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.
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Procedures for using the Horiba Scientific Aqualog® fluorometer to measure absorbance and fluorescence from dissolved organic matter Procedures for using the Horiba Scientific Aqualog® fluorometer to measure absorbance and fluorescence from dissolved organic matter
Advances in spectroscopic techniques have led to an increase in the use of optical measurements (absorbance and fluorescence) to assess dissolved organic matter composition and infer sources and processing. Although optical measurements are easy to make, they can be affected by many variables rendering them less comparable, including by inconsistencies in sample collection (for example...
Authors
Angela M. Hansen, Jacob A. Fleck, Tamara E. C. Kraus, Bryan D. Downing, Travis von Dessonneck, Brian A. Bergamaschi
Coastal National Elevation Database Coastal National Elevation Database
The Coastal National Elevation Database (CoNED) Applications Project develops enhanced topographic (land elevation) and bathymetric (water depth) datasets that serve as valuable resources for coastal hazards research (Danielson and others, 2016; Thatcher and others, 2016). These datasets are used widely for mapping inundation zones from riverine flood events, hurricanes, and sea-level...
Authors
Jeffrey J. Danielson, Sandra K. Poppenga, Dean J. Tyler, Monica Palaseanu-Lovejoy, Dean B. Gesch
Groundwater-quality and select quality-control data from the National Water-Quality Assessment Project, January through December 2015, and previously unpublished data from 2013 to 2014 Groundwater-quality and select quality-control data from the National Water-Quality Assessment Project, January through December 2015, and previously unpublished data from 2013 to 2014
Groundwater-quality data were collected from 502 wells as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Project of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Program and are included in this report. Most of the wells (500) were sampled from January through December 2015, and 2 of them were sampled in 2013. The data were collected from five types of well networks: principal aquifer...
Authors
Terri Arnold, Laura M. Bexfield, MaryLynn Musgrove, Paul E. Stackelberg, Bruce D. Lindsey, James A. Kingsbury, Justin T. Kulongoski, Kenneth Belitz
U.S. Geological Survey Community for Data Integration 2017 Workshop Proceedings U.S. Geological Survey Community for Data Integration 2017 Workshop Proceedings
Executive Summary The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Community for Data Integration (CDI) Workshop was held May 16–19, 2017 at the Denver Federal Center. There were 183 in-person attendees and 35 virtual attendees over four days. The theme of the workshop was “Enabling Integrated Science,” with the purpose of bringing together the community to discuss current topics, shared challenges...
Authors
Leslie Hsu, Vivian B. Hutchison, Madison L. Langseth, Benjamin Wheeler
Characterization of peak streamflows and flood inundation of selected areas in southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana from the August and September 2017 flood resulting from Hurricane Harvey Characterization of peak streamflows and flood inundation of selected areas in southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana from the August and September 2017 flood resulting from Hurricane Harvey
Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas, on August 25, 2017, as a Category 4 hurricane with wind gusts exceeding 150 miles per hour. As Harvey moved inland, the forward motion of the storm slowed down and produced tremendous rainfall amounts over southeastern Texas, with 8-day rainfall amounts exceeding 60 inches in some locations, which is about 15 inches more than average...
Authors
Kara M. Watson, Glenn R. Harwell, David S. Wallace, Toby L. Welborn, Victoria G. Stengel, Jeremy S. McDowell
Nutrient loads in the Lost River and Klamath River Basins, south-central Oregon and northern California, March 2012–March 2015 Nutrient loads in the Lost River and Klamath River Basins, south-central Oregon and northern California, March 2012–March 2015
The U.S. Geological Survey and Bureau of Reclamation collected water-quality data from March 2012 to March 2015 at locations in the Lost River and Klamath River Basins, Oregon, in an effort to characterize water quality and compute a nutrient budget for the Bureau of Reclamation Klamath Reclamation Project. The study described in this report resulted in the following significant findings...
