Water Resources
Advanced Capabilities and Research
Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF)
The HIF provides quality hydrologic equipment and instrumentation
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Linking Selenium Sources to Ecosystems: Modeling
Selenium (Se) as a contaminant of ecosystems is bioaccumulative and causes reproductive effects in fish and wildlife. Ecosystem-scale Se modeling predicts Se bioaccumulation based on dietary biodynamics within site-specific food webs. The model can be used to forecast Se toxicity under different management or regulatory proposals or to translate a tissue guideline to a dissolved guideline. ...
Flood Inundation Map (FIM) Libraries
The Flood Inundation Mapping Program focuses on developing flood inundation map libraries and helping communities pair those libraries with real-time stream data and National Weather Service flood forecasts to form a two-dimensional flood warning system. Together, these products can help communities estimate the extent of a flood and identify at-risk areas and resources in advance of...
National Brackish Groundwater Assessment
All water naturally contains dissolved solids that can make it "brackish" or distastefully salty. The amount of freshwater for drinking-water, agricultural, industrial, and environmental needs has declined in many areas and has led to concerns about future availability. The USGS conducted a national assessment of brackish aquifers that could supplement or replace freshwater sources.
Emerging Flood Inundation Mapping Technologies
The following technologies represent state-of-the-art tools, methodologies, and techniques that the USGS and our partners are researching and testing. Most of these techniques are experimental and not publicly available, but could significantly improve our ability to plan for and respond to flooding events in the future.
2011 - The Year of the Flood
2011 proved to be another record-breaking flood year in the United States. USGS Water Science Center personnel from North Dakota to Louisiana measured springtime floods on the Red River of the North, the Ohio River, the Mississippi River, and many tributaries. The Missouri River and its tributaries saw record-breaking snow-melt runoff through the summer, followed closely by Hurricane Irene and...
Urban Waters Federal Partnership—Bronx and Harlem River Watersheds (New York, N.Y.)
The Harlem and Bronx Rivers provide ecological and social resources in an intensively urban area. Connecting people to rivers requires clean water—the USGS is helping to assess the efficacy of green infrastructure to improve the quality of stormwater that flows into the rivers.
National Water-Quality Project Sampling Methods
USGS National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) studies require analyses of stream and bed-sediment samples for major ions, nutrients, sediments, and organic contaminants that are consistent across time and space. Procedures have been designed specifically to produce...
Regional SPARROW Model Assessments of Streams and Rivers
Regional SPARROW Model Assessments of Streams and Rivers (archived) includes models (and supporting data) that were developed for seven large regions of the conterminous United States. Results from the models can be used to compare nutrient sources and watersheds that contribute elevated nutrient loads to...
Handheld Thermal Imaging Cameras for Groundwater/Surface-Water Interaction Studies
USGS scientists are using high-resolution handheld thermal imaging cameras in groundwater/surface-water interaction studies and other investigations. These cameras are used to quickly locate and characterize thermal anomalies in streams, lakes, and adjacent structures. Variations in temperature can be used to track the heat carried by flowing water, such groundwater discharge into a stream....
What does groundwater have to do with ice in Alaska?
USGS scientists are working alongside university researchers in Alaska to understand how groundwater and permafrost conditions change over time due to seasonal variations and climate change. Changes in permafrost can pose a threat to built infrastructure (like roads, homes, and pipelines) and to valued ecological resources that provide important habitats for wildlife.
Fiber-Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing Technology Demonstration and Evaluation Project
Fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing (FO-DTS) is an emerging technology that has promise for characterizing estuary-aquifer and stream-aquifer interaction and for identifying transmissive fractures in bedrock boreholes.
Borehole Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
Borehole nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is an emerging geophysical method being applied to hydrogeology investigations.