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: 19032
Biogeochemical and hydrologic synergy control mercury fate in an arid land river-reservoir system Biogeochemical and hydrologic synergy control mercury fate in an arid land river-reservoir system
Reservoirs in arid landscapes provide critical water storage and hydroelectric power but influence the transport and biogeochemical cycling of mercury (Hg). Improved management of reservoirs to mitigate the supply and uptake of bioavailable methylmercury (MeHg) in aquatic food webs will benefit from a mechanistic understanding of inorganic divalent Hg (Hg(II)) and MeHg fate within and...
Authors
Brett Poulin, Michael T. Tate, Jacob M. Ogorek, Sara E. Breitmeyer, Austin K. Baldwin, Alysa Muir Yoder, Reed C. Harris, Jesse Naymik, Nick Gastelecutto, Charles Hoovestol, Christopher F. Larsen, Ralph Myers, George R. Aiken, David P. Krabbenhoft
Summary and conclusions Summary and conclusions
Executive Summary Chromium concentrations in rock and aquifer material in Hinkley and Water Valleys in the Mojave Desert, 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California, are generally low compared to the average chromium concentration of 185 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) in the average bulk continental crust. Chromium concentrations in felsic, coarse-textured “Mojave-type” deposits...
Authors
John A. Izbicki, Krishangi D. Groover, Whitney A. Seymour, David M. Miller, John G. Warden, Laurence G. Miller
Sequestration and reoxidation of chromium in experimental microcosms Sequestration and reoxidation of chromium in experimental microcosms
Groundwater containing hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), downgradient from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Hinkley compressor station in the Mojave Desert, 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California, is undergoing bioremediation using added ethanol as a reductant in a volume of the aquifer defined as the in situ reactive zone (IRZ). This treatment reduces Cr(VI) to trivalent...
Authors
Laurence G. Miller, Callum E. Bobb, Andrea L. Foster, Emily G. Wright, Stacy C. Bennett, Krishangi D. Groover, John A. Izbicki
Predevelopment water levels, groundwater recharge, and selected hydrologic properties of aquifer materials, Hinkley and Water Valleys, California Predevelopment water levels, groundwater recharge, and selected hydrologic properties of aquifer materials, Hinkley and Water Valleys, California
Hydrologic and geophysical data were collected to support updates to an existing groundwater-flow model of Hinkley Valley, California, in the Mojave Desert about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. These data provide information on predevelopment (pre-1930) water levels, groundwater recharge, and selected hydrologic properties of aquifer materials. A predevelopment groundwater...
Authors
Krishangi D. Groover, John A. Izbicki, Whitney A. Seymour, Anthony A. Brown, Randall E. Bayless, Carole D. Johnson, Katherine L. Pappas, Gregory A. Smith, Dennis A. Clark, Joshua Larsen, Meghan C. Dick, Lorraine E. Flint, Christina L. Stamos, John G. Warden
Evaluation of natural and anthropogenic (human-made) hexavalent chromium Evaluation of natural and anthropogenic (human-made) hexavalent chromium
Hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), was released between 1952 and 1964 from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Hinkley compressor station, in the Mojave Desert about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. Geologic, geochemical, and hydrologic data from more than 100 wells collected between March 2015 and November 2017 were interpreted using a summative-scale analysis to define...
Authors
John A. Izbicki, John G. Warden, Krishangi D. Groover, Whitney A. Seymour
Environmental tracers of groundwater source, age, and geochemical evolution Environmental tracers of groundwater source, age, and geochemical evolution
Hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), was discharged in cooling wastewater to unlined surface ponds from 1952 to 1964 and reached the underlying unconsolidated aquifer at the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Hinkley compressor station in the Mojave Desert, 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. A suite of environmental tracers was analyzed in water samples collected from more than...
Authors
John G. Warden, John A. Izbicki, Jurgen Sultenfuss, Kathleen Scheiderich, John Fitzpatrick
Groundwater chemistry and hexavalent chromium Groundwater chemistry and hexavalent chromium
Water samples collected by the U.S. Geological Survey from more than 100 wells between March 2015 and November 2017 in Hinkley and Water Valleys, in the Mojave Desert 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California, were analyzed for field parameters, major ions, nutrients, and selected trace elements, including hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI). Water from most wells was alkaline and oxic. The...
Authors
John A. Izbicki, R. Blaine McCleskey, Carmen A. Burton, Dennis A. Clark, Gregory A. Smith
Analyses of regulatory water-quality data Analyses of regulatory water-quality data
Between 1952 and 1964, hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), was released into groundwater from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Hinkley compressor station in the Mojave Desert 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. The Pacific Gas and Electric Company has monitored groundwater near Hinkley, California, for Cr(VI) and other constituents since the late 1980s. By June 2017, more...
Authors
John A. Izbicki, Whitney A. Seymour
Chromium in minerals and selected aquifer materials Chromium in minerals and selected aquifer materials
Between 1952 and 1964, hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), was released into groundwater from a Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) compressor station in Hinkley, California, in the western Mojave Desert 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. In 2015, the extent of anthropogenic Cr(VI) in groundwater in Hinkley and Water Valleys was uncertain, but some Cr(VI) in groundwater may be...
Authors
Krishangi D. Groover, John A. Izbicki, William Benzel, Jean M. Morrison, Andrea L. Foster
Survey of chromium and selected element concentrations in rock, alluvium, and core material Survey of chromium and selected element concentrations in rock, alluvium, and core material
Between 1952 and 1964, hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), was released into groundwater from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) compressor station in Hinkley, California, in the western Mojave Desert 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. In 2015, the extent of anthropogenic Cr(VI) in groundwater in Hinkley and Water Valleys was uncertain, and some Cr(VI) in groundwater may be...
Authors
John A. Izbicki, Krishangi D. Groover
Introduction to study area hydrogeology, chromium sources, site history, and purpose of study Introduction to study area hydrogeology, chromium sources, site history, and purpose of study
Between 1952 and 1964, hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), was released into groundwater from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Hinkley compressor station in the Mojave Desert 80 miles (mi) northeast of Los Angeles, California. Remediation began in 1992, and in 2010, site cleanup was projected to require between 10 and 95 years and was expected to cost between $36 and $176 million. A...
Authors
John A. Izbicki, Krishangi D. Groover, David M. Miller, Whitney A. Seymour, John G. Warden, Laurence G. Miller
Natural and anthropogenic (human-made) hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), in groundwater near a mapped plume, Hinkley, California Natural and anthropogenic (human-made) hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), in groundwater near a mapped plume, Hinkley, California
Between 1952 and 1964, hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), was released into groundwater from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Hinkley compressor station in the Mojave Desert 80 miles (mi) northeast of Los Angeles, California. Remediation began in 1992, and in 2010, site cleanup was projected to require between 10 and 95 years and was expected to cost between $36 and $176 million. A...
Authors
John A. Izbicki