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Filter Total Items: 167089

Assessing Escherichia coli and microbial source tracking markers in the Rio Grande in the South Valley, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2020–21

The Rio Grande, in southern Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a Clean Water Act Section 303(d) Category 5 impaired reach for Escherichia coli (E. coli). The reach is 5 miles in length, extending from Tijeras Arroyo south to the Isleta Pueblo boundary. An evaluation of E. coli and microbial source tracking markers (human-, canine-, and waterfowl-specific sources) was conducted by the U.S. Geological Surv

Cross-sectional associations between drinking water arsenic and urinary inorganic arsenic in the US: NHANES 2003-2014

Background: Inorganic arsenic is a potent carcinogen and toxicant associated with numerous adverse health outcomes. The contribution of drinking water from private wells and regulated community water systems (CWSs) to total inorganic arsenic exposure is not clear. Objectives: To determine the association between drinking water arsenic estimates and urinary arsenic concentrations in the 2003-2014

Evaluation of potential stresses and hydrologic conditions driving water-level fluctuations in well ER-5-3-2, Frenchman Flat, southern Nevada

Well ER-5-3-2 is part of a well network designed to monitor long-term water levels and radionuclide concentrations downgradient from underground nuclear tests that occurred in Frenchman Flat, an area of the U.S. Department of Energy Nevada National Security Site in southern Nevada. Interpretation of monitoring records for well ER-5-3-2 was confounded by previously unexplained water-level fluctuati

Selected anthropogenic contaminants in groundwater, Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District, eastern Nebraska, 1992–2020

A study in cooperation with the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District was completed in 2019 to determine the concentration of contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) in groundwater in the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District, eastern Nebraska. Each well was sampled twice (in June and October or November) in 2019, totaling 34 samples. Samples were analyzed for 132 CECs, which in

Preliminary machine learning models of manganese and 1,4-dioxane in groundwater on Long Island, New York

Manganese and 1,4-dioxane in groundwater underlying Long Island, New York, were modeled with machine learning methods to demonstrate the use of these methods for mapping contaminants in groundwater in the Long Island aquifer system. XGBoost, a gradient boosted, ensemble tree method, was applied to data from 910 wells for manganese and 553 wells for 1,4-dioxane. Explanatory variables included soil

Update on U.S. Geological Survey Fundamental Science Practices

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Fundamental Science Practices (FSP) are a set of standard principles fundamental to how USGS conducts and carries out its science activities and how resulting information products and data are reviewed, approved, and released. These policies, practices, philosophical premises, and operational principles serve as the foundation for all USGS research and monitoring

Evolving radon diffusion through earthen barriers at uranium waste disposal sites

Field measurements of Rn-222 fluxes from the tops and bottoms of compacted clay radon barriers were used to calculate effective Rn diffusion coefficients (DRn) at four uranium waste disposal sites in the western United States to assess cover performance after more than 20 years of service. Values of DRn ranged from 7.4 × 10−7 to 6.0 × 10−9 m2/s, averaging 1.42 × 10−7. Water saturation (SW) from so

Integrating terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems to constrain estimates of land-atmosphere carbon exchange

In this Perspective, we put forward an integrative framework to improve estimates of land-atmosphere carbon exchange based on the accumulation of carbon in the landscape as constrained by its lateral export through rivers. The framework uses the watershed as the fundamental spatial unit and integrates all terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems as well as their hydrologic carbon exchanges. Application

Classifying freshwater salinity regimes in central and western U.S. streams and rivers

Freshwater salinization of rivers is occurring across the globe because of nonpoint source loading of salts from anthropogenic activities such as agriculture, urbanization, and resource extraction that accelerate weathering and release salts. Multidecadal trends in river salinity are well characterized, yet our understanding of annual regimes of salinity in rivers draining diverse central and west

Invasive Round Goby in the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers: What’s the latest?

The Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus) is an invasive benthic fish indigenous to the Ponto-Caspian region of Eurasia. It recently colonized the Great Lakes and has expanded eastward through the New York State Canal System over the past decade. The species was first documented in the Mohawk River watershed in 2014 and was found in the Hudson River in 2021. Round Goby can adversely affect aquatic e

A targeted annual warning system developed for the conservation of a sagebrush indicator species

A fundamental goal of population ecologists is to identify drivers responsible for temporal variation in abundance. Understanding whether variation is associated with environmental stochasticity or anthropogenic disturbances, which are more amenable to management action, is crucial yet difficult to achieve. Here, we present a hierarchical monitoring framework that models rates of change in abundan

Advances in transboundary aquifer assessment

This Special Issue is intended to highlight both recent work to advance the physical understanding of transboundary aquifers and factors relevant in successful collaboration on transboundary groundwater resource use. The collected papers address: (1) the identification and prioritization of the needs and strategies for sustainable groundwater development and use, along with the complexities introd