Publications

Several studies from the 1970s and more recently (for example, Hall (1975), Daley and others (2009) and Mullaney (2009)) have found that concentrations of chloride and sodium in groundwater in New Hampshire have increased during the past 50 years. Increases likely are related to road salt and other anthropogenic sources, such as septic systems, wastewater, and contamination from...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deployed a temporary monitoring network of water-level and barometric pressure sensors at 224 locations along the Atlantic coast from Virginia to Maine to continuously record the timing, areal extent, and magnitude of hurricane storm tide and coastal flooding generated by Hurricane Sandy. These records were greatly supplemented by an extensive post-flood...

A hydrodynamic, water temperature, and water-quality model of the Link River to Keno Dam reach of the upper Klamath River was updated to account for macrophytes and enhanced pH buffering from dissolved organic matter, ammonia, and orthophosphorus. Macrophytes had been observed in this reach by field personnel, so macrophyte field data were collected in summer and fall (June-October) 2011...

Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important quantity for water resource managers to know because it often represents the largest sink for precipitation (P) arriving at the land surface. In order to estimate actual ET across the conterminous United States (U.S.) in this study, a water-balance method was combined with a climate and land-cover regression equation. Precipitation and streamflow...

Currently, little is known about the impact of climate change on groundwater recharge in the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range of California or other mountainous regions of the world. The purpose of this study was to determine whether small alpine peat lands called fens can be used as whole-ecosystem gauges of groundwater recharge through time. Fens are sustained by groundwater...

Concentrations and loading estimates for nutrients, suspended sediment, and E. coli bacteria were summarized for three water-quality monitoring stations on the Anacostia River in Maryland and one station on Rock Creek in Washington, D.C. Both streams are tributaries to the Potomac River in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and contribute to the Chesapeake Bay estuary. Two stations...

Predictive models, based on environmental and water quality variables, have been used to improve the timeliness and accuracy of recreational water quality assessments, but their effectiveness has not been studied in inland waters. Sampling at eight inland recreational lakes in Ohio was done in order to investigate using predictive models for Escherichia coli and to understand the links...

Bacterial indicators are used to indicate increased health risk from pathogens and to make beach closure and advisory decisions; however, beaches are seldom monitored for the pathogens themselves. Studies of sources and types of pathogens at beaches are needed to improve estimates of swimming-associated health risks. It would be advantageous and cost-effective, especially for studies...

Digital flood-inundation maps for a reach of Killbuck Creek near the Village of Killbuck, Ohio, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with Holmes County, Ohio. The inundation maps depict estimates of the areal extent of flooding corresponding to water levels (stages) at the USGS streamgage Killbuck Creek near Killbuck (03139000) and were completed as part of...

We have investigated the hydrogeology of the Hualapai Valley, Detrital Valley, and Sacramento Valley basins of Mohave County in northwestern Arizona to develop a better understanding of groundwater storage within the basin fill aquifers. In our investigation we used geologic maps, well-log data, and geophysical surveys to delineate the sedimentary textures and lithology of the basin fill...

Arkansas experienced wide extremes in climate variability during the period of 2005 to 2010, recording the largest annual precipitation ever recorded in the State (100.05 inches) in 2009. Many weather stations across the State reported between 80 to 90 inches of rainfall in 2009. For comparison, the average annual precipitation in Little Rock, Arkansas, for the period 1878 to 2010 was 47...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR), will use the current understanding of the Wood River Valley aquifer system to construct a MODFLOW numerical groundwater-flow model to simulate potential anthropogenic and climatic effects on groundwater and surface-water resources. This model will serve as a tool for water rights...