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: 19039
Ohio River backwater flood-inundation maps for the Saline and Wabash Rivers in southern Illinois Ohio River backwater flood-inundation maps for the Saline and Wabash Rivers in southern Illinois
Digital flood-inundation maps for the Saline and Wabash Rivers referenced to elevations on the Ohio River in southern Illinois were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The inundation maps, accessible through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science Web site at http://water.usgs.gov/osw/flood_inundation/, depict estimates of the areal extent of flooding corresponding to...
Authors
Elizabeth A. Murphy, Jennifer B. Sharpe, David T. Soong
Relations among water levels, specific conductance, and depths of bedrock fractures in four road-salt-contaminated wells in Maine, 2007–9 Relations among water levels, specific conductance, and depths of bedrock fractures in four road-salt-contaminated wells in Maine, 2007–9
Data on groundwater-level, specific conductance (a surrogate for chloride), and temperature were collected continuously from 2007 through 2009 at four bedrock wells known to be affected by road salts in an effort to determine the effects of road salting and fractures in bedrock that intersect the well at a depth below the casing on the presence of chloride in groundwater. Dissolved...
Authors
Charles W. Schalk, Nicholas W. Stasulis
The Midwest Stream Quality Assessment The Midwest Stream Quality Assessment
In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) and USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center (CERC) will be collaborating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Rivers and Streams Assessment (NRSA) to assess stream quality across the Midwestern United States. The sites selected for this study are a subset of the larger...
Authors
Peter C. Van Metre, Jeffrey W. Frey, Ellen Tarquinio
Estimated probability of arsenic in groundwater from bedrock aquifers in New Hampshire, 2011 Estimated probability of arsenic in groundwater from bedrock aquifers in New Hampshire, 2011
Probabilities of arsenic occurrence in groundwater from bedrock aquifers at concentrations of 1, 5, and 10 micrograms per liter (µg/L) were estimated during 2011 using multivariate logistic regression. These estimates were developed for use by the New Hampshire Environmental Public Health Tracking Program. About 39 percent of New Hampshire bedrock groundwater was identified as having at...
Authors
Joseph D. Ayotte, Matthew Cahillane, Laura Hayes, Keith W. Robinson
Simulated effects of hydrologic, water quality, and land-use changes of the Lake Maumelle watershed, Arkansas, 2004–10 Simulated effects of hydrologic, water quality, and land-use changes of the Lake Maumelle watershed, Arkansas, 2004–10
Lake Maumelle, located in central Arkansas northwest of the cities of Little Rock and North Little Rock, is one of two principal drinking-water supplies for the Little Rock, and North Little Rock, Arkansas, metropolitan areas. Lake Maumelle and the Maumelle River (its primary tributary) are more pristine than most other reservoirs and streams in the region with 80 percent of the land...
Authors
Rheannon M. Hart, W. Reed Green, Drew A. Westerman, James C. Petersen, Jeanne L. DeLanois
Estimation of speciated and total mercury dry deposition at monitoring locations in eastern and central North America Estimation of speciated and total mercury dry deposition at monitoring locations in eastern and central North America
Dry deposition of speciated mercury, i.e., gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM), particulate-bound mercury (PBM), and gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), was estimated for the year 2008–2009 at 19 monitoring locations in eastern and central North America. Dry deposition estimates were obtained by combining monitored two- to four-hourly speciated ambient concentrations with modeled hourly dry...
Authors
L. Zhang, P. Blanchard, D.A. Gay, E.M. Prestbo, M.R. Risch, D. Johnson, J. Narayan, R. Zsolway, T.M. Holsen, E. K. Miller, M.S. Castro, J.A. Graydon, Louis, J. Dalziel
3-D reconstructions of subsurface Pleistocene basalt flows from paleomagnetic inclination data and 40Ar/39Ar ages in the southern part of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho (USA) 3-D reconstructions of subsurface Pleistocene basalt flows from paleomagnetic inclination data and 40Ar/39Ar ages in the southern part of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho (USA)
The U. S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, is mapping the distribution of basalt flows and sedimentary interbeds at the Idaho National Laboratory in three dimensions to provide data for refining numerical models of groundwater flow and contaminant transport in the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer. Paleomagnetic inclination and polarity data from...
Authors
Mary K. V. Hodges, Duane E. Champion, B. D. Turrin, C. C. Swisher
Ground water and climate change Ground water and climate change
As the world's largest distributed store of fresh water, ground water plays a central part in sustaining ecosystems and enabling human adaptation to climate variability and change. The strategic importance of ground water for global water and food security will probably intensify under climate change as more frequent and intense climate extremes (droughts and floods) increase variability...
Authors
Richard G. Taylor, Bridget R. Scanlon, Petra Doll, Matt Rodell, Rens van Beek, Yoshihide Wada, Laurent Longuevergne, Marc Leblanc, James S. Famiglietti, Mike Edmunds, Leonard F. Konikow, Timothy R. Green, Jianyao Chen, Makoto Taniguchi, Marc F.P. Bierkens, Alan MacDonald, Ying Fan, Reed M. Maxwell, Yossi Yechieli, Jason J. Gurdak, Diana M. Allen, Mohammad Shamsudduha, Kevin Hiscock, Pat J.-F. Yeh, Ian Holman, Holger Treidel
Mechanics of Old Faithful Geyser, Calistoga, CA Mechanics of Old Faithful Geyser, Calistoga, CA
In order to probe the subsurface dynamics associated with geyser eruptions, we measured ground deformation at Old Faithful Geyser of Calistoga, CA. We present a physical model in which recharge during the period preceding an eruption is driven by pressure differences relative to the aquifer supplying the geyser. The model predicts that pressure and ground deformation are characterized by...
Authors
M.L. Rudolph, M. Manga, Shaul Hurwitz, Malcolm J. S. Johnston, L. Karlstrom, Chun-Yong Wang
Description of the U.S. Geological Survey Geo Data Portal data integration framework Description of the U.S. Geological Survey Geo Data Portal data integration framework
The U.S. Geological Survey has developed an open-standard data integration framework for working efficiently and effectively with large collections of climate and other geoscience data. A web interface accesses catalog datasets to find data services. Data resources can then be rendered for mapping and dataset metadata are derived directly from these web services. Algorithm configuration...
Authors
David L. Blodgett, Nathaniel L. Booth, Thomas C. Kunicki, Jordan I. Walker, Jessica M. Lucido
Cancer risk from incidental ingestion exposures to PAHs associated with coal-tar-sealed pavement Cancer risk from incidental ingestion exposures to PAHs associated with coal-tar-sealed pavement
Recent (2009–10) studies documented significantly higher concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in settled house dust in living spaces and soil adjacent to parking lots sealed with coal-tar-based products. To date, no studies have examined the potential human health effects of PAHs from these products in dust and soil. Here we present the results of an analysis of...
Authors
E. Spencer Williams, Barbara Mahler, Peter C. Van Metre
Groundwater depletion and sustainability of irrigation in the US High Plains and Central Valley Groundwater depletion and sustainability of irrigation in the US High Plains and Central Valley
Aquifer overexploitation could significantly impact crop production in the United States because 60% of irrigation relies on groundwater. Groundwater depletion in the irrigated High Plains and California Central Valley accounts for ∼50% of groundwater depletion in the United States since 1900. A newly developed High Plains recharge map shows that high recharge in the northern High Plains...
Authors
Bridget R. Scanlon, Claudia C. Faunt, Laurent Longuevergne, Robert C. Reedy, William M. Alley, Virginia L. McGuire, Peter B. McMahon