Publications

Nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed - A Century of Change, 1950–2050

National Award for Superior Communication Product

Domestic Well Water Quality in Marcellus Shale Region

Factors Affecting Groundwater Quality Used for Domestic Supply in Marcellus Shale Region of North-Central and North-East Pennsylvania

Geohydrologic and water-quality characterization of a fractured-bedrock test hole in an area of Marcellus Shale gas development, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania

Report at Pennsylvania Geological Survey

Publications are the cornerstone of the Pennsylvania Water Science Center’s dissemination of scientific data and conclusions.

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June 1, 2016

Map visualization of groundwater withdrawals at the sub-basin scale Map visualization of groundwater withdrawals at the sub-basin scale

A simple method is proposed to visualize the magnitude of groundwater withdrawals from wells relative to user-defined water-resource metrics. The map is solely an illustration of the withdrawal magnitudes, spatially centered on wells—it is not capture zones or source areas contributing recharge to wells. Common practice is to scale the size (area) of withdrawal well symbols proportional...

Authors

Daniel J. Goode

Water Resources Mission Area, Water Availability and Use Science Program, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

May 14, 2016

Decadal-scale export of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment from the Susquehanna River basin, USA: Analysis and synthesis of temporal and spatial patterns Decadal-scale export of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment from the Susquehanna River basin, USA: Analysis and synthesis of temporal and spatial patterns

The export of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and suspended sediment (SS) is a long-standing management concern for the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA. Here we present a comprehensive evaluation of nutrient and sediment loads over the last three decades at multiple locations in the Susquehanna River basin (SRB), Chesapeake's largest tributary watershed. Sediment and nutrient riverine...

Authors

Qian Zhang, William P. Ball, Douglas L. Moyer

Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center, Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center

February 29, 2016

Physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of selected headwater streams along the Allegheny Front, Blair County, Pennsylvania, July 2011–September 2013 Physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of selected headwater streams along the Allegheny Front, Blair County, Pennsylvania, July 2011–September 2013

The Altoona Water Authority (AWA) obtains all of its water supply from headwater streams that drain western Blair County, an area underlain in part by black shale of the Marcellus Formation. Development of the shale-gas reservoirs will require new access roads, stream crossing, drill-pad construction, and pipeline installation, activities that have the potential to alter existing stream...

Authors

Dennis J. Low, Robin A. Brightbill, Heather L. Eggleston, Jeffrey J. Chaplin

Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

January 21, 2016

Occurrence and trends in the concentrations of fecal-indicator bacteria and the relation to field water-quality parameters in the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers and selected tributaries, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, 2001–09 Occurrence and trends in the concentrations of fecal-indicator bacteria and the relation to field water-quality parameters in the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers and selected tributaries, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, 2001–09

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Allegheny County Health Department and Allegheny County Sanitary Authority, collected surface-water samples from the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers and selected tributaries during the period 2001–09 to assess the occurrence and trends in the concentrations of fecal-indicator bacteria during both wet- and dry-weather...

Authors

John W. Fulton, Edward H. Koerkle, Jamie L. McCoy, Linda F. Zarr

Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

January 1, 2016

Groundwater quality in the Valley and Ridge and Piedmont and Blue Ridge carbonate-rock aquifers, eastern United States Groundwater quality in the Valley and Ridge and Piedmont and Blue Ridge carbonate-rock aquifers, eastern United States

Groundwater provides nearly 50 percent of the Nation’s drinking water. To help protect this vital resource, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project assesses groundwater quality in aquifers that are important sources of drinking water. The Valley and Ridge and Piedmont and Blue Ridge carbonate-rock aquifers constitute two of the important areas...

Authors

Bruce D. Lindsey, Kenneth Belitz

Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

January 1, 2016

Water data to answer urgent water policy questions: Monitoring design, available data, and filling data gaps for determining whether shale gas development activities contaminate surface water or groundwater in the Susquehanna River Basin Water data to answer urgent water policy questions: Monitoring design, available data, and filling data gaps for determining whether shale gas development activities contaminate surface water or groundwater in the Susquehanna River Basin

Throughout its history, the United States has made major investments in assessing natural resources, such as soils, timber, oil and gas, and water. These investments allow policy makers, the private sector and the American public to make informed decisions about cultivating, harvesting or conserving these resources to maximize their value for public welfare, environmental conservation...

