Reports
Science Quality and Integrity
The USGS provides unbiased, objective, and impartial scientific information upon which our audiences, including resource managers, planners, and other entities, rely.
The USGS provides unbiased, objective, and impartial scientific information upon which our audiences, including resource managers, planners, and other entities, rely.
Browse more than 82,000 reports authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS and refine search by topic, location, year, and advanced search.
Filter Total Items: 84719
Development of continuous bathymetry and two-dimensional hydraulic models for the Willamette River, Oregon Development of continuous bathymetry and two-dimensional hydraulic models for the Willamette River, Oregon
The Willamette River is home to at least 69 species of fish, 33 of which are native, including Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss). These fish need suitable hydraulic conditions, such as water depth and velocity, to fulfill various stages of their life. Hydraulic conditions are driven by interactions between channel morphology and streamflow...
Authors
James S. White, J. Rose Wallick
Conceptual models of groundwater flow in the Grand Canyon region, Arizona Conceptual models of groundwater flow in the Grand Canyon region, Arizona
The conceptual models of groundwater flow outlined herein synthesize what is known and hypothesized about the groundwater-flow systems that discharge to the Grand Canyon of Arizona. These models interpret the hydrogeologic characteristics and hydrologic dynamics of the physical systems into a framework for understanding key aspects of the physical systems as they relate to groundwater...
Authors
Jacob E. Knight, Peter W. Huntoon
Using microbial source tracking to identify fecal contamination sources in Lake Montauk on Long Island, New York Using microbial source tracking to identify fecal contamination sources in Lake Montauk on Long Island, New York
The U.S. Geological Survey worked in cooperation with the Concerned Citizens of Montauk and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to assess the potential sources of fecal contamination entering Lake Montauk, an artificial embayment on the tip of the southern fork of Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. Water samples are routinely collected by the New York State...
Authors
Tristen N. Tagliaferri, Shawn C. Fisher, Christopher M. Kephart, Natalie Cheung, Ariel P. Reed, Robert J. Welk
Hawaiian forest bird conservation strategies for minimizing the risk of extinction: biological and biocultural considerations Hawaiian forest bird conservation strategies for minimizing the risk of extinction: biological and biocultural considerations
The iconic forest birds of Hawai‘i are facing a conservation crisis. Across the Hawaiian Islands, native forest birds have been experiencing population declines that have accelerated in the last one to two decades. While habitat loss, invasive species, and non-native predators have negatively affected forest bird species for hundreds of years, and continue to do so, introduced diseases
Authors
Eben H. Paxton, Megan Laut, Stanton Enomoto, Michelle Bogardus
Aquatic-life criteria compared to concentrations of cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc in streams near Fort Polk Military Reservation, Louisiana, December 2015–August 2016 Aquatic-life criteria compared to concentrations of cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc in streams near Fort Polk Military Reservation, Louisiana, December 2015–August 2016
The primary focus of this study was to document cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc concentrations in selected streams near the U.S. Army Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) and Fort Polk Military Reservation and to compare those values to Federal and State aquatic-life criteria guidelines. The acute aquatic-life criteria used for this study are as follows: the U.S. Environmental...
Authors
Roland W. Tollett
Forest bird populations at the Big Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Hawai‘i Forest bird populations at the Big Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Hawai‘i
Endemic Hawaiian forest birds have experienced dramatic population declines. The Big Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex (BINWRC) was created for conservation of endangered Hawaiian forest birds and their habitats. Surveys have been conducted at two units of BINWRC to monitor forest bird populations and their response to management actions. We analyzed survey data from 1987 to 2019...
Authors
Steven J. Kendall, Rachel A. Rounds, Richard J. Camp, Ayesha Genz
Surface-water-quality data to support implementation of revised freshwater aluminum water-quality criteria in Massachusetts, 2018–19 Surface-water-quality data to support implementation of revised freshwater aluminum water-quality criteria in Massachusetts, 2018–19
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, performed a study to inform the development of the department’s guidelines for the collection and use of water-chemistry data to support calculation of site-dependent aluminum criteria values. The U.S. Geological Survey collected and analyzed discrete water-quality samples at four...
