Water Availability and Use

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.

Borehole nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is an emerging geophysical method being applied to hydrogeology investigations.

Locating and quantifying exchanges of groundwater and surface water, along with characterizing geologic structure, is essential to water-resource managers and hydrologists for the development of effective water-resource policy, protection, and management. The USGS conducts applied research to evaluate the use of new or emerging hydrogeophysical tools and methods to improve our understanding of...

In the operation of the present invention, a compacted porous medium is provided with a supply of the desired liquid and is subjected to centrifugal force until the measurement of the flow rate of liquid through the medium is substantially constant. (Full details provided by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website.)