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Steven M. Peterson

Steve Peterson is currently the Director of the Nebraska Water Science Center.

Steve received his Bachelor of Science in Hydrogeology from University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and his Master of Science in Geology from Northern Illinois University. Steve moved to Nebraska in 1999 to work on a groundwater flow model of west central Nebraska for a group of stakeholders. In 2005, Steve started work as a hydrogeologist for the USGS Nebraska Water Science Center (NE WSC); in this position he worked on a variety of groundwater availability studies, including groundwater-flow modeling to assess streamflow depletion and related topics. Steve worked his way to Groundwater Modeling Team Lead, and later, was named NE WSC Hydrologic Investigations Chief. As Hydrologic Investigations Chief, Steve mentored staff on modeling concepts and processes, oversaw studies related to water-quality, surface-water, and other aspects of hydrogeology, and guided program development. As NE WSC Center Director, Steve is looking forward to helping the Center grow into the future.

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Nebraska landscape

High Plains Groundwater Availability Study

Water availability is a function of many factors, including the quantity and quality of water and the laws, regulations, economics, and environmental factors that control its use. The focus of the High Plains Groundwater Availability Study is on improving fundamental knowledge of the water balance of the basin, including the flows, storage, and water use by humans and the environment. An improved...
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Nebraska Water Science Center
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High Plains Groundwater Availability Study

Water availability is a function of many factors, including the quantity and quality of water and the laws, regulations, economics, and environmental factors that control its use. The focus of the High Plains Groundwater Availability Study is on improving fundamental knowledge of the water balance of the basin, including the flows, storage, and water use by humans and the environment. An improved...
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Photo of Sandhills Lake

Elkhorn-Loup Model

In the Elkhorn River and Loup River Basins, Natural Resources Districts (Upper Elkhorn, Lower Elkhorn, Upper Loup, Lower Loup, Middle Niobrara, Lower Niobrara, Lewis and Clark, and Lower Platte North) are collecting data and developing tools to assist with water resource planning. Critical planning issues in the Elkhorn River and Loup River basins are focused on the availability of the groundwater...
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Nebraska Water Science Center
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Elkhorn-Loup Model

In the Elkhorn River and Loup River Basins, Natural Resources Districts (Upper Elkhorn, Lower Elkhorn, Upper Loup, Lower Loup, Middle Niobrara, Lower Niobrara, Lewis and Clark, and Lower Platte North) are collecting data and developing tools to assist with water resource planning. Critical planning issues in the Elkhorn River and Loup River basins are focused on the availability of the groundwater...
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MODFLOW-One Water Hydrologic Model integrated hydrologic-flow model used to evaluate water availability in the Osage Nation

The integrated hydrologic-flow model, called the Osage Nation Integrated Hydrologic Model (ONIHM) was developed to assess water availability in the Osage Nation. This model was developed using the MODFLOW-One Water Hydrologic Model (MF-OWHM) code. The ONIHM was discretized into an orthogonal grid of 276 rows and 289 columns, and each grid cell measured 1,312.34 feet (ft) per side, with eight varia
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Nebraska Water Science Center

MODFLOW-NWT groundwater flow model used to evaluate groundwater availability with five forecast scenarios in the Northern High Plains Aquifer in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming

This groundwater flow model used a previously developed three-dimensional groundwater flow model (https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20165153) was used to assess future groundwater availability in the Northern High Plains aquifer in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. In this groundwater flow model, a modified version of a previously published soil-water-balance (SWB) model (https://doi
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Nebraska Water Science Center

National-Scale Grid to Support Regional Groundwater Availability Studies and a National Hydrogeologic Framework

The National Hydrogeologic Grid (NHG) dataset includes a raster and vector representation of 1-km cells defining a uniform grid that encompasses the continental United States. The value of each cell of the raster dataset corresponds to the 1-km cell number defined as 'cellnum' in the attributes of the vector data. The NHG consists of 4,000 rows and 4,980 columns, numbered from the top left corner
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Water Resources Mission Area, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program

Base of principal aquifer for the Elkhorn-Loup model area, North-Central Nebraska

