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.
Food web fuel differs across habitats and seasons of a tidal freshwater estuary
Estuarine food webs are fueled by multiple different primary producers. However, identifying the relative importance of each producer to consumers is difficult, particularly for fishes that utilize multiple food sources due to both their mobility and their generally high trophic levels. Previous studies have documented broad spatial differences in...
Young, Matthew; Howe, Emily R.; O'Rear, Teejay; Berridge, Kathleen; Moyle, Peter B. Assessment of NMR logging for estimating hydraulic conductivity in glacial aquifers
Glacial aquifers are an important source of groundwater in the United States and require accurate characterization to make informed management decisions. One parameter that is crucial for understanding the movement of groundwater is hydraulic conductivity, K. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) logging measures the NMR response associated with...
Kendrick, Alexander K.; Knight, Rosemary; Johnson, Carole D.; Liu, Gaisheng; Knobbe, Steven; Hunt, Randall J.; Butler, James J.
2020 drought in New England
Below average and infrequent rainfall from May through September 2020 led to an extreme hydrologic drought across much of New England, with some areas experiencing a flash drought, reflecting its quick onset. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recorded record-low streamflow and groundwater levels throughout the region. In September, the U.S....
Lombard, Pamela J.; Barclay, Janet R.; McCarthy, Dee-Ann E.
DGMETA (version 1)—Dissolved gas modeling and environmental tracer analysis computer program
DGMETA (Dissolved Gas Modeling and Environmental Tracer Analysis) is a Microsoft Excel-based computer program that is used for modeling air-water equilibrium conditions from measurements of dissolved gases and for computing concentrations of environmental tracers that rely on air-water equilibrium model results. DGMETA can solve for the...
Jurgens, Bryant C.; Böhlke, J.K.; Haase, Karl; Busenberg, Eurybiades; Hunt, Andrew G.; Hansen, Jeffrey A.
Early warning pesticide monitoring in Nevada’s surface waters
A pesticide is a substance, or mixture of substances, used to kill or control insects, weeds, plant diseases, and other pest organisms. Commercial pesticide applicators, farmers, and homeowners apply about 1.1 billion pounds of pesticides annually to agricultural land, non-crop land, and urban areas throughout the United States. Although intended...
Huntington, Jena M.; Entz, Derek C.; Thodal, Carl E. Estuarine habitat use by White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus)
White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus), a species of concern in the San Francisco Estuary, is in relatively low abundance due to a variety of factors. The purpose of our study was to identify the estuarine habitat used by White Sturgeon to aid in the conservation and management of the species locally and across its range. We seasonally...
Patton, Oliver; Larwood, Veronica; Young, Matthew; Feyrer, Frederick Assessment of methods for soil monitoring in the Adirondack region of New York
Repeated sampling to detect changes in forest soils was rarely used before 1990, but the value of soil monitoring in understanding environmental change is becoming well established. The growing number of resampling studies has shown that sampling designs and procedures must be adapted to the objectives of the monitoring program and the soils...
Lawrence, Gregory B.; Antidormi, Michael Geologic map of the Butte City 7.5' Quadrangle, Butte County, Idaho
The geologic map of the Butte City 7.5’ quadrangle is based on mapping summarized in the 1:100,000 scale map of the Idaho National Laboratory, U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Map I-2330, by Kuntz and others, 1994. New surficial geologic mapping was completed by National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) interns, Evan...
Helmuth, Samuel Levi; Martin, Evan; Hodges, Mary K. V.; Champion, Duane E.
Procedures and best practices for trigonometric leveling in the U.S. Geological Survey
With the advent of highly precise total stations and modern surveying instrumentation, trigonometric leveling has become a compelling alternative to conventional leveling methods for establishing vertical-control networks and for perpetuating a datum to field sites. Previous studies of trigonometric-leveling measurement uncertainty proclaim that...
Noll, Michael L.; Rydlund, Jr., Paul H.
Optimization assessment of a groundwater-level observation network in the Middle Rio Grande Basin, New Mexico
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA), measures groundwater levels continuously (hourly) and discretely (semiannually and annually) at a network of wells and piezometers (hereafter called the observation network) within the Middle Rio Grande Basin in central New Mexico....
Ritchie, Andre B.; Pepin, Jeff D. Permafrost mapping with electrical resistivity tomography in two wetland systems north of the Tanana River, Interior Alaska
Surface-based 2D electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys were used to characterize permafrost distribution at wetland sites on the alluvial plain north of the Tanana River, 20 km southwest of Fairbanks, Alaska, in June and September 2014. The sites were part of an ecologically-sensitive research area characterizing biogeochemical response...
Conaway, Christopher H.; Johnson, Cordell; Lorenson, Thomas; Turetsky, Merritt R.; Euskirchen, Eugénie S.; Waldrop, Mark; Swarzenski, Peter W.
Simulation of groundwater flow in the regional aquifer system on Long Island, New York, for pumping and recharge conditions in 2005–15
A three-dimensional groundwater-flow model was developed for the aquifer system of Long Island, New York, to evaluate (1) responses of the hydrologic system to changes in natural and anthropogenic hydraulic stresses, (2) the subsurface distribution of groundwater age, and (3) the regional-scale distribution of groundwater travel times and the...
Walter, Donald A.; Masterson, John P.; Finkelstein, Jason S.; Monti, Jr., Jack; Misut, Paul E.; Fienen, Michael N.