Authors
Liam N. Schenk, Marc A. Stewart, Sara L. Caldwell Eldridge
Status of selenium in south San Francisco Bay—A basis for modeling potential guidelines to meet National tissue criteria for fish and a proposed wildlife criterion for birds Status of selenium in south San Francisco Bay—A basis for modeling potential guidelines to meet National tissue criteria for fish and a proposed wildlife criterion for birds
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed Aquatic Life and AquaticDependent Wildlife Criteria for Selenium (Se) in California’s San Francisco Bay and Delta (Bay-Delta) in June 2016. Here we apply the same modeling methodology—Ecosystem-Scale Selenium Modeling— to an assessment of conditions and documentation of food webs of south San Francisco Bay (South Bay) as an...
Authors
Samuel N. Luoma, Theresa S. Presser
Water-quality conditions with an emphasis on cyanobacteria and associated toxins and taste-and-odor compounds in the Kansas River, Kansas, July 2012 through September 2016 Water-quality conditions with an emphasis on cyanobacteria and associated toxins and taste-and-odor compounds in the Kansas River, Kansas, July 2012 through September 2016
Cyanobacteria cause a multitude of water-quality concerns, including the potential to produce toxins and taste-and-odor compounds that may cause substantial economic and public health concerns, and are of particular interest in lakes, reservoirs, and rivers that are used for drinking-water supply. Extensive cyanobacterial blooms typically do not develop in the Kansas River; however...
Authors
Jennifer L. Graham, Guy M. Foster, Thomas J. Williams, Matthew D. Mahoney, Madison R. May, Keith A. Loftin
Landbird population trends in mountain and historical parks of the North Coast and Cascades Network: 2005–2016 synthesis Landbird population trends in mountain and historical parks of the North Coast and Cascades Network: 2005–2016 synthesis
Long-term monitoring of landbird populations within the National Park Service (NPS) North Coast and Cascades Inventory and Monitoring Network (NCCN) began in 2005, with the goal of detecting trends to inform the conservation and management of landbirds and their habitats. Here we use 2005–2016 data from over 3500 point-count stations to report landbird occurrence and trends in each of...
Authors
Chris Ray, James F. Saracco, Mandy Holmgren, Robert L. Wilkerson, Rodney B. Siegel, Kurt J. Jenkins, Jason I. Ransom, Patricia J. Happe, John R. Boetsch, Mark H. Huff
An evaluation of the toxicity of potassium chloride, active compound in the molluscicide potash, on salmonid fish and their forage base An evaluation of the toxicity of potassium chloride, active compound in the molluscicide potash, on salmonid fish and their forage base
Potash, with the active ingredient potassium chloride (KCl) is a chemical that is currently being evaluated for potential use as a molluscicide to combat invasive zebra mussels and quagga mussels in Western United States waters. Although data available for other freshwater fishes indicate that recommended treatment levels of potash as a molluscicide are sublethal, this has not been...
Authors
Christine L. Densmore, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Anne P. Henderson, Vicki S. Blazer, Baileigh M. Reed-Grimmett, Lakyn R. Sanders
External quality assurance project report for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program’s National Trends Network and Mercury Deposition Network, 2015–16 External quality assurance project report for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program’s National Trends Network and Mercury Deposition Network, 2015–16
The U.S. Geological Survey Precipitation Chemistry Quality Assurance project operated five distinct programs to provide external quality assurance monitoring for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program’s (NADP) National Trends Network and Mercury Deposition Network during 2015–16. The National Trends Network programs include (1) a field audit program to evaluate sample contamination...
Authors
Gregory A. Wetherbee, RoseAnn Martin
Estimates of water use and trends in the Colorado River Basin, Southwestern United States, 1985–2010 Estimates of water use and trends in the Colorado River Basin, Southwestern United States, 1985–2010
The Colorado River Basin (CRB) drains 246,000 square miles and includes parts of California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, and all of Arizona (Basin States). This report contains water-use estimates by category of use for drainage basins (Hydrologic Unit Code 8; HUC‑8) within the CRB from 1985 to 2010, at 5-year intervals. Estimates for public supply, domestic...
Authors
Molly A. Maupin, Tamara I. Ivahnenko, Breton Bruce