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Book Chapters

Browse more than 5,500 book chapters 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: 6158

Case study Middle Rio Grande Basin, New Mexico, USA Case study Middle Rio Grande Basin, New Mexico, USA

Chemical and isotopic patterns in groundwater can record characteristics of water sources, flow directions, and groundwater-age information. This hydrochemical information can be useful in refining conceptualization of groundwater flow, in calibration of numerical models of groundwater flow, and in estimation of paleo and modern recharge rates. This case study shows how chemical and...
Authors
Niel Plummer, W. Sanford

Foreword Foreword

No abstract available.
Authors
Julio L. Betancourt

Global climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico: Considerations for integrated coastal management Global climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico: Considerations for integrated coastal management

Global climate change is important in considerations of integrated coastal management in the Gulf of Mexico. This is true for a number of reasons. Climate in the Gulf spans the range from tropical to the lower part of the temperate zone. Thus, as climate warms, the tropical temperate interface, which is currently mostly offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, will increasingly move over the...
Authors
John W. Day, Alejandro Yáñez-Arancibia, James H. Cowan, Richard H. Day, Robert R. Twilley, John R. Rybczyk

Adaptive management of flows from dams: a win-win framework for water users Adaptive management of flows from dams: a win-win framework for water users

Alabama is blessed with more than 77,000 miles of rivers and streams that carve through the terrestrial landscape of the state. When you think about it, every road you drive on crosses a river and many of our major cities are located on the bank of a river. In fact, Alabama's capital cities - Cahawba (Dallas County; 1820-1826), Tuscaloosa (Tuscaloosa County; 1826-1846), and Montgomery...
Authors
Elise R. Irwin

An isotope-dilution standard GC/MS/MS method for steroid hormones in water An isotope-dilution standard GC/MS/MS method for steroid hormones in water

An isotope-dilution quantification method was developed for 20 natural and synthetic steroid hormones and additional compounds in filtered and unfiltered water. Deuterium- or carbon-13-labeled isotope-dilution standards (IDSs) are added to the water sample, which is passed through an octadecylsilyl solid-phase extraction (SPE) disk. Following extract cleanup using Florisil SPE, method...
Authors
William T. Foreman, James L. Gray, Rhiannon C. ReVello, Chris E. Lindley, Scott A. Losche

Structure and tectonic evolution of the eastern Española Basin, Rio Grande rift, north-central New Mexico Structure and tectonic evolution of the eastern Española Basin, Rio Grande rift, north-central New Mexico

We describe the structure of the eastern Española Basin and use stratigraphic and stratal attitude data to interpret its tectonic development. This area consists of a west-dipping half graben in the northern Rio Grande rift that includes several intrabasinal grabens, faults, and folds. The Embudo–Santa Clara–Pajarito fault system, a collection of northeast- and north-striking faults in...
Authors
Daniel Koning, V. J. Grauch, Sean D. Connell, J. Ferguson, William McIntosh, Janet L. Slate, Elmira Wan, W.S. Baldridge

Arsenic in groundwater: a summary of sources and the biogeochemical and hydrogeologic factors affecting arsenic occurrence and mobility Arsenic in groundwater: a summary of sources and the biogeochemical and hydrogeologic factors affecting arsenic occurrence and mobility

Arsenic (As) is a metalloid element (atomic number 33) with one naturally occurring isotope of atomic mass 75, and four oxidation states (-3, 0, +3, and +5) (Smedley and Kinniburgh, 2002). In the aqueous environment, the +3 and +5 oxidation states are most prevalent, as the oxyanions arsenite (H3AsO3 or H2AsO3- at pH ~9-11) and arsenate (H2AsO4- and HAsO42- at pH ~4-10) (Smedley and...
Authors
Julia L. Barringer, Pamela A. Reilly

Managing the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals in wastewater-impacted streams Managing the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals in wastewater-impacted streams

A revolution in analytical instrumentation circa 1920 greatly improved the ability to characterize chemical substances. This analytical foundation resulted in an unprecedented explosion in the design and production of synthetic chemicals during and post-World War II. What is now often referred to as the 2nd Chemical Revolution has provided substantial societal benefits; with modern...
Authors
Paul M. Bradley, Dana W. Kolpin

Modeling the long-term fate of agricultural nitrate in groundwater in the San Joaquin Valley, California Modeling the long-term fate of agricultural nitrate in groundwater in the San Joaquin Valley, California

Nitrate contamination of groundwater systems used for human water supplies is a major environmental problem in many parts of the world. Fertilizers containing a variety of reduced nitrogen compounds are commonly added to soils to increase agricultural yields. But the amount of nitrogen added during fertilization typically exceeds the amount of nitrogen taken up by crops. Oxidation of...
Authors
Francis H. Chapelle, Bruce G. Campbell, Mark A. Widdowson, Mathew K. Landon

Stress, deformation, conservation, and rheology: a survey of key concepts in continuum mechanics Stress, deformation, conservation, and rheology: a survey of key concepts in continuum mechanics

This chapter provides a brief survey of key concepts in continuum mechanics. It focuses on the fundamental physical concepts that underlie derivations of the mathematical formulations of stress, strain, hydraulic head, pore-fluid pressure, and conservation equations. It then shows how stresses are linked to strain and rates of distortion through some special cases of idealized material...
Authors
J. J. Major
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