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: 19037
Consequences of abrading bed load on vertical and lateral bedrock erosion in a curved experimental channel Consequences of abrading bed load on vertical and lateral bedrock erosion in a curved experimental channel
In this study, we conducted multiple physical experiments to estimate the efficacy and spatial pattern of erosion by abrading sediment moving through a simple U‐shaped channel bend with erodible bed and banks. The experiments showed that in the bend, lateral abrasion followed a monotonically increasing linear relationship with sediment feed rate. However, vertical incision had a more...
Authors
Jagriti Mishra, Takuya Inoue, Yasuyuki Shimizu, Tamaki Sumner, Jonathan M. Nelson
Event-response ellipses: A method to quantify and compare the role of dynamic storage at the catchment scale in snowmelt-dominated systems Event-response ellipses: A method to quantify and compare the role of dynamic storage at the catchment scale in snowmelt-dominated systems
A method for quantifying the role of dynamic storage as a physical buffer between snowmelt and streamflow at the catchment scale is introduced in this paper. The method describes a quantitative relation between hydrologic events (e.g., snowmelt) and responses (e.g., streamflow) by generating event-response ellipses that can be used to (a) characterize and compare catchment-scale dynamic...
Authors
Jessica M. Driscoll, Thomas Meixner, Noah P. Molotch, Ty P. A. Ferre, Mark W. Williams, James O. Sickman
Fractured rock environments Fractured rock environments
No abstract available.
Authors
Paul A. Hsieh
Hourly analyses of the large storms and atmospheric rivers that provide most of California's precipitation in only 10 to 100 hours per year Hourly analyses of the large storms and atmospheric rivers that provide most of California's precipitation in only 10 to 100 hours per year
California is regularly impacted by floods and droughts, primarily as a result of too many or too few atmospheric rivers (ARs). This study analyzes a two-decade-long hourly precipitation dataset from 176 California weather stations and a 3-hourly AR chronology to report variations in rainfall events across California and their association with ARs. On average, 10-40 and 60-120 hours of...
Authors
Maryam A. Lamjiri, Michael D. Dettinger, F. Martin Ralph, Nina S. Oakley, Jonathan J. Rutz
Hydrogeochemical controls on brook trout spawning habitats in a coastal stream Hydrogeochemical controls on brook trout spawning habitats in a coastal stream
Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) spawn in fall and overwintering egg development can benefit from stable, relatively warm temperatures in groundwater-seepage zones. However, eggs are also sensitive to dissolved oxygen concentration, which may be reduced in discharging groundwater (i.e., seepage). We investigated a 2 km reach of the coastal Quashnet River in Cape Cod, Massachusetts...
Authors
Martin A. Briggs, Judson W. Harvey, Stephen T. Hurley, Donald O. Rosenberry, Timothy D. McCobb, Dale D. Werkema, John W. Lane
Genetic swamping and species collapse: Tracking introgression between the native Candy Darter and introduced Variegate Darter Genetic swamping and species collapse: Tracking introgression between the native Candy Darter and introduced Variegate Darter
Candy Darters (Etheostoma osburni) and Variegate Darters (E. variatum) are both native to West Virginia and Virginia. The geographic ranges of these two species were historically separated by Kanawha Falls, a natural barrier to fish dispersal located at Glen Ferris, WV. In the early 1980s, Variegate Darters or putative hybrids (E. osburni × E. variatum) were first collected at locations...
Authors
Isaac Gibson, Amy B. Welsh, Stuart A. Welsh, Daniel A. Cincotta
Contaminants of emerging concern in the environment: Where we have been and what does the future hold? Contaminants of emerging concern in the environment: Where we have been and what does the future hold?
In 1962, Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring alerted the nation to the dangers of manmade chemicals and indiscriminate use of pesticides. DDT was the culprit and its use threatened a variety of wildlife, including the national bird, bald eagles. In 1969, pressured by scientists and the public, the United States banned almost all uses of DDT; however, DDT was just the tip of the chemical...
Authors
William A. Battaglin, Dana W. Kolpin, Edward T. Furlong, Susan Glassmeyer, Brett R. Blackwell, Steven Corsi, Michael T. Meyer, Paul M. Bradley
Clarifying regional hydrologic controls of the Marañón River, Peru through rapid assessment to inform system-wide basin planning approaches Clarifying regional hydrologic controls of the Marañón River, Peru through rapid assessment to inform system-wide basin planning approaches
We use remote sensing to enhance the interpretation of the first baseline dataset of hydrologic, isotopic and hydrochemical variables spanning 620 km of the upper Marañón River, in Andean Peru, from the steep alpine canyons to the lower lying jungle. Remote, data-scarce river systems are under increased hydropower development pressure to meet rising energy demands. The upstream...
Authors
Alice F. Hill, Robert Stallard, Karl Rittger
Estimating metal concentrations with regression analysis and water-quality surrogates at nine sites on the Animas and San Juan Rivers, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah Estimating metal concentrations with regression analysis and water-quality surrogates at nine sites on the Animas and San Juan Rivers, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah
The purpose of this report is to evaluate the use of site-specific regression models to estimate metal concentrations at nine U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations on the Animas and San Juan Rivers in Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Downstream users could use these regression models to determine if metal concentrations are elevated and pose a risk to water supplies...
Authors
M. Alisa Mast
The conceptual schema in geospatial data standard design with application to GroundWaterML2 The conceptual schema in geospatial data standard design with application to GroundWaterML2
The explosive growth of geospatial data has stimulated the development of many standards aimed at decreasing data heterogeneity and enhancing data use. Well-established design methods for geospatial data standards typically involve the creation of two schemas for data structure, designated here as logical and physical, but this can lead to conceptual inconsistencies and modelling...
Authors
Boyan Brodaric, Eric Boisvert, Peter Dahlhaus, Sylvain Grellet, Alexander Kmoch, Francois Letourneau, Jessica Lucido, Bruce Simons, Bernhard Wagner
Controls of the spatial variability of denitrification potential in nontidal floodplains of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA Controls of the spatial variability of denitrification potential in nontidal floodplains of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA
Identifying floodplains with high rates of denitrification will help prioritize restoration projects for the removal of nitrogen. Currently, relationships of denitrification with hydrogeomorphic, physiographic, and climate (i.e., largescale) characteristics of floodplains are relatively unknown, even though these characteristics have datasets (e.g., geographic mapping tools) that are...
Authors
Alicia R. Korol, Gregory E. Noe, Changwoo Ahn
Tidal Wetlands and Estuaries Tidal Wetlands and Estuaries
1. The top 1 m of tidal wetland soils and estuarine sediments of North America contains 1,886 ± 1046 teragrams of carbon (Tg C). [High confidence, Very likely] 2. Soil carbon accumulation rate (i.e., sediment burial) in North American tidal wetlands is currently 9 ± 5 Tg C per year and estuarine carbon burial is 5 ± 3 Tg C per year. [High confidence, Likely] 3. The lateral flux of carbon...
Authors
Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Wei Jun Cai, Simone Alin, Andreas Andersson, Joseph Crosswell, Kenneth Dunton, Jose Martin Hernandez-Ayon, Maria Herrmann, Audra L. Hinson, Charles Hopkinson, Jennifer Howard, Xinping Hu, Sara H. Knox, Kevin Kroeger, David Lagomasino, Patrick Megonigal, Raymond Najjar, May-Linn Paulsen, Dorothy Peteet, Emily Pidgeon, Karina Schafer, Zhaohui Aleck Wang, Maria Tzortziou, Elizabeth Watson