Spatially Referenced Models of Streamflow and Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Suspended-Sediment Loads in Streams of the Pacific Region of the United States
Links
- Document: Report (31.0 MB pdf)
- Application Site: Mapping application – Online mapping tool to explore 2012 SPARROW Models
- Companion Files:
- SIR 2019–5106 – Spatially Referenced Models of Streamflow and Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Suspended-Sediment Loads in Streams of the Southwestern United States
- SIR 2019–5114 – Spatially Referenced Models of Streamflow and Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Suspended-Sediment Loads in Streams of the Midwestern United States
- SIR 2019–5118 – Spatially Referenced Models of Streamflow and Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Suspended-Sediment Loads in Streams of the Northeastern United States
- SIR 2019–5135 – Spatially Referenced Models of Streamflow and Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Suspended-Sediment Loads in Streams of the Southeastern United States
- Data Releases:
- USGS data release - SPARROW model inputs and simulated streamflow, nutrient and suspended-sediment loads in streams of the Pacific Region of the United States, 2012 base year
- USGS data release - Application of nutrients generated by non-cattle livestock to farmland within the Pacific drainages of the United States, 2012
- USGS data release - Distribution of grazing cattle within the Pacific drainages of the United State, 2012
- USGS data release - Application of manure nutrients generated at cattle animal feeding operations to farmland within the Pacific drainages of the United State, 2012
- USGS data release - Application of manure nutrients generated by grazing cattle to grazing land within the Pacific drainages of the United States, 2012
- USGS data release - County-level livestock data for the Pacific drainages of the United States, 2012
- USGS data release - Population with On-Site Wastewater Treatment within the Pacific Drainages of the United States, 2010
- USGS data release - Potential Grazing Land Within the Pacific Drainages of the Western United States, 2011
- Read Me: Correction notes (918 KB txt)
- Version History: Version History
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
Although spatial information describing the supply and quality of surface water is critical for managing water resources for human uses and for ecological health, monitoring is expensive and cannot typically be done over large scales or in all streams or waterbodies. To address the need for such data, the U.S. Geological Survey developed SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) for the Pacific region of the U.S. for streamflow and three water-quality constituents–total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and suspended sediment, based on a decadal time frame centered on the year 2012. The domain for these models included the Columbia River basin, the Puget Sound, the coastal drainages of Washington, Oregon, and California, and the Central Valley of California. Landscape runoff (represented by the difference between precipitation and evapotranspiration) was the largest source of streamflow, wastewater discharge, and atmospheric deposition were the largest contributors to total nitrogen yield from the Pacific region, wastewater discharge was the largest contributor to total phosphorus yield, and forest land was the largest contributor to suspended-sediment yield. Watersheds with relatively high water yields also generally had relatively high yields of total nitrogen, total phosphorous, and suspended sediment–except where there were large contributions from developed land and wastewater discharge.
The data used in this study, including many that improved upon existing national data or were compiled specifically for the Pacific region, characterized the complex hydrologic and water-quality conditions in the region more completely than previous models. By using these new datasets, this investigation was able to account for the complex network of water diversions and transfers, quantify the contribution of nutrients from different sources of livestock manure, discern a signal from unpaved logging roads in the suspended-sediment yields from forested coastal watersheds, show how recent wildfire disturbance influences phosphorus and sediment delivery to streams, and how sediment delivery to streams is also sensitive to the intensity of cattle grazing. The results from this study could complement research and inform water-quality management activities in the Pacific region. Examples might include identifying potentially impaired waterbodies and guiding remediation efforts where impairment has been documented, explaining the spatial patterns in harmful algal blooms, and providing estimates of sediment and nutrient loadings to Pacific coast estuaries where such data are scarce or non-existent.
Suggested Citation
Wise, D.R., 2019, Spatially referenced models of streamflow and nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads in streams of the Pacific region of the United States (ver. 1.1, June 2020): U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5112, 64 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20195112.
ISSN: 2328-0328 (online)
Study Area
Table of Contents
- Foreword
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Study Area Description
- Methods
- Model Calibration Results and Predictions
- Discussion
- Summary
- Acknowledgments
- References Cited
- Appendix 1
- Appendix 2
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Spatially referenced models of streamflow and nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads in streams of the Pacific region of the United States |
| Series title | Scientific Investigations Report |
| Series number | 2019-5112 |
| DOI | 10.3133/sir20195112 |
| Edition | Version 1.0: January 2020; Version 1.1: June 2020 |
| Year Published | 2019 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | Reston, VA |
| Contributing office(s) | Oregon Water Science Center |
| Description | Report: x, 64 p.; Data Release; Application Site; Companion Files; Version History; Read Me |
| Country | United States |
| Other Geospatial | Pacific Region |
| Online Only (Y/N) | Y |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | Y |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |