteristics
We describe the physical climate formulation and simulation characteristics of two new global coupled carbon-climate Earth System Models, ESM2M and ESM2G. These models demonstrate similar climate fidelity as the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory's previous CM2.1 climate model while incorporating explicit and consistent carbon dynamics. The two models differ exclusively in the...
Authors
John P. Dunne, Jasmin G. John, Alistair J. Adcroft, Stephen M. Griffies, Robert W. Hallberg, Elena Shevalikova, Ronald J. Stouffer, William Cooke, Krista A. Dunne, Matthew J. Harrison, John P. Krasting, Sergey L. Malyshev, P. C. D. Milly, Peter J. Phillipps, Lori A. Sentman, Bonita L. Samuels, Michael J. Spelman, Michael Winton, Andrew T. Wittenberg, Niki Zadeh
Freshwater DOM quantity and quality from a two-component model of UV absorbance Freshwater DOM quantity and quality from a two-component model of UV absorbance
We present a model that considers UV-absorbing dissolved organic matter (DOM) to consist of two components (A and B), each with a distinct and constant spectrum. Component A absorbs UV light strongly, and is therefore presumed to possess aromatic chromophores and hydrophobic character, whereas B absorbs weakly and can be assumed hydrophilic. We parameterised the model with dissolved...
Authors
Heather T. Carter, Edward Tipping, Jean-Francois Koprivnjak, Matthew P. Miller, Brenda Cookson, John Hamilton-Taylor
Evaluating changes in matrix based, recovery-adjusted concentrations in paired data for pesticides in groundwater Evaluating changes in matrix based, recovery-adjusted concentrations in paired data for pesticides in groundwater
Pesticide concentration data for waters from selected carbonate-rock aquifers in agricultural areas of Pennsylvania were collected in 1993–2009 for occurrence and distribution assessments. A set of 30 wells was visited once in 1993–1995 and again in 2008–2009 to assess concentration changes. The data include censored matched pairs (nondetections of a compound in one or both samples of a...
Authors
Tammy M. Zimmerman, Kevin J. Breen
Assessment of nutrients and suspended sediment conditions in and near the Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge, Northwest Minnesota, 2008–2010 Assessment of nutrients and suspended sediment conditions in and near the Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge, Northwest Minnesota, 2008–2010
In response to concerns about water-quality impairments that may affect habitat degradation in Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge in northwest Minnesota, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service collected streamflow data, discrete nutrient and suspended- sediment samples, and continuous water-quality data from 2008 to 2010. Constituent loads were...
Authors
Rochelle A. Nustad, Joel M. Galloway
Water Resources of Beauregard Parish Water Resources of Beauregard Parish
In 2005, about 30.6 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water was withdrawn in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana, including about 30.4 Mgal/d from groundwater sources and 0.1 Mgal/d from surface water sources. Industrial use, primarily for wood products, accounted for about 72 percent (22.0 Mgal/d) of the total water withdrawn. Other categories of use included public supply, rural domestic...
Authors
Lawrence B. Prakken, Jason M. Griffith, Robert B. Fendick
Flood risk awareness during the 2011 floods in the central United States: showcasing the importance of hydrologic data and interagency collaboration Flood risk awareness during the 2011 floods in the central United States: showcasing the importance of hydrologic data and interagency collaboration
Floods have long had a major impact on society and the environment, evidenced by the more than 1,500 federal disaster declarations since 1952 that were associated with flooding. Calendar year 2011 was an epic year for floods in the United States, from the flooding on the Red River of the North in late spring to the Ohio, Mississippi, and Missouri River basin floods in the spring and...
