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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: 19115

The dual‐domain porosity apparatus: Characterizing dual porosity at the sediment/water interface The dual‐domain porosity apparatus: Characterizing dual porosity at the sediment/water interface

The characterization of pore-space connectivity in porous media at the sediment/water interface is critical to understanding contaminant transport and reactive biogeochemical processes in zones of groundwater and surface-water exchange. Previous in situ studies of dual-domain (i.e., mobile/less-mobile porosity) studies have been limited to solute tracer injections at scales of meters to...
Authors
Courtney R. Scruggs, Martin A. Briggs, Frederick D. Day-Lewis, Dale D. Werkema, John W. Lane

Stratification of reactivity determines nitrate removal in groundwater Stratification of reactivity determines nitrate removal in groundwater

Biogeochemical reactions occur unevenly in space and time, but this heterogeneity is often simplified as a linear average due to sparse data, especially in subsurface environments where access is limited. For example, little is known about the spatial variability of groundwater denitrification, an important process in removing nitrate originating from agriculture and land use conversion
Authors
Tamara Kolbe, Jean-Raynald de Dreuzy, Benjamin Abbott, Luc Aquilina, Tristan Babey, Christopher Green, Jan Fleckenstein, Thierry Labasque, Anniet M Laverman, Jean Marcais, Stefan Peiffer, Zahra Thomas, Gilles Pinay

Adaptive management assists reintroduction as higher tides threaten an endangered salt marsh plant Adaptive management assists reintroduction as higher tides threaten an endangered salt marsh plant

In theory, extirpated plant species can be reintroduced and managed to restore sustainable populations. However, few reintroduced plants are known to persist for more than a few years. Our adaptive‐management case study illustrates how we restored the endangered hemiparasitic annual plant, Chloropyron maritimum subsp. maritimum (salt marsh bird's beak), to Sweetwater Marsh, San Diego Bay...
Authors
Gregory B. Noe, Meghan Fellows, Lorraine Parsons, Janelle West, John C. Callaway, Sally Trnka, Mark Wegener, Joy Zedler

Hydrogeology of Lower Amargosa Valley and groundwater discharge to the Amargosa Wild and Scenic River, Inyo and San Bernardino Counties, California, and adjacent areas in Nye and Clark Counties, Nevada Hydrogeology of Lower Amargosa Valley and groundwater discharge to the Amargosa Wild and Scenic River, Inyo and San Bernardino Counties, California, and adjacent areas in Nye and Clark Counties, Nevada

In 2009, Congress designated certain reaches of the Amargosa River in Inyo County, California between the town of Shoshone and Dumont Dunes as a Wild and Scenic River. As part of the management of the Amargosa Wild and Scenic River, the Bureau of Land Management cooperated with the U.S. Geological Survey to assess the surface and groundwater resources of the Tecopa basin. Groundwater is...
Authors
Wayne R. Belcher, Donald S. Sweetkind, Candice B. Hopkins, Megan E. Poff

A scale to characterize the strength and impacts of atmospheric rivers A scale to characterize the strength and impacts of atmospheric rivers

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) play vital roles in the western United States and related regions globally, not only producing heavy precipitation and flooding, but also providing beneficial water supply. This paper introduces a scale for the intensity and impacts of ARs. Its utility may be greatest where ARs are the most impactful storm type and hurricanes, nor’easters, and tornadoes are...
Authors
F. Martin Ralph, Jonathan J. Rutz, Jason M. Cordeira, Michael D. Dettinger, Michael Anderson, David Reynolds, Lawrence J. Schick, Christopher Smallcomb

Monitoring the pulse of our Nation's rivers and streams—The U.S. Geological Survey streamgaging network Monitoring the pulse of our Nation's rivers and streams—The U.S. Geological Survey streamgaging network

In the late 1800s, John Wesley Powell, second Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), proposed gaging the flow of rivers and streams in the Western United States to evaluate the potential for irrigation. Around the same time, several cities in the Eastern United States established primitive streamgages to help design water-supply systems. Streamgaging technology has greatly...
Authors
Sandra M. Eberts, Michael D. Woodside, Mark N. Landers, Chad R. Wagner

Enhancement of primary production during drought in a temperate watershed is greater in larger rivers than headwater streams Enhancement of primary production during drought in a temperate watershed is greater in larger rivers than headwater streams

Drought is common in rivers, yet how this disturbance regulates metabolic activity across network scales is largely unknown. Drought often lowers gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (ER) in small headwaters but by contrast can enhance GPP and cause algal blooms in downstream estuaries. We estimated ecosystem metabolism across a nested network of 13 reaches from...
Authors
Jacob D. Hosen, Kelly S. Aho, Alison P. Appling, E.C. Creech, Jennifer H Fair, Robert O Hall, Ethan Kyzivat, Rachel Lowenthal, Serena Matt, Jonathan Morrison, James E. Saiers, James B. Shanley, Lisa Weber, Bryan Yoon, Peter A. Raymond

Effects of antecedent streamflow and sample timing on trend assessments of fish, invertebrate, and diatom communities Effects of antecedent streamflow and sample timing on trend assessments of fish, invertebrate, and diatom communities

Detecting trends in biological attributes is central to many stream monitoring programs; however, understanding how natural variability in environmental factors affects trend results is not well understood. We evaluated the influence of antecedent streamflow and sample timing (covariates) on trend estimates for fish, invertebrate, and diatom taxa richness and biological condition from...
Authors
Robert E. Zuellig, Daren M. Carlisle

Isotopes matter Isotopes matter

Two years ago, the King’s Centre for Visualization in Science (KCVS) at The King’s University, Edmonton released a new digital interactive version of the IUPAC Periodic Table of the Elements and Isotopes with accompanying educational resources at an International Conference on Chemistry Education. It can be found at www.isotopesmatter.com. The effort was part of an IUPAC project. The...
Authors
Norman E. Holden, Tyler B. Coplen, Peter Mahaffy

Identifying natural and anthropogenic variability of uranium at the well scale, Homestake Superfund site, near Milan, New Mexico, USA Identifying natural and anthropogenic variability of uranium at the well scale, Homestake Superfund site, near Milan, New Mexico, USA

The San Mateo Creek Basin in New Mexico, USA is located within the Grants Mineral Belt-an area with numerous uranium (U) ore deposits, mines, and milling operations. Six monitoring wells set in an alluvial aquifer near the Homestake Mining Co. Superfund site in the lower San Mateo Creek Basin were logged with a suite of borehole geophysical tools including spectral gamma-ray (SGR)...
Authors
Philip T. Harte, Johanna M. Blake, Jonathan V. Thomas, Kent Becher

Preferential groundwater seepage in karst terrane inferred from geoelectric measurements Preferential groundwater seepage in karst terrane inferred from geoelectric measurements

The Ellenburger–San Saba aquifer discharges spring flows into the overlying Hamilton Creek bed in Burnet County, central Texas. The aquifer is susceptible to contamination from surface‐water reservoirs because of the presence of dissolution cavities that are hydraulically connected to the reservoirs in some locations. There is concern that preferential groundwater seepage from reservoirs...
Authors
Scott Ikard, Emily Pease
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