Authors
David S. Armstrong, Jennifer G. Savoie, Leslie A. DeSimone, Kaitlin L. Laabs, Richard O. Carey
Groundwater resources of the Harney Basin, southeastern Oregon Groundwater resources of the Harney Basin, southeastern Oregon
Groundwater development has increased substantially in southeastern Oregon’s Harney Basin since 2010, mainly for the purpose of large-scale irrigation. Concurrently, some areas of the basin experienced groundwater-level declines of more than 100 feet, and some shallow wells have gone dry. The Oregon Water Resources Department has limited new groundwater development in the basin until an...
Authors
Stephen B. Gingerich, Henry M. Johnson, Darrick E. Boschmann, Gerald H. Grondin, C. Amanda Garcia
Hydrologic budget of the Harney Basin groundwater system, southeastern Oregon Hydrologic budget of the Harney Basin groundwater system, southeastern Oregon
Groundwater-level declines and limited quantitative knowledge of the groundwater-flow system in the Harney Basin prompted a cooperative study between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Oregon Water Resources Department to evaluate the groundwater-flow system and budget. This report provides a hydrologic budget of the Harney Basin groundwater system that includes separate groundwater...
Authors
C. Amanda Garcia, Nicholas T. Corson-Dosch, Jordan P. Beamer, Stephen B. Gingerich, Gerald H. Grondin, Brandon T. Overstreet, Jonathan V. Haynes, Mellony D. Hoskinson
Composite regional groundwater hydrographs for selected principal aquifers in New Mexico, 1980–2019 Composite regional groundwater hydrographs for selected principal aquifers in New Mexico, 1980–2019
Groundwater is an important source of water for New Mexico. An estimated 48 percent of the total water used comes from groundwater sources, and groundwater levels generally are declining over large areas of New Mexico. Groundwater levels are affected by local and regional recharge or discharge processes. Groundwater hydrographs show the history of groundwater-level changes at a well. A...
Authors
Nathan C. Myers
Implementing a rapid deployment bridge scour monitoring system in Colorado, 2019 Implementing a rapid deployment bridge scour monitoring system in Colorado, 2019
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Colorado Department of Transportation, installed and operated real-time scour monitoring instrumentation at two bridges in Colorado in 2016 and 2017 to measure streambed elevations in real-time. The instrumentation included acoustic echosounder depth sensors mounted to the bridge substructure units with rigid conduit and fittings...
Authors
Mark F. Henneberg, Rodney J. Richards
Ungulate migrations of the western United States, volume 2 Ungulate migrations of the western United States, volume 2
Migration is widespread across taxonomic groups and increasingly recognized as fundamental to maintaining abundant wildlife populations and communities. Many ungulate herds migrate across the western United States to access food and avoid harsh environmental conditions. With the advent of global positioning system (GPS) collars, researchers can describe and map the year-round movements...
Authors
Matthew J. Kauffman, Blake Lowrey, Jeffrey L. Beck, Jodi Berg, Scott Bergen, Joel Berger, James W. Cain, Sarah Dewey, Jennifer Diamond, Orrin Duvuvuei, Fattebert, Jeff Gagnon, Julia Garcia, Evan Greenspan, Embere Hall, Glenn Harper, Stan Harter, Kent Hersey, Pat Hnilicka, Mark Hurley, Lee Knox, Art Lawson, Eric Maichak, James Meacham, Jerod Merkle, Arthur Middleton, Daniel Olson, Lucas Olson, Craig Reddell, Benjamin S. Robb, Gabe Rozman, Hall Sawyer, Cody Schroeder, Brandon Scurlock, Jeff Short, Scott Sprague, Alethea Steingisser, Nicole Tatman