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
Science needs for continued development of total nitrogen deposition budgets in the United States Science needs for continued development of total nitrogen deposition budgets in the United States
The objectives of this white paper are to describe the state of the science with respect to total Nr deposition budgets in North America and the research needed to improve these budgets from both a measurement and modeling standpoint. The document is intended to serve as a plan for TDep research activities but also, more broadly, to provide program managers, natural resource managers...
Authors
Gregory A. Wetherbee, Pamela H. Templar, Richard V. Pouyat, Stephen M. Decina, Brian M. Kerschner, Thomas H. Whitlow, Pamela E. Padgett, Donna B. Schwede, Jill Baron, David Clow, M. Alisa Mast, Graham A. Sexstone, Kristi H. Morris
Root-driven weathering impacts on mineral-organic associations in deep soils over pedogenic time scales Root-driven weathering impacts on mineral-organic associations in deep soils over pedogenic time scales
Plant roots are critical weathering agents in deep soils, yet the impact of resulting mineral transformations on the vast deep soil carbon (C) reservoir are largely unknown. Root-driven weathering of primary minerals may cause the formation of reactive secondary minerals, which protect mineral-organic associations (MOAs) for centuries or millennia. Conversely, root-driven weathering may...
Authors
Mariela Garcia Arredondo, Corey Lawrence, Marjorie S. Schulz, Malak M. Tfaily, Ravi K. Kukkadapu, Morris E. Jones, Kristin Boye, Marco Keiluweit
Survey of bioaccessible pyrethroid insecticides and sediment toxicity in urban streams of the northeast United States Survey of bioaccessible pyrethroid insecticides and sediment toxicity in urban streams of the northeast United States
Pyrethroids are a class of widely-used insecticides that can be transported from terrestrial applications to aquatic systems via runoff and tend to sorb to organic carbon in sediments. Pyrethroid occurrence is detrimental to stream ecosystems due to toxicity to sediment-dwelling invertebrates which are particularly at risk of pyrethroid exposure in urban streams. In this work, 49 streams...
Authors
Kara E. Huff-Hartz, Samuel A. Nutile, Courtney Y. Fung, Federico L. Sinche, Patrick W. Moran, Peter C. Van Metre, Lisa H. Nowell, Michael J. Lydy
Water-budget analysis of the Upper Big Sandy Designated Ground-water Basin alluvial aquifer, Elbert, El Paso, and Lincoln Counties, Colorado, 2016 Water-budget analysis of the Upper Big Sandy Designated Ground-water Basin alluvial aquifer, Elbert, El Paso, and Lincoln Counties, Colorado, 2016
The U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Colorado Water Conservation Board and the Upper Big Sandy Groundwater Management District carried out a study in 2016 to evaluate potential groundwater storage changes within the Upper Big Sandy Designated Groundwater Basin (UBSDGB) alluvial aquifer, including groundwater flow between the UBSDGB alluvial aquifer and the Denver Basin...
Authors
Michael S. Kohn, Jeannette H. Oden, L. R. Arnold
Subhourly mesoscale analysis of the 2011-2017 North American monsoon near its northwest boundary Subhourly mesoscale analysis of the 2011-2017 North American monsoon near its northwest boundary
The North American Monsoon (NAM) delivers precipitation to the southwestern USA during the warm-dry summer season. The seasonal extent of NAM precipitation is highly variable and is likely to change under future climate change. Our objective was to determine how large scale monsoonal patterns as well as local variables influence precipitation events near the NAM northwest boundary. Intra...
Authors
Charles Truettner, Michael D. Dettinger, Emanuele Ziaco, Adam Czank, Franco Biondi
Temperature-dependent variations in mineralogy, major element chemistry and the stable isotopes of boron, lithium and chlorine resulting from hydration of rhyolite glass: Constraints from hydrothermal experiments at 150 to 350°C and 25 MPa Temperature-dependent variations in mineralogy, major element chemistry and the stable isotopes of boron, lithium and chlorine resulting from hydration of rhyolite glass: Constraints from hydrothermal experiments at 150 to 350°C and 25 MPa
Rhyolite-hosted hydrothermal systems in the continental crust contain valuable energy and mineral resources that make them of special interest across several scientific disciplines. Despite extensive research on these systems, the temperature-dependence of chemical reactions between host rocks and aqueous-rich fluids and the mineralogical transformations resulting from these reactions...
