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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: 19054

Formation of nanocolloidal metacinnabar in mercury-DOM-sulfide systems Formation of nanocolloidal metacinnabar in mercury-DOM-sulfide systems

Direct determination of mercury (Hg) speciation in sulfide-containing environments is confounded by low mercury concentrations and poor analytical sensitivity. Here we report the results of experiments designed to assess mercury speciation at environmentally relevant ratios of mercury to dissolved organic matter (DOM) (i.e.,
Authors
Chase A. Gerbig, Christopher S. Kim, John P. Stegemeier, Joseph N. Ryan, George R. Aiken

Concentrations and loads of nutrients in the tributaries of the Lake Okeechobee watershed, south-central Florida, water years 2004-2008 Concentrations and loads of nutrients in the tributaries of the Lake Okeechobee watershed, south-central Florida, water years 2004-2008

Lake Okeechobee in south-central Florida is the second largest freshwater lake in the contiguous United States. Excessive phosphorus loading, harmful high and low water levels, and rapid expansion of non-native vegetation have threatened the health of the lake in recent decades. A study was conducted to monitor discharge and nutrient concentrations from selected tributaries into Lake...
Authors
Michael J. Byrne, Molly S. Wood

Vegetation history along the eastern, desert escarpment of the Sierra San Pedro Mártir, Baja California, Mexico Vegetation history along the eastern, desert escarpment of the Sierra San Pedro Mártir, Baja California, Mexico

Plant macrofossils from 38 packrat middens spanning the last ~ 33,000 cal yr BP record vegetation between ~ 650 and 900 m elevation along the eastern escarpment of the Sierra San Pedro Mártir, northern Baja California. The middens span most of the Holocene, with a gap between ~ 4600 and 1800 cal yr BP, but coverage in the Pleistocene is uneven with a larger hiatus between 23,100 and 14...
Authors
Camille A. Holmgren, Julio L. Betancourt, Kate A. Rylander

Evaluating the potential for remote bathymetric mapping of a turbid, sand-bed river: 1. Field spectroscopy and radiative transfer modeling Evaluating the potential for remote bathymetric mapping of a turbid, sand-bed river: 1. Field spectroscopy and radiative transfer modeling

Remote sensing offers an efficient means of mapping bathymetry in river systems, but this approach has been applied primarily to clear-flowing, gravel bed streams. This study used field spectroscopy and radiative transfer modeling to assess the feasibility of spectrally based depth retrieval in a sand-bed river with a higher suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and greater water...
Authors
Carl J. Legleiter, Paul J. Kinzel, Brandon T. Overstreet

Stationarity: Wanted dead or alive? Stationarity: Wanted dead or alive?

Aligning engineering practice with natural process behavior would appear, on its face, to be a prudent and reasonable course of action. However, if we do not understand the long‐term characteristics of hydroclimatic processes, how does one find the prudent and reasonable course needed for water management? We consider this question in light of three aspects of existing and unresolved...
Authors
Harry F. Lins, Timothy A. Cohn

Uranium and barium cycling in a salt wedge subterranean estuary: The influence of tidal pumping Uranium and barium cycling in a salt wedge subterranean estuary: The influence of tidal pumping

The contribution of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) to oceanic metal budgets is only beginning to be explored. Here, we demonstrate that biogeochemical processes in a northern Florida subterranean estuary (STE) significantly alter U and Ba concentrations entering the coastal ocean via SGD. Tidal pumping controlled the distribution of dissolved metals in shallow beach groundwater...
Authors
I.R. Santos, W. C. Burnett, S. Misra, I.G.N.A. Suryaputra, J. P. Chanton, T. Dittmar, R.N. Peterson, P.W. Swarzenski

From deposition to erosion: Spatial and temporal variability of sediment sources, storage, and transport in a small agricultural watershed From deposition to erosion: Spatial and temporal variability of sediment sources, storage, and transport in a small agricultural watershed

The spatial and temporal variability of sediment sources, storage, and transport were investigated in a small agricultural watershed draining the Coast Ranges and Sacramento Valley in central California. Results of field, laboratory, and historical data analysis in the Willow Slough fluvial system document changes that transformed a transport-limited depositional system to an effective...
Authors
J.L. Florsheim, B.A. Pellerin, N.H. Oh, N. Ohara, P.A.M. Bachand, Sandra M. Bachand, B.A. Bergamaschi, P.J. Hernes, M.L. Kavvas

Inverse modeling with RZWQM2 to predict water quality Inverse modeling with RZWQM2 to predict water quality

This chapter presents guidelines for autocalibration of the Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM2) by inverse modeling using PEST parameter estimation software (Doherty, 2010). Two sites with diverse climate and management were considered for simulation of N losses by leaching and in drain flow: an almond [Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb] orchard in the San Joaquin Valley, California and...
Authors
Bernard T. Nolan, Robert W. Malone, Liwang Ma, Christopher T. Green, Michael N. Fienen, Dan B. Jaynes

A comparison of methods to assess long-term changes in Sonoran Desert vegetation A comparison of methods to assess long-term changes in Sonoran Desert vegetation

Knowledge about the condition of vegetation cover and composition is critical for assessing the structure and function of ecosystems. To effectively quantify the impacts of a rapidly changing environment, methods to track long-term trends of vegetation must be precise, repeatable, and time- and cost-efficient. Measuring vegetation cover and composition in arid and semiarid regions is...
Authors
S.M. Munson, R. H. Webb, J.A. Hubbard

Occurrence and fate of the herbicide glyphosate and its degradate aminomethylphosphonic acid in the atmosphere Occurrence and fate of the herbicide glyphosate and its degradate aminomethylphosphonic acid in the atmosphere

This is the first report on the ambient levels of glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the United States, and its major degradation product, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), in air and rain. Concurrent, weekly integrated air particle and rain samples were collected during two growing seasons in agricultural areas in Mississippi and Iowa. Rain was also collected in Indiana in a
Authors
Feng-Chih Chang, M.F. Simcik, P. D. Capel

Long-term change in perennial vegetation along the Colorado river in Grand Canyon national park (1889-2010) Long-term change in perennial vegetation along the Colorado river in Grand Canyon national park (1889-2010)

Long-term monitoring data are difficult to obtain for high-value resource areas, particularly in remote parts of national parks. One long-used method for evaluating change uses ground-based repeat photography to match historical images of landscapes. River expeditions that documented a proposed railroad route through Grand Canyon with large-format photographs occurred in 1889 and 1890. A...
Authors
R. H. Webb, Jayne Belnap, M. L. Scott, Todd Esque
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