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: 19030
Postwildfire measurement of soil physical and hydraulic properties at selected sampling sites in the 2011 Las Conchas wildfire burn scar, Jemez Mountains, north-central New Mexico Postwildfire measurement of soil physical and hydraulic properties at selected sampling sites in the 2011 Las Conchas wildfire burn scar, Jemez Mountains, north-central New Mexico
The generation of runoff and the resultant flash flooding can be substantially larger following wildfire than for similar rainstorms that precede wildfire disturbance. Flash flooding after the 2011 Las Conchas Fire in New Mexico provided the motivation for this investigation to assess postwildfire effects on soil-hydraulic properties (SHPs) and soil-physical properties (SPPs) as a...
Authors
Orlando C. Romero, Brian A. Ebel, Deborah A. Martin, Katie W. Buchan, Alanna D. Jornigan
Effects of groundwater withdrawals from the Hurricane Fault zone on discharge of saline water from Pah Tempe Springs, Washington County, Utah Effects of groundwater withdrawals from the Hurricane Fault zone on discharge of saline water from Pah Tempe Springs, Washington County, Utah
Pah Tempe Springs, located in Washington County, Utah, contribute about 95,000 tons of dissolved solids annually along a 1,500-foot gaining reach of the Virgin River. The river gains more than 10 cubic feet per second along the reach as thermal, saline springwater discharges from dozens of orifices located along the riverbed and above the river on both banks. The spring complex...
Authors
Philip M. Gardner
Quantifying climate-related interactions in shallow and deep storage and evapotranspiration in a forested, seasonally water-limited watershed in the Southeastern United States Quantifying climate-related interactions in shallow and deep storage and evapotranspiration in a forested, seasonally water-limited watershed in the Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States experiences recurring hydrological droughts, which can reduce water availability and can result in water-limiting conditions. Long-term monitoring at Panola Mountain Research Watershed, a small, forested, seasonally water-limited watershed near Atlanta, Georgia, was used to quantify the interactions of climatic variability with shallow and deep storage and
Authors
Brent T. Aulenbach, Norman E. Peters
Documentation of particle-size analyzer time series, and discrete suspended-sediment and bed-sediment sample data collection, Niobrara River near Spencer, Nebraska, October 2014 Documentation of particle-size analyzer time series, and discrete suspended-sediment and bed-sediment sample data collection, Niobrara River near Spencer, Nebraska, October 2014
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, monitored a sediment release by Nebraska Public Power District from Spencer Dam located on the Niobrara River near Spencer, Nebraska, during the fall of 2014. The accumulated sediment behind Spencer Dam ordinarily is released semiannually; however, the spring 2014 release was postponed until the fall...
Authors
Nathaniel J. Schaepe, Anthony M. Coleman, Ronald B. Zelt
On the sensitivity of annual streamflow to air temperature On the sensitivity of annual streamflow to air temperature
Although interannual streamflow variability is primarily a result of precipitation variability, temperature also plays a role. The relative weakness of the temperature effect at the annual time scale hinders understanding, but may belie substantial importance on climatic time scales. Here we develop and evaluate a simple theory relating variations of streamflow and evapotranspiration (E)...
Authors
Paul C.D. Milly, Jonghun Kam, Krista A. Dunne
The GFDL global atmosphere and land model AM4.0/LM4.0: 1. Simulation characteristics with prescribed SSTs The GFDL global atmosphere and land model AM4.0/LM4.0: 1. Simulation characteristics with prescribed SSTs
In this two‐part paper, a description is provided of a version of the AM4.0/LM4.0 atmosphere/land model that will serve as a base for a new set of climate and Earth system models (CM4 and ESM4) under development at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL). This version, with roughly 100 km horizontal resolution and 33 levels in the vertical, contains an aerosol model that...
Authors
M. Zhao, J.-C. Golaz, I. M. Held, H. Guo, V. Balaji, R. Benson, J.-H. Chen, X. Chen, L. J. Donner, J. P. Dunne, Krista A. Dunne, J. Durachta, S.-M. Fan, S. M. Freidenreich, S. T. Garner, P. Ginoux, L. M. Harris, L. W. Horowitz, J. P. Krasting, A. R. Langenhorst, Z. Liang, P. Lin, S.-J. Lin, S. L. Malyshev, E. Mason, Paul C.D. Milly, Y. Ming, V. Naik, F. Paulot, D. Paynter, P. Phillipps, A. Radhakrishnan, V. Ramaswamy, T. Robinson, D. Schwarzkopf, C. J. Seman, Elena Shevliakova, Z. Shen, H. Shin, L. Silvers, J. R. Wilson, M. Winton, A. T. Wittenberg, B. Wyman, B. Xiang
Hydrologic assessment and numerical simulation of groundwater flow, San Juan Mine, San Juan County, New Mexico, 2010–13 Hydrologic assessment and numerical simulation of groundwater flow, San Juan Mine, San Juan County, New Mexico, 2010–13
Coal combustion byproducts (CCBs), which are composed of fly ash, bottom ash, and flue gas desulfurization material, produced at the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station (SJGS), located in San Juan County, New Mexico, have been buried in former surface-mine pits at the San Juan Mine, also referred to as the San Juan Coal Mine, since operations began in the early 1970s. This report...
Authors
Anne M. Stewart
Quantifying differences in responses of aquatic insects to trace metal exposure in field studies and short-term stream mesocosm experiments Quantifying differences in responses of aquatic insects to trace metal exposure in field studies and short-term stream mesocosm experiments
Characterizing macroinvertebrate taxa as either sensitive or tolerant is of critical importance for investigating impacts of anthropogenic stressors in aquatic ecosystems and for inferring causality. However, our understanding of relative sensitivity of aquatic insects to metals in the field and under controlled conditions in the laboratory or mesocosm experiments is limited. In this...
Authors
Yuichi Iwasaki, Travis S. Schmidt, William H. Clements
The GFDL global atmosphere and land model AM4.0/LM4.0: 2. Model description, sensitivity studies, and tuning strategies The GFDL global atmosphere and land model AM4.0/LM4.0: 2. Model description, sensitivity studies, and tuning strategies
In Part 2 of this two‐part paper, documentation is provided of key aspects of a version of the AM4.0/LM4.0 atmosphere/land model that will serve as a base for a new set of climate and Earth system models (CM4 and ESM4) under development at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL). The quality of the simulation in AMIP (Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project) mode has been...
Authors
M. Zhao, J.-C. Golaz, I. M. Held, H. Guo, V. Balaji, R. Benson, J.-H. Chen, X. Chen, L. J. Donner, J. P. Dunne, Krista A. Dunne, J. Durachta, S.-M. Fan, S. M. Freidenreich, S. T. Garner, P. Ginoux, L. M. Harris, L. W. Horowitz, J. P. Krasting, A. R. Langenhorst, Z. Liang, P. Lin, S.-J. Lin, Sergey Malyshev, E. Mason, Paul C.D. Milly, Y. Ming, V. Naik, F. Paulot, D. Paynter, P. Phillipps, A. Radhakrishnan, V. Ramaswamy, T. Robinson, D. Schwarzkopf, C. J. Seman, Elena Shevliakova, Z. Shen, H. Shin, L. Silvers, J. R. Wilson, M. Winton, A. T. Wittenberg, B. Wyman, B. Xiang
A new indicator framework for quantifying the intensity of the terrestrialwater cycle A new indicator framework for quantifying the intensity of the terrestrialwater cycle
A quantitative framework for characterizing the intensity of the water cycle over land is presented, and illustrated using a spatially distributed water-balance model of the conterminous United States (CONUS). We approach water cycle intensity (WCI) from a landscape perspective; WCI is defined as the sum of precipitation (P) and actual evapotranspiration (AET) over a spatially explicit...
Authors
Thomas G. Huntington, Peter Weiskel, David M. Wolock, Gregory J. McCabe
Data analysis considerations for pesticides determined by National Water Quality Laboratory schedule 2437 Data analysis considerations for pesticides determined by National Water Quality Laboratory schedule 2437
In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Laboratory (NWQL) made a new method available for the analysis of pesticides in filtered water samples: laboratory schedule 2437. Schedule 2437 is an improvement on previous analytical methods because it determines the concentrations of 225 fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and associated degradates in one method at similar...
Authors
Megan E. Shoda, Lisa H. Nowell, Wesley W. Stone, Mark W. Sandstrom, Laura M. Bexfield
Evaluating micrometeorological estimates of groundwater discharge from Great Basin desert playas Evaluating micrometeorological estimates of groundwater discharge from Great Basin desert playas
Groundwater availability studies in the arid southwestern United States traditionally have assumed that groundwater discharge by evapotranspiration (ETg) from desert playas is a significant component of the groundwater budget. However, desert playa ETg rates are poorly constrained by Bowen Ratio energy budget (BREB) and eddy-covariance (EC) micrometeorological measurement approaches...
Authors
Tracie Jackson, Keith J. Halford, Philip M. Gardner, Amanda Garcia