Water Resources
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.
Occurrence and distribution of mercury in streams and reservoirs in the Triangle Area of North Carolina, July 2007–June 2009
During the time period 2001–2006, the U.S. Geological Survey reported mercury-concentration measurements that exceeded the North Carolina water-quality criterion (NCWQC) of 0.012 microgram per liter for total recoverable mercury in streams and reservoirs across the Triangle Area of North Carolina. Mercury data were sparse, however, generally...
McKee, Anna M.; Fitzgerald, Sharon; Giorgino, Mary J.
Hydraulic modeling at selected dam-removal and culvert-retrofit sites in the northeastern United States
Aquatic connectivity projects, such as removing dams and modifying culverts, have substantial benefits. The restoration of natural flow conditions improves water quality, sediment transport, aquatic and riparian habitat, and fish passage. These projects can also decrease hazards faced by communities by lowering water-surface elevations of flood...
Olson, Scott A.; Simeone, Caelan E.
Investigation of scale-dependent groundwater/surface-water exchange in rivers by gradient self-potential logging: Numerical modeling and field experiments
Exchanges of groundwater and surface-water are fundamental to a wide range of water-supply and water-quality management issues but challenging to map beyond the reach scale. Waterborne gradient self-potential (SP) measurements are directly sensitive to water flow through riverbed sediments and can be used to infer exchange locations, direction (...
Ikard, Scott; Briggs, Martin; Lane, John W. Distributed memory parallel groundwater modeling for the Netherlands Hydrological Instrument
Worldwide, billions of people rely on fresh groundwater reserves for their domestic, agricultural and industrial water use. Extreme droughts and excessive groundwater pumping put pressure on water authorities in maintaining sustainable water usage. High-resolution integrated models are valuable assets in supporting them. The Netherlands...
Verkaik, Jarno; Hughes, Joseph D.; van Walsum, P.E.V; Oude Essink, G.H.P.; Lin, H.X.; Bierkens, M.F.P. Origin of the isotopic composition of natural perchlorate: Experimental results for the impact of reaction pathway and initial ClOx reactant
Natural perchlorate (ClO4−) exists in many places on Earth, in lunar regolith, meteorites, and on the surface of Mars. Terrestrial natural ClO4− has widely variable Cl and O stable isotopic compositions (δ37Cl, δ18O, Δ17O). The δ18O and Δ17O values of ClO4− from the most hyper-arid locations co-vary. ClO4−...
Estrada, Nubia; Anderson, Todd A.; Böhlke, John K.; Gu, Baohua; Hatzinger, Paul B.; Mroczkowski, Stanley J.; Rao, Balaji; Sturchio, Neil C.; Jackson, W. Andrew Insights on geochemical, isotopic, and volumetric compositions of produced water from hydraulically fractured Williston Basin oil wells
Tracing produced water origins from wells hydraulically fractured with freshwater-based fluids is sometimes predicated on assumptions that (1) each geological formation contains compositionally unique brine and (2) produced water from recently hydraulically fractured wells resembles fresher meteoric water more so than produced water from older...
Gallegos, Tanya J.; Doolan, Colin A.; Caldwell, Rodney R.; Engle, Mark A; Varonka, Matthew S.; Birdwell, Justin E.; Jolly, Glenn D.; Coplen, Tyler B.; Oliver, Thomas A. Toward improved decision-support tools for Delta Smelt management actions
The Collaborative Science and Adaptive Management Program (CSAMP) has endorsed a goal of reversing the recent downward trajectory of the Delta Smelt population within 5-10 generations, with the long-term aim of establishing a self-sustaining population. An ambitious agenda of management actions is planned, and more management actions are being...
Reed, Denise; Acuna, Shawn; Ateljevich, Eli; Brown, Larry R.; Geske, Ben; Gross, Edward; Hobbs, Jim; Kimmerer, Wim J.; Lucas, Lisa; Nobriga, Matthew; Rose, Kenneth A Machine learning to identify geologic factors associated with production in geothermal fields: A case-study using 3D geologic data, Brady geothermal field, Nevada
In this paper, we present an analysis using unsupervised machine learning (ML) to identify the key geologic factors that contribute to the geothermal production in Brady geothermal field. Brady is a hydrothermal system in northwestern Nevada that supports both electricity production and direct use of hydrothermal fluids. Transmissive fluid-flow...
Siler, Drew L.; Pepin, Jeff D.; Vesselinov, Velimir V.; Mudunuru, Maruti K.; Ahmmed, Bulbul
Approaches for assessing long-term annual yields of highway and urban runoff in selected areas of California with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM)
The California Department of Transportation, commonly known as CalTrans, and other municipal separate storm sewer system permittees in California as well as other State departments of transportation nationwide need information about potential loads and yields (loads per unit area) of constituents of concern in stormwater runoff and discharges from...
Granato, Gregory E.; Friesz, Paul J.
Distribution of chlorinated volatile organic compounds and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in monitoring wells at the former Naval Air Warfare Center, West Trenton, New Jersey, 2014–17
A study was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Navy (the Navy) to determine the status of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in groundwater at the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) in West Trenton, New Jersey. Wells contaminated with VOCs were sampled in 2014,...
Imbrigiotta, Thomas E.; Fiore, Alex R.
Hydrogeologic framework and groundwater characterization in selected alluvial basins in the upper Rio Grande basin, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas, United States, and Chihuahua, Mexico, 1980 to 2015
Increasing demand for the limited water resources of the United States continues to put pressure on resource management agencies to balance the competing needs of ecosystem health with municipal, agricultural, and other uses. To meet these needs, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a multiyear study to evaluate water resources in the upper Rio...
Houston, Natalie A.; Thomas, Jonathan V.; Foster, Linzy K.; Pedraza, Diana E.; Welborn, Toby L. Assessing cyanobacterial frequency and abundance at surface waters near drinking water intakes across the United States
This study presents the first large-scale assessment of cyanobacterial frequency and abundance of surface water near drinking water intakes across the United States. Public water systems serve drinking water to nearly 90% of the United States population. Cyanobacteria and their toxins may degrade the quality of finished drinking water and can lead...
Coffer, Megan; Schaeffer, Blake A.; Foreman, Katherine; Porteous, Alex; Loftin, Keith; Stumpf, Richard; Werdell, Jeremy; Urquhart, Erin; Albert, Ryan; Darling, John