Publications

Longitudinal patterns in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) loads and chemical quality were identified in the Colorado River from the headwaters in the Rocky Mountains to the United States-Mexico border from 1994 to 2011. Watershed- and reach-scale climate, land use, river discharge and hydrologic modification conditions that contribute to patterns in DOC were also identified. Principal...

Geodetic surveys have evolved through the years to the use of survey-grade (centimeter level) global positioning to perpetuate and post-process vertical datum. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) uses Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) technology to monitor natural hazards, ensure geospatial control for climate and land use change, and gather data necessary for investigative...

Groundwater transport often complicates understanding of surface-water contamination. We estimated the regional flux of nitrate and selected herbicides from groundwater to nontidal headwater streams of the Atlantic Coastal Plain (New Jersey through North Carolina) based on late-winter or spring base-flow samples from 174 streams. Sampled streams were selected randomly, and flux estimates...

Soil gas was assessed for contaminants in the building 310 underground storage tank area adjacent to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center at Ft. Gordon, Georgia, from October 2010 to September 2011. The assessment, which also included the detection of organic compounds in soil gas, provides environmental contamination data to Fort Gordon personnel pursuant to requirements of the...

Local surface water and stormflow were infiltrated intermittently from a 40-ha basin between September 2003 and September 2007 to determine the feasibility of recharging alluvial aquifers pumped for public supply, near Stockton, California. Infiltration of water produced a pressure response that propagated through unconsolidated alluvial-fan deposits to 125 m below land surface (bls) in...

Evapotranspiration (ET) was monitored above a wetland forest canopy dominated by pitch-pine in the New Jersey Pinelands during November 10, 2004-February 20, 2007, using an eddy-covariance method. Twelve-month ET totals ranged from 786 to 821 millimeters (mm). Minimum and maximum ET rates occurred during December-February and in July, respectively. Relations between ET and several...

Severe flooding occurred in northern Maine from April 28 to May 1, 2008, and damage was extensive in the town of Fort Kent (Lombard, 2010). Aroostook County was declared a Federal disaster area on May 9, 2008. The extent of flooding on both the Fish and St. John Rivers during this event showed that the current Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and...

The Concho River Basin is part of the upper Colorado River Basin in west-central Texas. Monotonic trends in streamflow statistics during various time intervals from 1916-2009 were analyzed to determine whether substantial changes in selected streamflow statistics have occurred within the Concho River Basin. Two types of U.S. Geological Survey streamflow data comprise the foundational...

The Stream Conditions of Chester County Biological Monitoring Network (Network) was established by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Chester County Water Resources Authority in 1969. Chester County encompasses 760 square miles in southeastern Pennsylvania and has a rapidly expanding population. Land-use change has occurred in response to this continual growth, as open space...

The Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEB) model uses satellite imagery to estimate actual evapotranspiration (ETa) at 1-kilometer resolution. SSEB ETa is useful for estimating irrigation water use; however, resolution limitations restrict its use to regional scale applications. The U.S. Geological Survey investigated the downscaling potential of SSEB ETa from 1 kilometer to 250 meters...

The Coastal Los Angeles Basin study unit is approximately 860 square miles and consists of the Santa Monica, Hollywood, West Coast, Central, and Orange County Coastal Plain groundwater basins (California Department of Water Resources, 2003). The basins are bounded in part by faults, including the Newport-Inglewood fault zone, and are filled with Holocene-, Pleistocene-, and Pliocene-age...

A study of groundwater storage in the karstic Madison aquifer in the Black Hills of South Dakota using microgravity methods was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with West Dakota Water Development District, South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Lawrence County. Microgravity measurements from 2009 to 2012 were used to investigate...