Authors
Jeffery T. Cullen, Shaul Hurwitz, Jaime D. Barnes, John C. Lassiter, Sarah Penniston-Dorland, Simone Kasemann, James Thordsen
Reactivity of As and U co-occurring in mine wastes in northeastern Arizona Reactivity of As and U co-occurring in mine wastes in northeastern Arizona
The reactivity of co-occurring arsenic (As) and uranium (U) in mine wastes was investigated using batch reactors, microscopy, spectroscopy, and aqueous chemistry. Analyses of field samples collected in proximity to mine wastes in northeastern Arizona confirm the presence of As and U in soils and surrounding waters, as reported in a previous study from our research group. In this study...
Authors
Johanna Blake, Sumant Avasarala, Abdul-Mehdi Ali, Michael Spilde, Juan S Lezama-Pacheco, Drew Latta, Kateryna Artyushkova, Anastasia G Ilgen, Christopher Shuey, Christopher Nez, Jose M Cerrato
Benthic community dynamics in Coyote Creek and Artesian Slough, southern San Francisco Bay, California, May 2016 to March 2018 Benthic community dynamics in Coyote Creek and Artesian Slough, southern San Francisco Bay, California, May 2016 to March 2018
The primary objective of this study is to quantify current (2016–18) benthic-community structure and function in the southern San Francisco Bay, and to compare those communities to the communities in the neighboring sloughs. The study area is inclusive of the area south of the Dumbarton Bridge including Coyote Creek and Artesian Slough. The southern San Francisco Bay is a system...
Authors
Kelly H. Shrader, Sarah A. Pearson, Francis Parchaso, Janet K. Thompson
Assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in southern Lake Powell, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona and Utah, 2016–17 Assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in southern Lake Powell, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona and Utah, 2016–17
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contamination related to boat use is one of the most important water-quality issues affecting Lake Powell. High concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water are common around marinas and other areas with extensive motorboat activity because of releases of uncombusted or partially combusted oil and gasoline from boat engines. The fate of...
Authors
Alissa L. Coes, Nicholas V. Paretti, David A. Alvarez, Jamie P. Macy
Widespread diminishing anthropogenic effects on calcium in freshwaters Widespread diminishing anthropogenic effects on calcium in freshwaters
Calcium (Ca) is an essential element for almost all living organisms. Here, we examined global variation and controls of freshwater Ca concentrations, using 440 599 water samples from 43 184 inland water sites in 57 countries. We found that the global median Ca concentration was 4.0 mg L−1 with 20.7% of the water samples showing Ca concentrations ≤ 1.5 mg L−1, a threshold considered...
Authors
Gesa A. Weyhenmeyer, Jens Hartmann, Dag O. Hessen, Jiří Kopáček, Josef Hejzlar, Stephan Jacquet, Stephen K. Hamilton, Piet Verburg, Taylor H. Leach, Martin Schmid, Giovanna Flaim, Tiina Nõges, Peeter Nõges, Valerie C. Wentzky, Michela Rogora, James A. Rusak, Sarian Kosten, Andrew M. Paterson, Katrin Teubner, Scott N. Higgins, Gregory B. Lawrence, Külli Kangur, Ilga Kokorite, Leonardo Cerasino, Clara Funk, Rebecca G. Harvey, Florentina Moatar, Heleen de Wit, Thomas Zechmeister
Glacially-induced hydromechanical coupling in shale may have caused underpressured water in the eastern Michigan Basin despite the possible presence of gas phase methane Glacially-induced hydromechanical coupling in shale may have caused underpressured water in the eastern Michigan Basin despite the possible presence of gas phase methane
When glacial cycles occur above low-permeability geologic formations, such as the shale and limestone units being considered for nuclear waste disposal in Canada, pressures may differ greatly from normal hydrostatic conditions. Although shale also often has the propensity to generate separate phase fluids like natural gas, it is largely uncertain how the processes that control this...
Authors
Michelle R. Plampin
Northern forest winters have lost cold, snowy conditions that are important for ecosystems and human communities Northern forest winters have lost cold, snowy conditions that are important for ecosystems and human communities
Winter is an understudied but key period for the socio-ecological systems of northeastern North American forests. A growing awareness of the importance of the winter season to forest ecosystems and surrounding communities has inspired several decades of research, both across the northern forest and at other mid- and high-latitude ecosystems around the globe. Despite these efforts, we...
Authors
Alexandra R Contosta, Nora J. Casson, Sarah Garlick, Sarah J. Nelson, Matthew P Ayers, Elizabet A Buralkowski, John Campbell, Irean Creed, Catharine Eimers, Celia Evans, Ivan Fernandez, Collin Fuss, Thomas G. Huntington, Kaizad Pate, Rebecca Sanders-DeMott, Kyongo Son, Pamela H. Templer, Darren Thornbrugh