Tara A Gross
Biography
Tara Gross is an IT Specialist in the USGS Colorado Water Science Center in Lakewood, CO. Her expertise in GIS, computer programming, and graphic arts is used in studies of water quality, water use, watershed delineation, agricultural runoff, and closed basins in Colorado. She earned her B.S. in Computer Information Systems with a concentration in application development from the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND. She earned her A.A.S. in Geographic Information Systems from Bismarck State College in Bismarck, ND.
Science and Products
Water Properties True/False Quiz
How much do you know about water properties? Take our Water Properties True/False Quiz and find out.
How Much Does a Cloud Weigh?
I don't know anyone who is afraid to walk underneath a cumulus cloud because they are afraid it might fall on them. We don't think of clouds even having weight because they are floating. But, clouds are made up of a physical substance, water, and water is quite heavy, so clouds must have weight. We will explain this "paradox" to you if you read on.
Groundwater Flow and the Water Cycle
Yes, water below your feet is moving all the time, but, no, if you have heard there are rivers flowing below ground, that is not true. Water moves underground downward and sideways, in great quantities, due to gravity and pressure. Eventually it emerges back to the land surface, into rivers, and into the oceans to keep the water cycle going.
Groundwater Storage and the Water Cycle
The ground stores huge amounts of water and it exists to some degree no matter where on Earth you are. Lucky for people, in many places the water exists in quantities and at depths that wells can be drilled into the water-bearing aquifers and withdrawn to server the many needs people have.
Dictionary of Water Terms
Water Science Dictionary of Terms
Here's a list of water-related terms that might help you understand our site better. It is compiled from a number of sources and should not be considered an "official" U.S. Geological Survey water glossary.
How Streamflow is Measured
How can one tell how much water is flowing in a river? Can we simply measure how high the water has risen/fallen? The height of the surface of the water is called the stream stage or gage height. However, the USGS has more accurate ways of determining how much water is flowing in a river. Read on to learn more.
Irrigation Methods: Furrow or Flood Irrigation
It's a good thing farmers don't need to haul buckets of water to keep crops watered. Nearly as old as the bucket method though, is furrow or flood surface irrigation where farmers flow water down small trenches running through their crops. For more information about irrigation read on.
Streamflow and the Water Cycle
What is streamflow? How do streams get their water? To learn about streamflow and its role in the water cycle, continue reading.
Snowmelt Runoff and the Water Cycle
Perhaps you've never seen snow. Or, perhaps you built a snowman this very afternoon and perhaps you saw your snowman begin to melt. Regardless of your experience with snow and associated snowmelt, runoff from snowmelt is a major component of the global movement of water, possibly even if you live where it never snows.
Evapotranspiration and the Water Cycle
Evapotranspiration can be defined as the sum of all forms of evaporation plus transpiration, but here at the Water Science School, we'll be defining it as the sum of evaporation from the land surface plus transpiration from plants.
Urbanization and Water Quality
There's no end to the effects that urbanization can have on water bodies. Millions of people; landscape manipulation; waste material; dumping of chemicals and fertilizers; withdrawing water for peoples' uses. As you expect, urbanization rarely improves water quality, but in order to prevent problems, one needs to understand how urbanization affects the local waters.
Aquifers and Groundwater
A huge amount of water exists in the ground below your feet, and people all over the world make great use of it. But it is only found in usable quantities in certain places underground — aquifers. Read on to understand the concepts of aquifers and how water exists in the ground.
Surface Materials Data from Breccia-Pipe Uranium Mine and Reference Sites, Arizona, USA
This data release includes elemental analysis of soil samples collected at breccia-pipe uranium mines, at one undeveloped breccia-pipe uranium deposit, and at a reference site in northern Arizona. Samples were collected near the Arizona 1, Canyon, Kanab North, and Pinenut uranium mines, over the EZ2 breccia-pipe uranium deposit, and at the Little Robinson Tank reference site. Samples were...
Regression equations to estimate seasonal flow duration, n-day high-flow frequency, and n-day low-flow frequency at sites in North Dakota using data through water year 2009
Seasonal mean daily flow data from 119 U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations in North Dakota; the surrounding states of Montana, Minnesota, and South Dakota; and the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan with 10 or more years of unregulated flow record were used to develop regression equations for flow duration, n-day high...
Williams-Sether, Tara; Gross, Tara A.
Regional regression equations to estimate peak-flow frequency at sites in North Dakota using data through 2009
Annual peak-flow frequency data from 231 U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations in North Dakota and parts of Montana, South Dakota, and Minnesota, with 10 or more years of unregulated peak-flow record, were used to develop regional regression equations for exceedance probabilities of 0.5, 0.20, 0.10, 0.04, 0.02, 0.01, and 0.002 using...
Williams-Sether, Tara
2009 Spring floods in North Dakota, western Minnesota, and northeastern South Dakota
In 2009, record-breaking snowfalls and additional spring moisture caused severe flooding in parts of the Missouri River and Red River of the North (Red River) Basins in North Dakota, Minnesota, and South Dakota. There were 48 peak of record stages and 36 discharges recorded at U.S. Geological Survey streamgages located in both basins between March...
Macek-Rowland, Kathleen M.; Gross, Tara A.
A history of flooding in the Red River Basin
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), one of the principal Federal agencies responsible for the collection and interpretation of water-resources data, works with other Federal, State, local, tribal, and academic entities to ensure that accurate and timely data are available for making decisions regarding public welfare and property during natural...
Martin, Cathy R.; Ryberg, Karen R.; Macek-Rowland, Kathleen M.; Banse, Tara A.; Wiche, Gregg J.
10th Anniversary of the 1997 Red River Flood
The 1997 flood on the Red River was one of the worst natural disasters in recent history for many people and communities in the Red River of the North Basin. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), one of the principal Federal agencies responsible for the collection and interpretation of water-resources data, works with other Federal, State, local,...
Ryberg, K.R.; Macek-Rowland, K. M.; Wiche, G.J.; Klapprodt, L.A.