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: 18925
Near-term ecological forecasting for climate change action
A substantial increase in predictive capacity is needed to anticipate and mitigate the widespread change in ecosystems and their services in the face of climate and biodiversity crises. In this era of accelerating change, we cannot rely on historical patterns or focus primarily on long-term projections that extend decades into the future. In this Perspective, we discuss the potential of...
Authors
Michael Dietze, Ethan P. White, Antoinette Abeyta, Carl Boettiger, Nievita Bueno Watts, Cayelan C. Carey, Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer, Ryan E. Emanuel, S.K. Morgan Ernest, Renato Figueiredo, Michael Gerst, Leah R. Johnson, Melissa A. Kenney, Jason S. McLachlan, Ioannis Ch. Paschalidis, Jody Peters, Christine R. Rollinson, Juniper Simonis, Kira Sullivan-Wiley, R. Quinn Thomas, Glenda M Wardle, Alyssa Willson, Jacob Aaron Zwart
Real-time pier scour monitoring and observations at three scour-critical sites in Idaho, water years 2020–22
To observe real-time pier scour at three scour-critical sites in Idaho, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Idaho Transportation Department, installed and operated fixed real-time (15-minute interval) bed elevation scour sonar sensors at three bridge locations associated with U.S. Geological Survey streamflow gaging stations for water years 2020 through 2022. Daily mean and...
Authors
Ryan L. Fosness, Paul V. Schauer
Groundwater quality and groundwater levels in Dougherty County, Georgia, April 2020 through January 2023
The Upper Floridan aquifer is the uppermost reliable groundwater source in southwest Georgia. The aquifer lies on top of the Claiborne, Clayton, and Cretaceous aquifers, all of which exhibited water-level declines in the 1960s and 1970s. The U.S. Geological Survey has been working cooperatively with Albany Utilities to monitor groundwater quality and availability in these aquifers since...
Authors
Debbie W. Gordon
An evaluation of cyanobacterial occurrence and bloom development in Adirondack lakes
Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) have occurred in many low nutrient (oligotrophic) lakes in the northeastern United States. The Adirondack Park in New York is a large, mountainous region with many low nutrient lakes. There is a gap in understanding regarding whether cyanoHAB reporting data are truly reflective of the susceptibility of lakes to develop bloom conditions. We...
Authors
Rebecca Michelle Gorney, Elizabeth A. Nystrom, Michael D. Stouder, Ann E. St. Amand, Cory Suave, Denise Clark, Erin A. Stelzer, Carrie E Givens, Jennifer L. Graham
Quality of groundwater used for domestic supply in the eastern Sacramento Valley and adjacent foothills, California
SummaryMore than 2 million Californians rely on groundwater from privately owned domestic wells for drinking-water supply. This report summarizes a water-quality survey of domestic and small-system drinking-water supply wells in the eastern Sacramento Valley and adjacent foothills where more than 25,000 residents are estimated to use privately owned domestic wells. Study results show...
Authors
George L. Bennett
U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group proceedings, Nashville, Tennessee, October 22-24, 2024
Karst hydrogeologic systems represent challenging and unique conditions to scientists studying groundwater flow and contaminant transport. Karst terrains are characterized by distinct and beautiful landscapes, caverns, and springs, and many of the exceptional karst areas are designated as national or state parks. The range and complexity of landforms and groundwater flow systems...
Sand supply to San Francisco Bay from the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers of the Central Valley, California
Sediment from the Central Valley via the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) and Suisun Bay is a primary source of sand to San Francisco Bay, California. Sand is mined from San Francisco Bay for commercial purposes, such as for use in concrete for construction. To better understand the supply of sand to Suisun Bay and San Francisco Bay, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation...
Authors
Mathieu D. Marineau, David Hart, Christopher P. Ely, Lester McKee
Predictive modeling reveals elevated conductivity relative to background levels in freshwater tributaries within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA
Elevated conductivity (i.e., specific conductance or SC) causes osmotic stress in freshwater aquatic organisms and may increase the toxicity of some contaminants. Indices of benthic macroinvertebrate integrity have declined in urban areas across the Chesapeake Bay watershed (CBW), and more information is needed about whether these declines may be due to elevated conductivity. A...
Authors
R. Fanelli, Joel Moore, Charles C. Stillwell, Andrew Sekellick, Richard Walker
The 2024 “Hacking Limnology” Workshop Series and Virtual Summit: Increasing inclusion, participation, and representation in the aquatic sciences
No abstract available.
Authors
Michael Frederick Meyer, Robert T. Hensley, Carolina C. Barbosa, Jonathan J Borelli, Johannes Feldbauer, Merritt Elizabeth Harlan, Burak Kuyumcu, Robert Ladwig, Jorrit Mesman, Rachel M. Pilla, Qinglong Zhang, Jacob Aaron Zwart, Ana I Ayala, Craig B Brinkerhoff, David Kneis, Daniel Mercado-Bettín, Cassandra Nickles, Donald C. Pierson, Patch Thongthaisong, Inne Vanderkelen
Predictions of groundwater PFAS occurrence at drinking water supply depths in the United States
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known colloquially as “forever chemicals”, have been associated with adverse human health effects and have contaminated drinking water supplies across the United States owing to their long-term and widespread use. People in the United States may unknowingly be drinking water that contains PFAS because of a lack of systematic analysis...
Authors
Andrea K. Tokranov, Katherine Marie Ransom, Laura M. Bexfield, Bruce D. Lindsey, Elise Watson, Danielle Dupuy, Paul Stackelberg, Miranda S. Fram, Stefan Voss, James A. Kingsbury, Bryant Jurgens, Kelly Smalling, Paul M. Bradley
Software application for spectral mixture analysis for surveillance of harmful algal blooms (SMASH): A tool for identifying cyanobacteria genera from remotely sensed data
Remote sensing is often used to detect algae, but standard techniques do not provide information on the types of algae present or their potential to form a harmful algal bloom (HAB). We developed a framework for identifying algal genera based on reflectance: SMASH, short for Spectral Mixture Analysis for Surveillance of HABs. The Software Application for SMASH (SAS) was developed in...
Authors
Carl J. Legleiter, Tyler Victor King
Managing water for birds— A tool for the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
The “Water for Birds Tool” is an Excel-based model designed for resource managers to assess the spatial extent and types of bird habitats in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The model quantifies the area of open water, partial water, and water depths on a monthly timescale during the irrigation season (April–July) from 2021–2024. This model combines previously published datasets and...
Authors
Cassandra Smith