Authors

Elin A. Betanzo, Erik R. Hagen, John T. Wilson, Kenneth H. Reckhow, Laura Hayes, Denise M. Argue, Allegra A. Cangelosi

Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

November 18, 2015

User manuals for the Delaware River Basin Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources (DRB–WATER) and associated WATER application utilities User manuals for the Delaware River Basin Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources (DRB–WATER) and associated WATER application utilities

The Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources (WATER) is a decision support system (DSS) for the nontidal part of the Delaware River Basin (DRB) that provides a consistent and objective method of simulating streamflow under historical, forecasted, and managed conditions. WATER integrates geospatial sampling of landscape characteristics, including topographic and soil properties...

Authors

Tanja N. Williamson, Jeremiah G. Lant

Water Availability and Use Science Program, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

November 18, 2015

Summary of hydrologic modeling for the Delaware River Basin using the Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources (WATER) Summary of hydrologic modeling for the Delaware River Basin using the Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources (WATER)

The Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources (WATER) is a decision support system for the nontidal part of the Delaware River Basin that provides a consistent and objective method of simulating streamflow under historical, forecasted, and managed conditions. In order to quantify the uncertainty associated with these simulations, however, streamflow and the associated...

Authors

Tanja N. Williamson, Jeremiah G. Lant, Peter R. Claggett, Elizabeth A. Nystrom, Paul C.D. Milly, Hugh L. Nelson, Scott A. Hoffman, Susan J. Colarullo, Jeffrey M. Fischer

Water Availability and Use Science Program, New Jersey Water Science Center, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

October 31, 2015

Remote sensing to monitor cover crop adoption in southeastern Pennsylvania Remote sensing to monitor cover crop adoption in southeastern Pennsylvania

In the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, winter cereal cover crops are often planted in rotation with summer crops to reduce the loss of nutrients and sediment from agricultural systems. Cover crops can also improve soil health, control weeds and pests, supplement forage needs, and support resilient cropping systems. In southeastern Pennsylvania, cover crops can be successfully established...

Authors

Wells Hively, Sjoerd Duiker, Greg McCarty, Kusuma Prabhakara

Chesapeake Bay Activities, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

October 20, 2015

Monitoring, field experiments, and geochemical modeling of Fe(II) oxidation kinetics in a stream dominated by net-alkaline coal-mine drainage, Pennsylvania, USA Monitoring, field experiments, and geochemical modeling of Fe(II) oxidation kinetics in a stream dominated by net-alkaline coal-mine drainage, Pennsylvania, USA

Watershed-scale monitoring, field aeration experiments, and geochemical equilibrium and kinetic modeling were conducted to evaluate interdependent changes in pH, dissolved CO2, O2, and Fe(II) concentrations that typically take place downstream of net-alkaline, circumneutral coal-mine drainage (CMD) outfalls and during aerobic treatment of such CMD. The kinetic modeling approach, using...

Authors

Charles A. Cravotta

Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

October 20, 2015

Temporal geochemical variations in above- and below-drainage coal mine discharge Temporal geochemical variations in above- and below-drainage coal mine discharge

Water quality data collected in 2012 for 10 above- and 14 below-drainage coal mine discharges (CMDs), classified by mining or excavation method, in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania, USA, are compared with data for 1975, 1991, and 1999 to evaluate long-term (37 year) changes in pH, SO42−, and Fe concentrations related to geochemistry, hydrology, and natural attenuation processes. We

Authors

Jill E. Burrows, Stephen C. Peters, Charles A. Cravotta

Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

August 17, 2015

Water-budgets and recharge-area simulations for the Spring Creek and Nittany Creek Basins and parts of the Spruce Creek Basin, Centre and Huntingdon Counties, Pennsylvania, Water Years 2000–06 Water-budgets and recharge-area simulations for the Spring Creek and Nittany Creek Basins and parts of the Spruce Creek Basin, Centre and Huntingdon Counties, Pennsylvania, Water Years 2000–06

This report describes the results of a study by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with ClearWater Conservancy and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to develop a hydrologic model to simulate a water budget and identify areas of greater than average recharge for the Spring Creek Basin in central Pennsylvania. The model was developed to help policy makers...

Authors

John W. Fulton, Dennis W. Risser, R. Steve Regan, John F. Walker, Randall J. Hunt, Richard G. Niswonger, Scott A. Hoffman, Steven L. Markstrom

Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center