Publications

This report describes the results of a study to determine frequency characteristics of postregulation annual peak flows at streamflow-gaging stations at or near the Lockington, Taylorsville, Englewood, Huffman, and Germantown dry dams in the Miami Conservancy District flood-protection system (southwestern Ohio) and five other streamflow-gaging stations in the Great Miami River Basin...

Extensive groundwater contamination resulting from industrial activities led to the listing of the Tucson International Airport Area (TIAA) as a Superfund Site by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in 1983. Early investigations revealed elevated levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including the chlorinated solvents trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene, in wells...

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the San Antonio River Authority, configured, calibrated, and tested a Hydrological Simulation Program ? FORTRAN watershed model for the approximately 238-square-mile Leon Creek watershed in Bexar County, Texas, and used the model to simulate streamflow and water quality (focusing on loads and yields of...

Groundwater is an important part of the global fresh water supply and is affected by climate. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists are working with local, State, Federal, and international partners to understand how the availability and sustainability of groundwater resources in the United States will be affected by climate variability and change. This fact sheet describes climate...

Over the last eight years, we have developed several paleoenvironmental records from a broad geographic region spanning the Altiplano in Bolivia (18°S–22°S) and continuing south along the western Andean flank to ca. 26°S. These records include: cosmogenic nuclide concentrations in surface deposits, dated nitrate paleosoils, lake levels, groundwater levels from wetland deposits, and plant

The lower Congo River is one of the deepest, most powerful, and most biologically diverse stretches of river on Earth. The river’s 270 m decent from Malebo Pool though the gorges of the Crystal Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean (498 km downstream) is riddled with rapids, cataracts, and deep pools. Much of the lower Congo is a mystery from a hydraulics perspective. However, this stretch of...

This paper investigates the flow in the lee of a large sand dune located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, USA. Stationary profiles collected from an anchored boat using an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) were georeferenced with data from a real-time kinematic differential global positioning system. A multibeam echo sounder was used to map the bathymetry...

This report contains an analysis of water withdrawal and return-flow data for Ohio and withdrawal data for Indiana and Wisconsin to compute consumptive-use coefficients and to describe monthly variability of withdrawals and consumptive use. Concurrent data were available for most water-use categories from 1999 through 2004. Average monthly water withdrawals are discussed for a variety of...

The Yakima River basin aquifer system underlies about 6,200 square miles in south-central Washington. The aquifer system consists of basin-fill deposits occurring in six structural-sedimentary basins, the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG), and generally older bedrock. The basin-fill deposits were divided into 19 hydrogeologic units, the CRBG was divided into three units separated by two...

A multistate approach was used to update methods for estimating the magnitude and frequency of floods in rural, ungaged basins in South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina that are not substantially affected by regulation, tidal fluctuations, or urban development. Annual peak-flow data through September 2006 were analyzed for 943 streamgaging stations having 10 or more years of data on...

Chemical weathering of silicate minerals has long been known as a sink for atmospheric CO2, and feedbacks between weathering and climate are believed to affect global climate. While warmer temperatures are believed to increase rates of weathering, weathering in cool climates can be accelerated by increased mineral exposure due to mechanical weathering by ice. In this study, chemical...

A set of watershed models for four basins (Crab Creek, Rocky Ford Creek, Rocky Coulee, and Lind Coulee), draining into Potholes Reservoir in east-central Washington, was developed as part of a decision support system to aid the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, in managing water resources in east-central Washington State. The project is part of the U.S. Geological...