Water Resources
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.
Substantial declines in salinity observed across the Upper Colorado River Basin during the 20th century, 1929 to 2019
Salinity in the Colorado River Basin causes an estimated $300 to $400 million per year in economic damages in the U.S. To inform and improve salinity‐control efforts, this study quantifies long‐term trends in salinity (dissolved solids) across the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB), including time periods prior to the construction of large dams and...
Rumsey, Christine; Miller, Olivia L.; Hirsch, Robert; Marston, Thomas M.; Susong, David Pesticides in US Rivers: Regional differences in use, occurrence, and environmental toxicity, 2013 to 2017
Pesticides pose a threat to the environment, but because of the substantial number of compounds, a comprehensive assessment of pesticides and an evaluation of the risk that they pose to human and aquatic life is challenging. In this study, improved analytical methods were used to quantify 221 pesticide concentrations in surface waters over the...
Stackpoole, Sarah M.; Shoda, Megan E.; Medalie, Laura; Stone, Wesley W. On the human appropriation of wetland primary production
Humans are changing the Earth's surface at an accelerating pace, with significant consequences for ecosystems and their biodiversity. Landscape transformation has far-reaching implications including reduced net primary production (NPP) available to support ecosystems, reduced energy supplies to consumers, and disruption of ecosystem services such...
Cloern, James E.; Safran, Samuel M.; Vaughn, Lydia Smith; Robinson, April; Whipple, Alison; Boyer, Katharyn E.; Drexler, Judith Z.; Naiman, Robert J.; Pinckney, James L.; Howe, Emily R.; Canuel, Elizabeth A.; Grenier, J. Letitia Emerging investigator series: Municipal wastewater as a year-round point source of neonicotinoid insecticides that persist in an effluent-dominated stream
Neonicotinoids in aquatic systems have been predominantly associated with agriculture, but some are increasingly being linked to municipal wastewater. Thus, the aim of this work was to understand the municipal wastewater contribution to neonicotinoids in a representative, characterized effluent-dominated temperate-region stream. Our approach was...
Webb, Danielle T.; Zhi, Hui; Kolpin, Dana W.; Klaper, Rebecca D.; Iwanowicz, Luke R.; LeFevre, Gregory H. An ecohydrological typology for thermal refuges in streams and rivers
Thermal refuges are thermally distinct riverscape features used by aquatic organisms during unfavorable thermal events, facilitating resilience in marginal environments. However, the thermal refuge concept is nebulous, and the often interchangeable use of the term ‘thermal refugia’ creates additional ambiguity. We argue that lexical differences...
Sullivan, C.; Vokoun, J.; Helton, A. M.; Briggs, Martin A.; Kurylyk, B.
Geophysical and video logs of selected wells at and near the former Naval Air Warfare Center Warminster, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 2017-19
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected borehole geophysical and video logs in 17 open-hole wells in Northampton, Warminster, and Warwick Townships, Bucks County, Pennsylvania during 2017–19 to support detailed groundwater investigations at and near the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) Warminster, where groundwater contamination with per...
Senior, Lisa A.; Anderson, J. Alton; Bird, Philip H.
Regression relations and long-term water-quality constituent concentrations, loads, yields, and trends in the North Fork Ninnescah River, south-central Kansas, 1999–2019
Cheney Reservoir, in south-central Kansas, is the primary water supply for the city of Wichita, Kansas. The North Fork Ninnescah River is the largest tributary to Cheney Reservoir and contributes about 70 percent of the inflow. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Wichita, has been continuously monitoring water quality (...
Kramer, Ariele R.; Klager, Brian J.; Stone, Mandy L.; Eslick-Huff, Patrick J. Delineation of the freshwater-saltwater interface on southwestern Long Island, New York, through use of surface and borehole geophysical methods
The U.S. Geological Survey used surface and borehole geophysical methods to delineate the freshwater-saltwater interface in coastal plain aquifers along the southwestern part of Long Island, New York. Over pumping of groundwater in the early 20th century combined with freshwater-saltwater interfaces at the coastline created saltwater intrusion in...
Stumm, Frederick; Como, Michael D.; Zuck, Marie A. Regional target loads of atmospheric nitrogen and sulfur deposition for the protection of stream and watershed soil resources of the Adirondack Mountains, USA
Acidic deposition contributes to a range of environmental impacts across forested landscapes, including acidification of soil and drainage water, toxic aluminum mobilization, depletion of available soil nutrient cations, and impacts to forest and aquatic species health and biodiversity. In response to decreasing levels of acidic deposition, soils...
McDonnell, Todd C.; Driscoll, Charles T.; Sullivan, Timothy J.; Burns, Douglas A.; Baldigo, Barry P.; Shao, Shuai; Lawrence, Gregory B. 3-D geologic controls of hydrothermal fluid flow at Brady geothermal field, Nevada, USA
In many hydrothermal systems, fracture permeability along faults provides pathways for groundwater to transport heat from depth. Faulting generates a range of deformation styles that cross-cut heterogeneous geology, resulting in complex patterns of permeability, porosity, and hydraulic conductivity. Vertical connectivity (a...
Siler, Drew L.; Pepin, Jeff D.
Characterization of water-resource threats and needs for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuges in the Legacy Mountain-Prairie Region, 2020
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), began a study in 2019 to complete the compilation and quality assurance of water-resource threats and needs data for the 117 National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) in the FWS Legacy Mountain-Prairie Region (LMPR) and to characterize the water-resource threats and...
Bauch, Nancy J.; Kohn, Michael S.; Caruso, Brian S. Draft genome sequence of Bordetella sp. strain FB-8, isolated from a former uranium mining area in Germany
Here, we present the draft genome sequence of Bordetella sp. strain FB-8, a mixotrophic iron-oxidizing bacterium isolated from creek sediment in the former uranium-mining district of Ronneburg, Germany. To date, iron oxidation has not been reported in Bordetella species, indicating that FB-8 may be an environmentally important...
Harris, Cassandra Rashan; Akob, Denise M.; Fabisch, Maria; Beulig, Felix; Woyke, Tanya; Shapiro, Nicole; Lapidus, Alla; Klenk, Hans-Peter; Küsel, Kirsten