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
Joint variability of global runoff and global sea surface temperatures Joint variability of global runoff and global sea surface temperatures
Global land surface runoff and sea surface temperatures (SST) are analyzed to identify the primary modes of variability of these hydroclimatic data for the period 1905-2002. A monthly water-balance model first is used with global monthly temperature and precipitation data to compute time series of annual gridded runoff for the analysis period. The annual runoff time series data are...
Authors
G.J. McCabe, D.M. Wolock
Tracer gauge: An automated dye dilution gauging system for ice‐affected streams Tracer gauge: An automated dye dilution gauging system for ice‐affected streams
In‐stream flow protection programs require accurate, real‐time streamflow data to aid in the protection of aquatic ecosystems during winter base flow periods. In cold regions, however, winter streamflow often can only be estimated because in‐channel ice causes variable backwater conditions and alters the stage‐discharge relation. In this study, an automated dye dilution gauging system, a...
Authors
David W. Clow, Andrea C. Fleming
Chapter 31 Sensitivity and spin-up times of cohesive sediment transport models used to simulate bathymetric change Chapter 31 Sensitivity and spin-up times of cohesive sediment transport models used to simulate bathymetric change
Bathymetric change in tidal environments is modulated by watershed sediment yield, hydrodynamic processes, benthic composition, and anthropogenic activities. These multiple forcings combine to complicate simple prediction of bathymetric change; therefore, numerical models are necessary to simulate sediment transport. Errors arise from these simulations, due to inaccurate initial...
Authors
D. H. Schoellhamer, N. K. Ganju, P. R. Mineart, M. A. Lionberger
National, holistic, watershed-scale approach to understand the sources, transport, and fate of agricultural chemicals National, holistic, watershed-scale approach to understand the sources, transport, and fate of agricultural chemicals
This paper is an introduction to the following series of papers that report on in-depth investigations that have been conducted at five agricultural study areas across the United States in order to gain insights into how environmental processes and agricultural practices interact to determine the transport and fate of agricultural chemicals in the environment. These are the first study...
Authors
P. D. Capel, K. A. McCarthy, J.E. Barbash
Modeling the effects of potential salinity shifts on the recovery of striped bass in the Savannah River estuary, Georgia-South Carolina, United States Modeling the effects of potential salinity shifts on the recovery of striped bass in the Savannah River estuary, Georgia-South Carolina, United States
Increased salinity in spawning and nursery grounds in the Savannah River estuary was cited as the primary cause of a 97% decrease in adult striped bass (Morone saxatilis) and a concomitant 96% decrease in striped bass egg production. Restoration efforts focused on environmental remediation and stock enhancement have resulted in restored salinity patterns and increased egg and adult...
Authors
T.R. Reinert, J.T. Peterson
Estimating selected streamflow statistics representative of 1930–2002 in West Virginia Estimating selected streamflow statistics representative of 1930–2002 in West Virginia
Regional equations and procedures were developed for estimating 1-, 3-, 7-, 14-, and 30-day 2-year; 1-, 3-, 7-, 14-, and 30-day 5-year; and 1-, 3-, 7-, 14-, and 30-day 10-year hydrologically based low-flow frequency values for unregulated streams in West Virginia. Regional equations and procedures also were developed for estimating the 1-day, 3-year and 4-day, 3-year biologically based...
Authors
Jeffrey B. Wiley
Ground-water conditions in Utah, spring of 2008 Ground-water conditions in Utah, spring of 2008
This is the forty-fifth in a series of annual reports that describe ground-water conditions in Utah. Reports in this series, published cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Resources and Division of Water Rights, and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water Quality, provide data to enable...
Authors
Carole B. Burden, David V. Allen, M.R. Danner, Martel J. Fisher, Michael L. Freeman, Paul Downhour, C.D. Wilkowske, Robert J. Eacret, Michael Enright, Robert L. Swenson, James H. Howells, Howard K. Christiansen
Framework for Understanding Structural Errors (FUSE): A modular framework to diagnose differences between hydrological models Framework for Understanding Structural Errors (FUSE): A modular framework to diagnose differences between hydrological models
The problems of identifying the most appropriate model structure for a given problem and quantifying the uncertainty in model structure remain outstanding research challenges for the discipline of hydrology. Progress on these problems requires understanding of the nature of differences between models. This paper presents a methodology to diagnose differences in hydrological model...
Authors
Martyn P. Clark, Andrew G. Slater, David E. Rupp, Ross A. Woods, Jasper A. Vrugt, Hoshin V. Gupta, Thorsten Wagener, Lauren E. Hay
Initial fluvial response to the removal of Oregon's Marmot Dam Initial fluvial response to the removal of Oregon's Marmot Dam
A temporary, 14‐meter‐high earthen cofferdam standing in place of Marmot Dam was breached on 19 October 2007, allowing the 80‐ kilometer‐long Sandy River to flow freely from Mount Hood, Oreg., to the Columbia River for the first time in nearly 100 years. Marmot Dam is one of the largest dams in the western United States (in terms of height and volume of stored sediment) to have been...
Authors
Jon J. Major, Kurt R. Spicer, Abagail Rhode, J. E. O’Connor, Heather M. Bragg, Dwight Q. Tanner, Chauncey W. Anderson, J. Rose Wallick, Gordon E. Grant
Geoelectrical inference of mass transfer parameters using temporal moments Geoelectrical inference of mass transfer parameters using temporal moments
We present an approach to infer mass transfer parameters based on (1) an analytical model that relates the temporal moments of mobile and bulk concentration and (2) a bicontinuum modification to Archie's law. Whereas conventional geochemical measurements preferentially sample from the mobile domain, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is sensitive to bulk electrical conductivity and...
Authors
Frederick D. Day-Lewis, Kamini Singha
Significance of model credibility in estimating climate projection distributions for regional hydroclimatological risk assessments Significance of model credibility in estimating climate projection distributions for regional hydroclimatological risk assessments
Ensembles of historical climate simulations and climate projections from the World Climate Research Programme's (WCRP's) Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 3 (CMIP3) multi-model dataset were investigated to determine how model credibility affects apparent relative scenario likelihoods in regional risk assessments. Methods were developed and applied in a Northern California case...
Authors
L.D. Brekke, M. D. Dettinger, E.P. Maurer, M. Anderson
Changes in dissolved organic material determine exposure of stream benthic communities to UV-B radiation and heavy metals: Implications for climate change Changes in dissolved organic material determine exposure of stream benthic communities to UV-B radiation and heavy metals: Implications for climate change
Changes in regional climate in the Rocky Mountains over the next 100 years are expected to have significant effects on biogeochemical cycles and hydrological processes. In particular, decreased discharge and lower stream depth during summer when ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is the highest combined with greater photo-oxidation of dissolved organic materials (DOM) will significantly...
Authors
W.H. Clements, M.L. Brooks, D.R. Kashian, R.E. Zuellig