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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: 19049

Hydrological mobilization of mercury and dissolved organic carbon in a snow-dominated, forested watershed: Conceptualization and modeling Hydrological mobilization of mercury and dissolved organic carbon in a snow-dominated, forested watershed: Conceptualization and modeling

The mobilization of mercury and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) during snowmelt often accounts for a major fraction of the annual loads. We studied the role of hydrological connectivity of riparian wetlands and upland/wetland transition zones to surface waters on the mobilization of Hg and DOC in Fishing Brook, a headwater of the Adirondack Mountains, New York. Stream water total mercury...
Authors
J. Schelker, Douglas A. Burns, M. Weiler, H. Laudon

Simulating the potential effects of climate change in two Colorado basins and at two Colorado ski areas Simulating the potential effects of climate change in two Colorado basins and at two Colorado ski areas

The mountainous areas of Colorado are used for tourism and recreation, and they provide water storage and supply for municipalities, industries, and agriculture. Recent studies suggest that water supply and tourist industries such as skiing are at risk from climate change. In this study, a distributed-parameter watershed model, the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS), is used to...
Authors
William Battaglin, Lauren E. Hay, Steve Markstrom

Bed morphology, flow structure, and sediment transport at the outlet of Lake Huron and in the upper St. Clair River Bed morphology, flow structure, and sediment transport at the outlet of Lake Huron and in the upper St. Clair River

An integrated multibeam echo sounder and acoustic Doppler current profiler field survey was conducted in July 2008 to investigate the morphodynamics of the St. Clair River at the outlet of Lake Huron. The principal morphological features of the upper St. Clair River included flow-transverse bedforms that appear weakly mobile, erosive bedforms in cohesive muds, thin non-cohesive veneers...
Authors
J. A. Czuba, J.L. Best, K. A. Oberg, D.R. Parsons, P.R. Jackson, M.H. Garcia, P. Ashmore

Impacts of agricultural land use on biological integrity: A causal analysis Impacts of agricultural land use on biological integrity: A causal analysis

Agricultural land use has often been linked to nutrient enrichment, habitat degradation, hydrologic alteration, and loss of biotic integrity in streams. The U.S. Geological Survey's National Water Quality Assessment Program sampled 226 stream sites located in eight agriculture‐dominated study units across the United States to investigate the geographic variability and causes of...
Authors
C.M. Riseng, M.J. Wiley, Robert W. Black, M.D. Munn

Distribution and seasonal dynamics of arsenic in a shallow lake in northwestern New Jersey, USA Distribution and seasonal dynamics of arsenic in a shallow lake in northwestern New Jersey, USA

Elevated concentrations of arsenic (As) occurred during warm months in water from the outlet of Lake Mohawk in northwestern New Jersey. The shallow manmade lake is surrounded by residential development and used for recreation. Eutrophic conditions are addressed by alum and copper sulfate applications and aerators operating in the summer. In September 2005, arsenite was dominant in...
Authors
J. L. Barringer, Z. Szabo, T.P. Wilson, J.L. Bonin, T. Kratzer, K. Cenno, T. Romagna, M. Alebus, B. Hirst

Demasculinization of male fish by wastewater treatment plant effluent Demasculinization of male fish by wastewater treatment plant effluent

Adult male fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) were exposed to effluent from the City of Boulder, Colorado wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) under controlled conditions in the field to determine if the effluent induced reproductive disruption in fish. Gonadal intersex and other evidence of reproductive disruption were previously identified in white suckers (Catostomus commersoni) in...
Authors
A.M. Vajda, Larry B. Barber, James L. Gray, E.M. Lopez, A.M. Bolden, H.L. Schoenfuss, D.O. Norris

Improvement in precipitation-runoff model simulations by recalibration with basin-specific data, and subsequent model applications, Onondaga Lake Basin, Onondaga County, New York Improvement in precipitation-runoff model simulations by recalibration with basin-specific data, and subsequent model applications, Onondaga Lake Basin, Onondaga County, New York

Water-resource managers in Onondaga County, New York, are faced with the challenge of improving the water quality of Onondaga Lake, which has the distinction of being one of the most contaminated lakes in the United States. To assist in this endeavor, during 2003-07 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Onondaga Lake Partnership, developed a precipitation-runoff...
Authors
William F. Coon

Editor’s message: Groundwater modeling fantasies - Part 2, down to earth Editor’s message: Groundwater modeling fantasies - Part 2, down to earth

Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art. (Frédéric Chopin, a musician and composer, quoted in If Not God, Then What? by Fost 2007) Despite the dubious developments discussed in part 1 of this Editor’s Message (Voss 2011), groundwater modeling really does represent the...
Authors
Clifford I. Voss

Editor’s message: Groundwater modeling fantasies - Part 1, adrift in the details Editor’s message: Groundwater modeling fantasies - Part 1, adrift in the details

Fools ignore complexity. Pragmatists suffer it. Some can avoid it. Geniuses remove it. …Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it. (Epigrams in Programming by Alan Perlis, a computer scientist; Perlis 1982). A doctoral student creating a groundwater model of a regional aquifer put individual circular regions around data points where he had hydraulic head measurements, so...
Authors
Clifford I. Voss

Biogeochemical evolution of a landfill leachate plume, Norman, Oklahoma Biogeochemical evolution of a landfill leachate plume, Norman, Oklahoma

Leachate from municipal landfills can create groundwater contaminant plumes that may last for decades to centuries. The fate of reactive contaminants in leachate-affected aquifers depends on the sustainability of biogeochemical processes affecting contaminant transport. Temporal variations in the configuration of redox zones downgradient from the Norman Landfill were studied for more...
Authors
Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, J.K. Bohlke, Jason R. Masoner, George N. Breit, Michelle M. Lorah, Michele L. Tuttle, Jeanne B. Jaeschke

Alfred P. Dachnowski and the scientific study of peats Alfred P. Dachnowski and the scientific study of peats

Botanist Alfred Paul Dachnowski (1875–1949) was a major contributor to efforts at mapping organic soils in the United States during the early 20th century. He began his career at The Ohio State University, and spent most of his professional life at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC. His work spanned a diversity of topics, including bog ecology and the ecosystem...
Authors
E. R. Landa, K.M. Cohen
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