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: 19051
A basin-scale approach to estimating stream temperatures of tributaries to the lower Klamath River, California A basin-scale approach to estimating stream temperatures of tributaries to the lower Klamath River, California
Stream temperature is an important component of salmonid habitat and is often above levels suitable for fish survival in the Lower Klamath River in northern California. The objective of this study was to provide boundary conditions for models that are assessing stream temperature on the main stem for the purpose of developing strategies to manage stream conditions using Total Maximum...
Authors
L. E. Flint, A. L. Flint
Low-Level detections of halogenated volatile organic compounds in groundwater: Use in vulnerability assessments Low-Level detections of halogenated volatile organic compounds in groundwater: Use in vulnerability assessments
Concentrations of halogenated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were determined by gas chromatography (GC) with an electron-capture detector (GC-ECD) and by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in 109 groundwater samples from five study areas in the United States. In each case, the untreated water sample was used for drinking-water purposes or was from a monitoring well in...
Authors
Niel Plummer, E. Busenberg, S. M. Eberts, L. M. Bexfield, C. J. Brown, L.S. Fahlquist, B. G. Katz, M.K. Landon
Meteorological characteristics and overland precipitation impacts of atmospheric rivers affecting the West coast of North America based on eight years of SSM/I satellite observations Meteorological characteristics and overland precipitation impacts of atmospheric rivers affecting the West coast of North America based on eight years of SSM/I satellite observations
The pre-cold-frontal low-level jet within oceanic extratropical cyclones represents the lower-tropospheric component of a deeper corridor of concentrated water vapor transport in the cyclone warm sector. These corridors are referred to as atmospheric rivers (ARs) because they are narrow relative to their length scale and are responsible for most of the poleward water vapor transport at
Authors
P.J. Neiman, F.M. Ralph, G.A. Wick, J.D. Lundquist, M. D. Dettinger
Levee evaluation using MASW: Preliminary findings from the Citrus Lakefront Levee, New Orleans, Louisiana Levee evaluation using MASW: Preliminary findings from the Citrus Lakefront Levee, New Orleans, Louisiana
The utility of the multi‐channel analysis of surface waves (MASW) seismic method for non‐invasive assessment of earthen levees was evaluated for a section of the Citrus Lakefront Levee, New Orleans, Louisiana. This test was conducted after the New Orleans' area levee system had been stressed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The MASW data were acquired in a seismically noisy, urban...
Authors
John W. Lane, Julian M. Ivanov, Frederick D. Day-Lewis, Drew Clemens, Robert Patev, Richard D. Miller
Fecal indicator bacteria and Salmonella in ponds managed as bird habitat, San Francisco Bay, California, USA Fecal indicator bacteria and Salmonella in ponds managed as bird habitat, San Francisco Bay, California, USA
Throughout the world, coastal resource managers are encouraging the restoration of previously modified coastal habitats back into wetlands and managed ponds for their ecosystem value. Because many coastal wetlands are adjacent to urban centers and waters used for human recreation, it is important to understand how wildlife can affect water quality. We measured fecal indicator bacteria...
Authors
G.G. Shellenbarger, N.D. Athearn, John Y. Takekawa, A.B. Boehm
Effects of turbulence on hydraulic heads and parameter sensitivities in preferential groundwater flow layers Effects of turbulence on hydraulic heads and parameter sensitivities in preferential groundwater flow layers
A conduit flow process (CFP) for the Modular Finite Difference Ground‐Water Flow model, MODFLOW‐2005, has been created by the U.S. Geological Survey. An application of the CFP on a carbonate aquifer in southern Florida is described; this application examines (1) the potential for turbulent groundwater flow and (2) the effects of turbulent flow on hydraulic heads and parameter...
Authors
W. Barclay Shoemaker, Kevin J. Cunningham, Eve L. Kuniansky, Joann F. Dixon
Bioaccumulation of pharmaceuticals and other anthropogenic waste indicators in earthworms from agricultural soil amended with biosolid or swine manure Bioaccumulation of pharmaceuticals and other anthropogenic waste indicators in earthworms from agricultural soil amended with biosolid or swine manure
Analysis of earthworms offers potential for assessing the transfer of organic anthropogenic waste indicators (AWIs) derived from land-applied biosolid or manure to biota. Earthworms and soil samples were collected from three Midwest agricultural fields to measure the presence and potential for transfer of 77 AWIs from land-applied biosolids and livestock manure to earthworms. The sites...
Authors
C.A. Kinney, E. T. Furlong, D.W. Kolpin, M.R. Burkhardt, S.D. Zaugg, S.L. Werner, J.P. Bossio, M.J. Benotti
Simulation of fluid, heat transport to estimate desert stream infiltration Simulation of fluid, heat transport to estimate desert stream infiltration
In semiarid regions, the contribution of infiltration from intermittent streamflow to ground water recharge may be quantified by comparing simulations of fluid and heat transport beneath stream channels to observed ground temperatures. In addition to quantifying natural recharge, streamflow infiltration estimates provide a means to characterize the physical properties of stream channel...
Authors
J.T. Kulongoski, J. A. Izbicki
Evapotranspiration rates and crop coefficients for a restored marsh in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, USA Evapotranspiration rates and crop coefficients for a restored marsh in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, USA
The surface renewal method was used to estimate evapotranspiration (ET) for a restored marsh on Twitchell Island in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California, USA. ET estimates for the marsh, together with reference ET measurements from a nearby climate station, were used to determine crop coefficients over a 3‐year period during the growing season. The mean ET rate for the study...
Authors
Judith Z. Drexler, Frank E. Anderson, Richard L. Snyder
Ground-water conditions in Utah, spring of 2008 Ground-water conditions in Utah, spring of 2008
This is the forty-fifth in a series of annual reports that describe ground-water conditions in Utah. Reports in this series, published cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Resources and Division of Water Rights, and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water Quality, provide data to enable...
Authors
Carole B. Burden, David V. Allen, M.R. Danner, Martel J. Fisher, Michael L. Freeman, Paul Downhour, C.D. Wilkowske, Robert J. Eacret, Michael Enright, Robert L. Swenson, James H. Howells, Howard K. Christiansen
Framework for Understanding Structural Errors (FUSE): A modular framework to diagnose differences between hydrological models Framework for Understanding Structural Errors (FUSE): A modular framework to diagnose differences between hydrological models
The problems of identifying the most appropriate model structure for a given problem and quantifying the uncertainty in model structure remain outstanding research challenges for the discipline of hydrology. Progress on these problems requires understanding of the nature of differences between models. This paper presents a methodology to diagnose differences in hydrological model...
Authors
Martyn P. Clark, Andrew G. Slater, David E. Rupp, Ross A. Woods, Jasper A. Vrugt, Hoshin V. Gupta, Thorsten Wagener, Lauren E. Hay
Metals fate and transport modelling in streams and watersheds: state of the science and USEPA workshop review Metals fate and transport modelling in streams and watersheds: state of the science and USEPA workshop review
Metals pollution in surface waters from point and non-point sources (NPS) is a widespread problem in the United States and worldwide (Lofts et al., 2007; USEPA, 2007). In the western United States, metals associated with acid mine drainage (AMD) from hardrock mines in mountainous areas impact aquatic ecosystems and human health (USEPA, 1997a; Caruso and Ward, 1998; Church et al., 2007)...
Authors
B.S. Caruso, T.J. Cox, Robert L. Runkel, M.L. Velleux, Kenneth E. Bencala, D. Kirk Nordstrom, P.Y. Julien, B. A. Butler, Charles N. Alpers, A. Marion, Kathleen S. Smith