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: 19024
The water-quality monitoring program for the Baltimore reservoir system, 1981-2007—Description, review and evaluation, and framework integration for enhanced monitoring The water-quality monitoring program for the Baltimore reservoir system, 1981-2007—Description, review and evaluation, and framework integration for enhanced monitoring
The City of Baltimore, Maryland, and parts of five surrounding counties obtain their water from Loch Raven and Liberty Reservoirs. A third reservoir, Prettyboy, is used to resupply Loch Raven Reservoir. Management of the watershed conditions for each reservoir is a shared responsibility by agreement among City, County, and State jurisdictions. The most recent (2005) Baltimore Reservoir...
Authors
Michael T. Koterba, Marcus C. Waldron, Tamara E.C. Kraus
Water-quality monitoring for a pilot piling removal field evaluation, Coal Creek Slough, Washington, 2008-09 Water-quality monitoring for a pilot piling removal field evaluation, Coal Creek Slough, Washington, 2008-09
Significant Findings Water and sediment quality monitoring was conducted before and after the removal of a piling field located in Coal Creek Slough near Longview, Washington. Passive chemical samplers and continuous water-quality monitoring instruments were deployed at the piling removal site, Coal Creek Slough Site 1 (CCS1), and at a comparison site, Coal Creek Slough Site 2 (CCS2)...
Authors
Elena B. Nilsen, David A. Alvarez
Relations between hydrology, water quality, and taste-and-odor causing organisms and compounds in Lake Houston, Texas, April 2006-September 2008 Relations between hydrology, water quality, and taste-and-odor causing organisms and compounds in Lake Houston, Texas, April 2006-September 2008
Lake Houston is a surface-water-supply reservoir and an important recreational resource for the city of Houston, Texas. Growing concerns over water quality in Lake Houston prompted a detailed assessment of water quality in the reservoir. The assessment focused on water-quality constituents that affect the aesthetic quality of drinking water. The hydrologic and water-quality conditions...
Authors
Amy M. Beussink, Jennifer L. Graham
Investigation of pier scour in coarse-bed streams in Montana, 2001 through 2007 Investigation of pier scour in coarse-bed streams in Montana, 2001 through 2007
A primary goal of ongoing field research of bridge scour is improvement of scour-prediction equations so that pier-scour depth is predicted accurately-an important element of hydraulic analysis and design of highway bridges that cross streams, rivers, and other waterways. Scour depth for piers in streambeds with a mixture of sand, gravel, cobbles, and boulders (coarse-bed streams, which...
Authors
Stephen R. Holnbeck
Evolution of redox processes in groundwater Evolution of redox processes in groundwater
No abstract available.
Authors
Peter B. McMahon, Francis H. Chapelle, Paul M. Bradley
Simulation of branched serial first-order decay of atrazine and metabolites in adapted and nonadapted soils Simulation of branched serial first-order decay of atrazine and metabolites in adapted and nonadapted soils
In the present study a branched serial first-order decay (BSFOD) model is presented and used to derive transformation rates describing the decay of a common herbicide, atrazine, and its metabolites observed in unsaturated soils adapted to previous atrazine applications and in soils with no history of atrazine applications. Calibration of BSFOD models for soils throughout the country can...
Authors
Richard M. Webb, Mark W. Sandstrom, L. Jason Krutz, Dale L. Shaner
Peat formation processes through the millennia in tidal marshes of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, USA Peat formation processes through the millennia in tidal marshes of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, USA
The purpose of this study was to determine peat formation processes throughout the millennia in four tidal marshes in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Peat cores collected at each site were analyzed for bulk density, loss on ignition, and percent organic carbon. Core data and spline fit age-depth models were used to estimate inorganic sedimentation, organic accumulation, and carbon...
Authors
Judith Z. Drexler
Methyl mercury dynamics in a tidal wetland quantified using in situ optical measurements Methyl mercury dynamics in a tidal wetland quantified using in situ optical measurements
We assessed monomethylmercury (MeHg) dynamics in a tidal wetland over three seasons using a novel method that employs a combination of in situ optical measurements as concentration proxies. MeHg concentrations measured over a single spring tide were extended to a concentration time series using in situ optical measurements. Tidal fluxes were calculated using modeled concentrations and bi
Authors
B.A. Bergamaschi, J.A. Fleck, B.D. Downing, E. Boss, B. Pellerin, N. K. Ganju, D. H. Schoellhamer, A.A. Byington, W.A. Heim, M. Stephenson, R. Fujii
Long-term patterns and short-term dynamics of stream solutes and suspended sediment in a rapidly weathering tropical watershed Long-term patterns and short-term dynamics of stream solutes and suspended sediment in a rapidly weathering tropical watershed
The 326 ha Río Icacos watershed in the tropical wet forest of the Luquillo Mountains, northeastern Puerto Rico, is underlain by granodiorite bedrock with weathering rates among the highest in the world. We pooled stream chemistry and total suspended sediment (TSS) data sets from three discrete periods: 1983–1987, 1991–1997, and 2000–2008. During this period three major hurricanes crossed...
Authors
James B. Shanley, William H. McDowell, Robert F. Stallard
Improved online δ18O measurements of nitrogen‐ and sulfur‐bearing organic materials and a proposed analytical protocol Improved online δ18O measurements of nitrogen‐ and sulfur‐bearing organic materials and a proposed analytical protocol
It is well known that N2 in the ion source of a mass spectrometer interferes with the CO background during the δ18O measurement of carbon monoxide. A similar problem arises with the high‐temperature conversion (HTC) analysis of nitrogenous O‐bearing samples (e.g. nitrates and keratins) to CO for δ18O measurement, where the sample introduces a significant N2 peak before the CO peak...
Authors
Haiping Qi, Tyler B. Coplen, Leonard I Wassenaar
A digital model for planning water management at Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge, west-central Montana A digital model for planning water management at Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge, west-central Montana
Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge is an important area for waterfowl production and migratory stopover in west-central Montana. Eight wetland units covering about 5,600 acres are the essential features of the refuge. Water availability for the wetland units can be uncertain owing to the large natural variations in precipitation and runoff and the high cost of pumping supplemental...
Authors
David A. Nimick, Peter McCarthy, Vanessa Fields
Selected investigations and statistical summary of surface-water quality in the Rio Grande and the Rio Chama, north-central New Mexico, during water years 1985-2007 Selected investigations and statistical summary of surface-water quality in the Rio Grande and the Rio Chama, north-central New Mexico, during water years 1985-2007
The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) is supplementing the municipal water supply for Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the surrounding area with water diverted from the Rio Grande. The distribution of surface water for municipal supply has raised questions about the quality of water in the Rio Grande and the possibility of contaminants in the water. The U.S...
Authors
Sarah E. Falk, Scott K. Anderholm, Nicholas B. Engdahl