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: 19018
Nekton community response to a large-scale Mississippi River discharge: Examining spatial and temporal response to river management Nekton community response to a large-scale Mississippi River discharge: Examining spatial and temporal response to river management
Freshwater flow is generally held to be one of the most influential factors affecting community structure and production in estuaries. In coastal Louisiana, the Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion (CFD) is managed to control freshwater discharge from the Mississippi River into Breton Sound basin. Operational since 1991, CFD has undergone several changes in management strategy including...
Authors
Bryan P. Piazza, Megan La Peyre
Guidelines and recommended terms for expression of stable-isotope-ratio and gas-ratio measurement results Guidelines and recommended terms for expression of stable-isotope-ratio and gas-ratio measurement results
To minimize confusion in the expression of measurement results of stable isotope and gas-ratio measurements, recommendations based on publications of the Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) are presented. Whenever feasible, entries are consistent with the Système International d'Unités, the SI (known in...
Authors
Tyler B. Coplen
Mercury export from the Yukon River Basin and potential response to a changing climate Mercury export from the Yukon River Basin and potential response to a changing climate
We measured mercury (Hg) concentrations and calculated export and yield from the Yukon River Basin (YRB) to quantify Hg flux from a large, permafrost-dominated, high-latitude watershed. Exports of Hg averaged 4400 kg Hg yr-1. The average annual yield for the YRB during the study period was 5.17 μg m-2 yr-1, which is 3–32 times more than Hg yields reported for 8 other major northern...
Authors
Paul F. Schuster, Robert G. Striegl, George R. Aiken, David P. Krabbenhoft, John F. DeWild, Kenna D. Butler, Ben Kamark, Mark Dornblaser
Effects of biologically-active chemical mixtures on fish in a wastewater-impacted urban stream Effects of biologically-active chemical mixtures on fish in a wastewater-impacted urban stream
Stream flow in urban aquatic ecosystems often is maintained by water-reclamation plant (WRP) effluents that contain mixtures of natural and anthropogenic chemicals that persist through the treatment processes. In effluent-impactedstreams, aquatic organisms such as fish are continuously exposed to biologically-activechemicals throughout their life cycles. The North Shore Channel of the...
Authors
Larry B. Barber, Gregory K. Brown, Todd G. Nettesheim, Elizabeth W. Murphy, Stephen E. Bartell, Heiko L. Schoenfuss
Peak-flow characteristics of Virginia streams Peak-flow characteristics of Virginia streams
Peak-flow annual exceedance probabilities, also called probability-percent chance flow estimates, and regional regression equations are provided describing the peak-flow characteristics of Virginia streams. Statistical methods are used to evaluate peak-flow data. Analysis of Virginia peak-flow data collected from 1895 through 2007 is summarized. Methods are provided for estimating...
Authors
Samuel H. Austin, Jennifer L. Krstolic, Ute Wiegand
Statistical models of temperature in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta under climate-change scenarios and ecological implications Statistical models of temperature in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta under climate-change scenarios and ecological implications
Changes in water temperatures caused by climate change in California's Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta will affect the ecosystem through physiological rates of fishes and invertebrates. This study presents statistical models that can be used to forecast water temperature within the Delta as a response to atmospheric conditions. The daily average model performed well (R2 values greater than...
Authors
R. Wayne Wagner, Mark T. Stacey, Larry R. Brown, Mike Dettinger
Subsurface transport of orthophosphate in five agricultural watersheds, USA Subsurface transport of orthophosphate in five agricultural watersheds, USA
Concentrations of dissolved orthophosphate (ortho P) in the unsaturated zone, groundwater, tile drains, and groundwater/stream water interfaces were assessed in five agricultural watersheds to determine the potential for subsurface transport. Concentrations of iron oxides were measured in the aquifer material and adsorption of ortho P on oxide surfaces was assessed by geochemical...
Authors
Joseph L. Domagalski, Henry M. Johnson
Taking the pulse of snowmelt: in situ sensors reveal seasonal, event and diurnal patterns of nitrate and dissolved organic matter variability in an upland forest stream Taking the pulse of snowmelt: in situ sensors reveal seasonal, event and diurnal patterns of nitrate and dissolved organic matter variability in an upland forest stream
Highly resolved time series data are useful to accurately identify the timing, rate, and magnitude of solute transport in streams during hydrologically dynamic periods such as snowmelt. We used in situ optical sensors for nitrate (NO3-) and chromophoric dissolved organic matter fluorescence (FDOM) to measure surface water concentrations at 30 min intervals over the snowmelt period (March...
Authors
Brian A. Pellerin, John Franco Saraceno, James B. Shanley, Stephen D. Sebestyen, George R. Aiken, Wilfred M. Wollheim, Brian A. Bergamaschi
An exploratory investigation of polar organic compounds in waters from a lead–zinc mine and mill complex An exploratory investigation of polar organic compounds in waters from a lead–zinc mine and mill complex
Surface water samples were collected in 2006 from a lead mine-mill complex in Missouri to investigate possible organic compounds coming from the milling process. Water samples contained relatively high concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC; greater than 20 mg/l) for surface waters but were colorless, implying a lack of naturally occurring aquatic humic or fulvic acids. Samples...
Authors
Colleen E. Rostad, Christopher J. Schmitt, John G. Schumacher, Thomas J. Leiker
Transient groundwater chemistry near a river: Effects on U(VI) transport in laboratory column experiments Transient groundwater chemistry near a river: Effects on U(VI) transport in laboratory column experiments
In the 300 Area of a U(VI)-contaminated aquifer at Hanford, Washington, USA, inorganic carbon and major cations, which have large impacts on U(VI) transport, change on an hourly and seasonal basis near the Columbia River. Batch and column experiments were conducted to investigate the factors controlling U(VI) adsorption/desorption by changing chemical conditions over time. Low alkalinity...
Authors
Jun Yin, Roy Haggerty, Deborah L. Stoliker, Douglas B. Kent, Jonathan D. Istok, Janek Greskowiak, John M. Zachara
Effects of brush management on the hydrologic budget and water quality in and adjacent to Honey Creek State Natural Area, Comal County, Texas, 2001-10 Effects of brush management on the hydrologic budget and water quality in and adjacent to Honey Creek State Natural Area, Comal County, Texas, 2001-10
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Edwards Region Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative, the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, the San Antonio River Authority, the Edwards Aquifer Authority, Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority, and the San Antonio Water...
Authors
J. Ryan Banta, Richard N. Slattery
The relation of harvesting intensity to changes in soil, soil water, and stream chemistry in a northern hardwood forest, Catskill Mountains, USA The relation of harvesting intensity to changes in soil, soil water, and stream chemistry in a northern hardwood forest, Catskill Mountains, USA
Previous studies have shown that clearcutting of northern hardwood forests mobilizes base cations, inorganic monomeric aluminum (Alim), and nitrate (NO3--N) from soils to surface waters, but the effects of partial harvests on NO3--N have been less frequently studied. In this study we describe the effects of a series of partial harvests of varying proportions of basal area removal (22%...
Authors
Jason Siemion, Douglas A. Burns, Peter S. Murdoch, Rene H. Germain