In Nebraska, the water managers in the Natural Resources Districts and the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources are concerned with the effect of ground-water withdrawal on the availability of surface water and the long-term effects of ground-water withdrawal on ground- and surface-water resources. In north-central Nebraska, in the Elkhorn and Loup River Basins, ground water is used for irrigat
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Water Resources Mission Area, Nebraska Water Science Center
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An integrated hydrologic model to support the Central Platte Natural Resources District Groundwater Management Plan, central Nebraska

The groundwater and surface-water supply of the Central Platte Natural Resources District supports a large agricultural economy from the High Plains aquifer and Platte River, respectively. This study provided the Central Platte Natural Resources District with an advanced numerical modeling tool to assist with the update of their Groundwater Management Plan.An integrated hydrologic model, called th
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Jonathan P. Traylor, Moussa Guira, Steven M. Peterson
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Water Resources Mission Area, Nebraska Water Science Center

Assessment of water availability in the Osage Nation using an integrated hydrologic-flow model

The Osage Nation of northeastern Oklahoma, conterminous with Osage County, covers about 2,900 square miles. The area is primarily rural with 62 percent of the land being native prairie grass, and much of the area is used for cattle ranching and extraction of petroleum and natural gas. Protection of water rights are important to the Osage Nation because of its reliance on cattle ranching and the po
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Jonathan P. Traylor, Shana L. Mashburn, Randall T. Hanson, Steven M. Peterson
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Water Resources Mission Area, Nebraska Water Science Center

Groundwater availability of the Northern High Plains aquifer in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming

Executive SummaryThe Northern High Plains aquifer underlies about 93,000 square miles of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming and is the largest subregion of the nationally important High Plains aquifer. Irrigation, primarily using groundwater, has supported agricultural production since before 1940, resulting in nearly $50 billion in sales in 2012. In 2010, the High Plains aquife
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Steven M. Peterson, Jonathan P. Traylor, Moussa Guira
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Water Resources Mission Area, Nebraska Water Science Center

Hydrogeology and simulated groundwater flow and availability in the North Fork Red River aquifer, southwest Oklahoma, 1980–2013

On September 8, 1981, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board established regulatory limits on the maximum annual yield of groundwater (343,042 acre-feet per year) and equal-proportionate-share (EPS) pumping rate (1.0 acre-foot per acre per year) for the North Fork Red River aquifer. The maximum annual yield and EPS were based on a hydrologic investigation that used a numerical groundwater-flow model t
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S. Jerrod Smith, John H. Ellis, Derrick L. Wagner, Steven M. Peterson
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Water Resources Mission Area, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

Hydrogeology and simulation of groundwater flow and analysis of projected water use for the Canadian River alluvial aquifer, western and central Oklahoma

This report describes a study of the hydrogeology and simulation of groundwater flow for the Canadian River alluvial aquifer in western and central Oklahoma conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. The report (1) quantifies the groundwater resources of the Canadian River alluvial aquifer by developing a conceptual model, (2) summarizes the gen
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John H. Ellis, Shana L. Mashburn, Grant M. Graves, Steven M. Peterson, S. Jerrod Smith, Leland T. Fuhrig, Derrick L. Wagner, Jon E. Sanford
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Water Resources Mission Area, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

Groundwater-flow model of the northern High Plains aquifer in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming

The High Plains aquifer is a nationally important water resource underlying about 175,000 square miles in parts of eight states: Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Droughts across much of the Northern High Plains from 2001 to 2007 have combined with recent (2004) legislative mandates to elevate concerns regarding future availability of groundwater a
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Steven M. Peterson, Amanda T. Flynn, Jonathan P. Traylor
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Water Resources Mission Area, Nebraska Water Science Center

Numerical simulation of groundwater flow, resource optimization, and potential effects of prolonged drought for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Tribal Jurisdictional Area, central Oklahoma

A hydrogeological study including two numerical groundwater-flow models was completed for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Tribal Jurisdictional Area of central Oklahoma. One numerical groundwater-flow model, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation model, encompassed the jurisdictional area and was based on the results of a regional-scale hydrogeological study and numerical groundwater flow model of the Centra
Authors
Derek W. Ryter, Christopher D. Kunkel, Steven M. Peterson, Jonathan P. Traylor
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Water Resources Mission Area, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

