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Publications

Browse more than 160,000 publications authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS.  Publications available are: USGS-authored journal articles, series reports, book chapters, other government publications, and more.

Filter Total Items: 171401

Inset groundwater-flow models for the Cache and Grand Prairie Critical Groundwater Areas, northeastern Arkansas

The water resources in the Mississippi alluvial plain, located in parts of Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas, supports a multibillion-dollar agricultural industry that relies heavily on pumping of groundwater for irrigation of crops and aquaculture. The primary source of groundwater for agricultural-related pumping is the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer,
Authors
Jonathan P. Traylor, Leslie L. Duncan, Andrew T. Leaf, Alec Rolland Weisser, Benjamin J. Dietsch, Moussa Guira

Peak streamflow trends in South Dakota and their relation to changes in climate, water years 1921–2020

Peak-flow (flood) frequency analysis is essential to water-resources management applications, including the design of critical infrastructure such as bridges and culverts, and floodplain mapping. Federal guidelines for performing peak-flow flood frequency analyses are presented in a U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods Report known as Bulletin 17C. A basic assumption within Bulletin 17C,
Authors
Nancy A. Barth, Steven K. Sando

Upper Mississippi River System hydrogeomorphic change conceptual model and hierarchical classification

Understanding the geomorphic processes and causes for long-term hydrogeomorphic changes along the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) is necessary for scientific studies ranging from habitat needs assessments, sediment transport, and nutrient processing, and making sound management decisions and prioritizing ecological restoration activities. From 2018 through 2020 the U.S. Geological Survey and
Authors
Faith A. Fitzpatrick, James T. Rogala, Jon S. Hendrickson, Lucie Sawyer, Jayme Stone, Susannah Erwin, Edward J. Brauer, Angus A. Vaughan

Real-time pier scour monitoring and observations at three scour-critical sites in Idaho, water years 2020–22

To observe real-time pier scour at three scour-critical sites in Idaho, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Idaho Transportation Department, installed and operated fixed real-time (15-minute interval) bed elevation scour sonar sensors at three bridge locations associated with U.S. Geological Survey streamflow gaging stations for water years 2020 through 2022. Daily mean and peak stream
Authors
Ryan L. Fosness, Paul V. Schauer

Potential corrosivity of untreated groundwater in Louisiana

Corrosive groundwater can cause lead, copper, and other metals to leach from pipes and plumbing fixtures in water distribution systems. Metals, if ingested, could lead to serious health implications to the nearly 2.9 million people in Louisiana who obtain their drinking water from groundwater sources. Four indices—the Langelier Saturation Index (LSI), Ryznar Stability Index (RSI), Puckorius Scalin
Authors
Angela L. Robinson

Neogene hydrothermal Fe- and Mn-oxide mineralization of Paleozoic continental rocks, Amerasia Basin, Arctic Ocean

Rocks dredged from water depths of 1,605, 2,500, 3,300, and 3,400 m in the Arctic Ocean included Paleozoic continental rocks pervasively mineralized during the Neogene by hydrothermal Fe and Mn oxides. Samples were recovered in three dredge hauls from the Chukchi Borderland and one from Mendeleev Ridge north of Alaska and eastern Siberia, respectively. Many of the rocks were so pervasively altered
Authors
James R. Hein, Kira Mizell, Amy Gartman

Trends and environmental impacts of virtual water trade

Virtual water describes water embedded in the production of goods and offers meaningful insights about the complex interplay between water, trade and sustainability. In this Review, we examine the trends, major players, traded products and key drivers of virtual water trade (VWT). Roughly 20% of water used in global food production is traded virtually rather than domestically consumed. As such, ag
Authors
Mesfin M. Mekonnen, Mahlet M. Kebede, Betelhem W. Demeke, Joel A. Carr, Ashok Chapagain, Carole Dalin, Peter Debaere, Paolo D'Odorico, Landon Marston, Chittaranjan Ray, Lorenzo Rosa, La Zhuo

Groundwater quality and groundwater levels in Dougherty County, Georgia, April 2020 through January 2023

The Upper Floridan aquifer is the uppermost reliable groundwater source in southwest Georgia. The aquifer lies on top of the Claiborne, Clayton, and Cretaceous aquifers, all of which exhibited water-level declines in the 1960s and 1970s. The U.S. Geological Survey has been working cooperatively with Albany Utilities to monitor groundwater quality and availability in these aquifers since 1977.Flow
Authors
Debbie W. Gordon

An evaluation of cyanobacterial occurrence and bloom development in Adirondack lakes

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) have occurred in many low nutrient (oligotrophic) lakes in the northeastern United States. The Adirondack Park in New York is a large, mountainous region with many low nutrient lakes. There is a gap in understanding regarding whether cyanoHAB reporting data are truly reflective of the susceptibility of lakes to develop bloom conditions. We evaluated
Authors
Rebecca Michelle Gorney, Elizabeth A. Nystrom, Michael D. Stouder, Ann E. St. Amand, Cory Suave, Denise Clark, Erin A. Stelzer, Carrie E Givens, Jennifer L. Graham

The state of the science and practice of stream restoration in the Chesapeake: Lessons learned to inform better implementation, assessment and outcomes

The Chesapeake Bay Program’s (CBP) Science and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) organized and led a workshop on the science and practice of stream restoration in order to summarize the state of knowledge in order to identify ways to improve stream restoration outcomes. The workshop identified a general framework for explaining the main factors leading to stream restoration outcomes: stream degr
Authors
Gregory Noe, Neely Law, Joel Berger, Solange Filoso, Sadie Drescher, L. Fraley-McNeal, Ben Hayes, Paul Mayer, Chris Ruck, Bill Stack, Rich Starr, Scott Stranko, Tess Thompson

Individual return patterns of spawning flannelmouth sucker (Catostomus latipinnis) to a desert river tributary

Tributaries provide temporal and spatial habitat heterogeneity in river networks that can be critical for parts of the life history of a species. Tributary fidelity can benefit individual fish undergoing spawning migrations by reducing time and energy spent exploring new areas and leveraging previous experience, but anthropogenic activities that fragment or degrade these systems can eliminate thos
Authors
Sophia Marie Bonjour, Keith B. Gido, Charles N. Cathcart, Mark C. McKinstry

Quality of groundwater used for domestic supply in the eastern Sacramento Valley and adjacent foothills, California

SummaryMore than 2 million Californians rely on groundwater from privately owned domestic wells for drinking-water supply. This report summarizes a water-quality survey of domestic and small-system drinking-water supply wells in the eastern Sacramento Valley and adjacent foothills where more than 25,000 residents are estimated to use privately owned domestic wells. Study results show that inorgani
Authors
George L. Bennett
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