Publications
This list of Water Resources Mission Area publications includes both official USGS publications and journal articles authored by our scientists. A searchable database of all USGS publications can be accessed at the USGS Publications Warehouse.
Filter Total Items: 19116
Transient changes in shallow groundwater chemistry during the MSU ZERT CO2 injection experiment Transient changes in shallow groundwater chemistry during the MSU ZERT CO2 injection experiment
Food-grade CO2 was injected into a shallow aquifer through a perforated pipe placed horizontally 1–2 m below the water table at the Montana State University Zero Emission Research and Technology (MSU-ZERT) field site at Bozeman, Montana. The possible impact of elevated CO2 levels on groundwater quality was investigated by analyzing 80 water samples taken before, during, and following CO2...
Authors
J. A. Apps, Lingyun Zheng, N. Spycher, J.T. Birkholzer, Yousif K. Kharaka, James J. Thordsen, Evangelos Kakouros, R. Trautz
Comparison of bottom-track to global positioning system referenced discharges measured using an acoustic Doppler current profiler Comparison of bottom-track to global positioning system referenced discharges measured using an acoustic Doppler current profiler
A negative bias in discharge measurements made with an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) can be caused by the movement of sediment on or near the streambed. The integration of a global positioning system (GPS) to track the movement of the ADCP can be used to avoid the systematic negative bias associated with a moving streambed. More than 500 discharge transects from 63 discharge
Authors
Chad R. Wagner, David S. Mueller
Biogeochemical factors affecting the presence of 210Po in groundwater Biogeochemical factors affecting the presence of 210Po in groundwater
The discovery of natural 210Po enrichment at levels exceeding 500 mBq/L in numerous domestic wells in northern Nevada, USA, led to a geochemical investigation of the processes responsible for its mobilization. 210Po activities in 63 domestic and public-supply wells ranged from below 1 mBq/L to 6590 ± 590 mBq/L, among the highest reported levels in the USA. There is little spatial or...
Authors
R. L. Seiler, L.L. Stillings, N. Cutler, L. Salonen, I. Outola
Response of algal metrics to nutrients and physical factors and identification of nutrient thresholds in agricultural streams Response of algal metrics to nutrients and physical factors and identification of nutrient thresholds in agricultural streams
Many streams within the United States are impaired due to nutrient enrichment, particularly in agricultural settings. The present study examines the response of benthic algal communities in agricultural and minimally disturbed sites from across the western United States to a suite of environmental factors, including nutrients, collected at multiple scales. The first objective was to...
Authors
Robert W. Black, Patrick W. Moran, Jill D. Frankforter
Alteration of streamflow magnitudes and potential ecological consequences: A multiregional assessment Alteration of streamflow magnitudes and potential ecological consequences: A multiregional assessment
Human impacts on watershed hydrology are widespread in the US, but the prevalence and severity of stream‐flow alteration and its potential ecological consequences have not been quantified on a national scale. We assessed streamflow alteration at 2888 streamflow monitoring sites throughout the conterminous US. The magnitudes of mean annual (1980–2007) minimum and maximum streamflows were...
Authors
Daren M. Carlisle, David M. Wolock, Michael R. Meador
Sources and Delivery of Nutrients to the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico from Streams in the South-Central United States Sources and Delivery of Nutrients to the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico from Streams in the South-Central United States
SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) models were developed to estimate nutrient inputs [total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP)] to the northwestern part of the Gulf of Mexico from streams in the South‐Central United States (U.S.). This area included drainages of the Lower Mississippi, Arkansas‐White‐Red, and Texas‐Gulf hydrologic regions. The models...
Authors
Richard A. Rebich, Natalie A. Houston, Scott V. Mize, Daniel Pearson, Patricia B. Ging, Hornig C. Evan
A Miocene river in northern Arizona and its implications for the Colorado River and Grand Canyon A Miocene river in northern Arizona and its implications for the Colorado River and Grand Canyon
The southwesterly course of the pre–late Miocene Crooked Ridge River can be traced continuously for 48 km and discontinuously for 91 km in northern Arizona. It is visible today in inverted relief. Pebbles in the river gravel came from at least as far northeast as the San Juan Mountains. The river valley was carved out of easily eroded Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks, whose debris...
Authors
Ivo Lucchitta, Richard F. Holm, Baerbel K. Lucchitta
Sewers as a source and sink of chlorinated-solvent groundwater contamination, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina Sewers as a source and sink of chlorinated-solvent groundwater contamination, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina
Groundwater contamination by tetrachloroethene and its dechlorination products is present in two partially intermingled plumes in the surficial aquifer near a former dry‐cleaning facility at Site 45, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina. The northern plume originates from the vicinity of former above‐ground storage tanks. Free‐phase tetrachloroethene from activities...
Authors
D.A. Vroblesky, M.D. Petkewich, M.A. Lowery, J. E. Landmeyer
A computer program for flow-log analysis of single holes (FLASH) A computer program for flow-log analysis of single holes (FLASH)
A new computer program, FLASH (Flow-Log Analysis of Single Holes), is presented for the analysis of borehole vertical flow logs. The code is based on an analytical solution for steady-state multilayer radial flow to a borehole. The code includes options for (1) discrete fractures and (2) multilayer aquifers. Given vertical flow profiles collected under both ambient and stressed (pumping...
Authors
F. D. Day-Lewis, C. D. Johnson, Frederick L. Paillet, K. J. Halford
Surface-water nutrient conditions and sources in the United States Pacific Northwest Surface-water nutrient conditions and sources in the United States Pacific Northwest
The SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) model was used to perform an assessment of surface-water nutrient conditions and to identify important nutrient sources in watersheds of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States (U.S.) for the year 2002. Our models included variables representing nutrient sources as well as landscape characteristics that...
Authors
D.R. Wise, H.M. Johnson
Simulation of branched serial first-order decay of atrazine and metabolites in adapted and nonadapted soils Simulation of branched serial first-order decay of atrazine and metabolites in adapted and nonadapted soils
In the present study a branched serial first‐order decay (BSFOD) model is presented and used to derive transformation rates describing the decay of a common herbicide, atrazine, and its metabolites observed in unsaturated soils adapted to previous atrazine applications and in soils with no history of atrazine applications. Calibration of BSFOD models for soils throughout the country can...
Authors
R. M. Webb, Mark W. Sandstrom, L.J. Krutz, D. L. Shaner
Loss of volatile hydrocarbons from an LNAPL oil source Loss of volatile hydrocarbons from an LNAPL oil source
The light nonaqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) oil pool in an aquifer that resulted from a pipeline spill near Bemidji, Minnesota, was analyzed for volatile hydrocarbons (VHCs) to determine if the composition of the oil remains constant over time. Oil samples were obtained from wells at five locations in the oil pool in an anaerobic part of the glacial outwash aquifer. Samples covering a 21...
Authors
Mary Jo Baedecker, Robert P. Eganhouse, Barbara A. Bekins, Geoffrey N. Delin