Simulation of groundwater flow and analysis of the effects of water-management options in the North Platte Natural Resources District, Nebraska

The North Platte Natural Resources District (NPNRD) has been actively collecting data and studying groundwater resources because of concerns about the future availability of the highly inter-connected surface-water and groundwater resources. This report, prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the North Platte Natural Resources District, describes a groundwater-flow model of the
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Steven M. Peterson, Amanda T. Flynn, Joseph Vrabel, Derek W. Ryter
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Water Resources Mission Area, Nebraska Water Science Center

Geodatabase compilation of hydrogeologic, remote sensing, and water-budget-component data for the High Plains aquifer, 2011

The High Plains aquifer underlies almost 112 million acres in the central United States. It is one of the largest aquifers in the Nation in terms of annual groundwater withdrawals and provides drinking water for 2.3 million people. The High Plains aquifer has gained national and international attention as a highly stressed groundwater supply primarily because it has been appreciably depleted in so
Authors
Natalie A. Houston, Sophia L. Gonzales-Bradford, Amanda T. Flynn, Sharon L. Qi, Steven M. Peterson, Jennifer S. Stanton, Derek W. Ryter, Terry L. Sohl, Gabriel B. Senay
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Water Resources Mission Area, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

Effects of linking a soil-water-balance model with a groundwater-flow model

A previously published regional groundwater-flow model in north-central Nebraska was sequentially linked with the recently developed soil-water-balance (SWB) model to analyze effects to groundwater-flow model parameters and calibration results. The linked models provided a more detailed spatial and temporal distribution of simulated recharge based on hydrologic processes, improvement of simulated
Authors
Jennifer S. Stanton, Derek W. Ryter, Steven M. Peterson
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Water Resources Mission Area, Nebraska Water Science Center

Selected approaches to estimate water-budget components of the High Plains, 1940 through 1949 and 2000 through 2009

The High Plains aquifer, underlying almost 112 million acres in the central United States, is one of the largest aquifers in the Nation. It is the primary water supply for drinking water, irrigation, animal production, and industry in the region. Expansion of irrigated agriculture throughout the past 60 years has helped make the High Plains one of the most productive agricultural regions in the Na
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Jennifer S. Stanton, Sharon L. Qi, Derek W. Ryter, Sarah E. Falk, Natalie A. Houston, Steven M. Peterson, Stephen M. Westenbroek, Scott C. Christenson
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Water Resources Mission Area, Nebraska Water Science Center

Simulation of groundwater flow and effects of groundwater irrigation on stream base flow in the Elkhorn and Loup River basins, Nebraska, 1895-2055: Phase Two

Regional groundwater-flow simulations for a 30,000-square-mile area of the High Plains aquifer, referred to collectively as the Elkhorn-Loup Model, were developed to predict the effects of groundwater irrigation on stream base flow in the Elkhorn and Loup River Basins, Nebraska. Simulations described the stream-aquifer system from predevelopment through 2005 [including predevelopment (pre-1895), e
Authors
Jennifer S. Stanton, Steven M. Peterson, Michael N. Fienen
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Water Resources Mission Area, Nebraska Water Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

P.B. McMahon, C.P. Carney, E.P. Poeter, S.M. Peterson, Use of geochemical, isotopic, and age tracer data to develop models of groundwater flow for the purpose of water management, northern High Plains aquifer, USA, Applied Geochemistry, Volume 25, Issue 6, June 2010, Pages 910-922, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2010.04.001.
Abraham, J.D., Cannia, J.C., Peterson, S.M., Smith, B.D., Minsley, B.J., Bedrosian, P.A., Using airborne geophysical surveys to improve groundwater resource management models (2010) Proceedings of the Symposium on the Application of Geophyics to Engineering and Environmental Problems, SAGEEP, 1, pp. 309-314.
Peterson, S.M., Ground conductivity surveys to identify contaminant plumes from septic systems (1997) Compass, 73 (3), pp. 97-102.

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

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