Authors
Robert R. Holmes, Noreen O. Schwein, Charles E. Shadie
Evaluation of SNODAS snow depth and snow water equivalent estimates for the Colorado Rocky Mountains, USA Evaluation of SNODAS snow depth and snow water equivalent estimates for the Colorado Rocky Mountains, USA
The National Weather Service's Snow Data Assimilation (SNODAS) program provides daily, gridded estimates of snow depth, snow water equivalent (SWE), and related snow parameters at a 1-km2 resolution for the conterminous USA. In this study, SNODAS snow depth and SWE estimates were compared with independent, ground-based snow survey data in the Colorado Rocky Mountains to assess SNODAS...
Authors
David W. Clow, Leora Nanus, Kristine L. Verdin, Jeffrey Schmidt
Habitat use by a freshwater dolphin in the low-water season Habitat use by a freshwater dolphin in the low-water season
1. Many river dolphin populations are most vulnerable during the low-water season when habitat is limited. Indus River dolphin habitat selection in the dry season was investigated using Generalized Linear Models of dolphin distribution and abundance in relation to physical features of river geomorphology and channel geometry in cross-section. 2. Dolphins selected locations in the river...
Authors
Gill T. Braulik, Albert P. Reichert, Tahir Ehsan, Samiullah Khan, Simon P. Northridge, Jason S. Alexander, Richard Garstang
ArxA, a new clade of arsenite oxidase within the DMSO reductase family of molybdenum oxidoreductases ArxA, a new clade of arsenite oxidase within the DMSO reductase family of molybdenum oxidoreductases
Arsenotrophy, growth coupled to autotrophic arsenite oxidation or arsenate respiratory reduction, occurs only in the prokaryotic domain of life. The enzymes responsible for arsenotrophy belong to distinct clades within the DMSO reductase family of molybdenum-containing oxidoreductases: specifically arsenate respiratory reductase, ArrA, and arsenite oxidase, AioA (formerly referred to as...
Authors
Kamrun Zargar, Alison Conrad, David L. Bernick, Todd M. Lowe, Viktor Stolc, Shelley Hoeft, Ronald S. Oremland, John Stolz, Chad W. Saltikov
Groundwater quality in the Columbia Plateau, Snake River Plain, and Oahu basaltic-rock and basin-fill aquifers in the Northwestern United States and Hawaii, 1992-2010 Groundwater quality in the Columbia Plateau, Snake River Plain, and Oahu basaltic-rock and basin-fill aquifers in the Northwestern United States and Hawaii, 1992-2010
This assessment of groundwater-quality conditions of the Columbia Plateau, Snake River Plain, and Oahu for the period 1992–2010 is part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program. It shows where, when, why, and how specific water-quality conditions occur in groundwater of the three study areas and yields science-based implications for assessing and...
Authors
Lonna M. Frans, Michael G. Rupert, Charles D. Hunt, Kenneth D. Skinner
Concentrations of selected metals in Quaternary-age fluvial deposits along the lower Cheyenne and middle Belle Fourche Rivers, western South Dakota, 2009-10 Concentrations of selected metals in Quaternary-age fluvial deposits along the lower Cheyenne and middle Belle Fourche Rivers, western South Dakota, 2009-10
The headwaters of the Cheyenne and Belle Fourche Rivers drain the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming, an area that has been affected by mining and ore-milling operations since the discovery of gold in 1875. A tributary to the Belle Fourche River is Whitewood Creek, which drains the area of the Homestake Mine, a gold mine that operated from 1876 to 2001. Tailings discharged into...
Authors
John F. Stamm, Galen K. Hoogestraat
Combined sewer overflows: an environmental source of hormones and wastewater micropollutants Combined sewer overflows: an environmental source of hormones and wastewater micropollutants
Data were collected at a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Burlington, Vermont, USA, (serving 30,000 people) to assess the relative contribution of CSO (combined sewer overflow) bypass flows and treated wastewater effluent to the load of steroid hormones and other wastewater micropollutants (WMPs) from a WWTP to a lake. Flow-weighted composite samples were collected over a 13 month...
Authors
P. J. Phillips, A.T. Chalmers, J.L. Gray, D.W. Kolpin, W.T. Foreman, G. R. Wall