Variability of surface-water quantity and quality and shallow groundwater levels and quality within the Rio Grande Project Area, New Mexico and Texas, 2009–13
Jessica M. Driscoll, Lauren R. Sherson
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5006
Drought conditions during the study period of January 1, 2009, to September 30, 2013, caused a reduction in surface-water releases from water-supply storage infrastructure of the Rio Grande Project, which led to changes in surface-water and groundwater (conjunctive) use in downstream agricultural alluvial valleys. Surface water and groundwater in the...
Hydrologic controls on nitrogen cycling processes and functional gene abundance in sediments of a groundwater flow-through lake
Deborah L. Stoliker, Deborah A. Repert, Richard L. Smith, Bongkeun Song, Denis R. LeBlanc, Timothy D. McCobb, Christopher H. Conaway, Sung Pil Hyun, Dong-Chan Koh, Hee Sun Moon, Douglas B. Kent
2016, Environmental Science & Technology (50) 3649-3657
The fate and transport of inorganic nitrogen (N) is a critically important issue for human and aquatic ecosystem health because discharging N-contaminated groundwater can foul drinking water and cause algal blooms. Factors controlling N-processing were examined in sediments at three sites with contrasting hydrologic regimes at a lake on Cape...
Evaluation of air-soil temperature relationships simulated by land surface models during winter across the permafrost region
Wenli Wang, Annette Rinke, John C. Moore, Duoying Ji, Xuefeng Cui, Shushi Peng, David M. Lawrence, A. David McGuire, Eleanor J. Burke, Xiaodong Chen, Christine Delire, Charles Koven, Andrew MacDougall, Kazuyuki Saito, Wenxin Zhang, Ramdane Alkama, Theodore J. Bohn, Philippe Ciais, Bertrand Decharme, Isabelle Gouttevin, Tomohiro Hajima, Gerhard Krinner, Dennis P. Lettenmaier, Paul A. Miller, Benjamin Smith, Tetsuo Sueyoshi
2016, The Cryosphere
A realistic simulation of snow cover and its thermal properties are important for accurate modelling of permafrost. We analyze simulated relationships between air and near-surface (20 cm) soil temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere permafrost region during winter, with a particular focus on snow insulation effects in nine land surface...
Application of effective discharge analysis to environmental flow decision-making
S. Kyle McKay, Mary Freeman, A.P. Covich
2016, Environmental Management (575) 1153-1165
Well-informed river management decisions rely on an explicit statement of objectives, repeatable analyses, and a transparent system for assessing trade-offs. These components may then be applied to compare alternative operational regimes for water resource infrastructure (e.g., diversions, locks, and dams). Intra- and inter-annual hydrologic variability further complicates these already complex...
Stress in mangrove forests: early detection and preemptive rehabilitation are essential for future successful worldwide mangrove forest management
Roy R Lewis, Eric C Milbrandt, Benjamin Brown, Ken W. Krauss, Andre S. Rovai, James W. Beever, Laura L Flynn
2016, Marine Pollution Bulletin (109) 764-771
Mangrove forest rehabilitation should begin much sooner than at the point of catastrophic loss. We describe the need for “mangrove forest heart attack prevention”, and how that might be accomplished in a general sense by embedding plot and remote sensing monitoring within coastal management plans. The major cause of mangrove...
The effect of suspended sediment and color on ultraviolet spectrophotometric nitrate sensors
Teri T. Snazelle
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1014
Four commercially available ultraviolet nitrate spectrophotometric sensors were evaluated by the U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF) to determine the effects of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) on sensor accuracy. The evaluated sensors were: the Hach NITRATAX plus sc (5-millimeters (mm) path length), Hach...
Hydrologic conditions, recharge, and baseline water quality of the surficial aquifer system at Jekyll Island, Georgia, 2012-13
Debbie W. Gordon, Lynn J. Torak
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1017
An increase of groundwater withdrawals from the surficial aquifer system on Jekyll Island, Georgia, prompted an investigation of hydrologic conditions and water quality by the U.S. Geological Survey during October 2012 through December 2013. The study demonstrated the importance of rainfall as the island’s main source of recharge to maintain...
Biomass offsets little or none of permafrost carbon release from soils, streams, and wildfire: an expert assessment
Benjamin W. Abbott, Jeremy B. Jones, Edward A.G. Schuur, F.S. Chapin, William B. Bowden, M. Syndonia Bret-Harte, Howard E. Epstein, Michael D. Flannigan, Tamara K. Harms, Teresa N. Hollingsworth, Michelle C. Mack, A. David McGuire, Susan M. Natali, Adrian V. Rocha, Suzanne E. Tank, Merrit R. Turetsky, Jorien E. Vonk, Kimberly P. Wickland, George R. Aiken
2016, Environmental Research Letters (11) 1-13
As the permafrost region warms, its large organic carbon pool will be increasingly vulnerable to decomposition, combustion, and hydrologic export. Models predict that some portion of this release will be offset by increased production of Arctic and boreal biomass; however, the lack of robust estimates of net carbon balance increases...
Uncertainty analysis of the Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop) model at multiple flux tower sites
Mingshi Chen, Gabriel B. Senay, Ramesh K. Singh, James P. Verdin
2016, Journal of Hydrology (536) 384-399
Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important component of the water cycle – ET from the land surface returns approximately 60% of the global precipitation back to the atmosphere. ET also plays an important role in energy transport among the biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. Current regional to global and daily to annual...
Groundwater quality, age, and susceptibility and vulnerability to nitrate contamination with linkages to land use and groundwater flow, Upper Black Squirrel Creek Basin, Colorado, 2013
Tristan P. Wellman, Michael G. Rupert
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5020
The Upper Black Squirrel Creek Basin is located about 25 kilometers east of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The primary aquifer is a productive section of unconsolidated deposits that overlies bedrock units of the Denver Basin and is a critical resource for local water needs, including irrigation, domestic, and commercial use. The...
The geologic history of Margaritifer basin, Mars
M. R. Salvatore, M. D. Kraft, Christopher Edwards, P. R. Christensen
2016, Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets (121) 273-295
In this study, we investigate the fluvial, sedimentary, and volcanic history of Margaritifer basin and the Uzboi-Ladon-Morava (ULM) outflow channel system. This network of valleys and basins spans more than 8000 km in length, linking the fluvially dissected southern highlands and Argyre Basin with the northern lowlands via Ares Vallis....
Effect of wastewater treatment facility closure on endocrine disrupting chemicals in a Coastal Plain stream
Paul M. Bradley, Celeste A. Journey, Jimmy M. Clark
2016, Remediation Journal (26) 9-24
Wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) closures are rare environmental remediation events; offering unique insight into contaminant persistence, long-term wastewater impacts, and ecosystem recovery processes. The U.S. Geological Survey assessed the fate of select endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) in surface water and streambed sediment one year before and one year after closure...
Establishing a pre-mining geochemical baseline at a uranium mine near Grand Canyon National Park, USA
David L. Naftz, Katherine Walton-Day
2016, Geoderma (7) 76-92
During 2012, approximately 404,000 ha of Federal Land in northern Arizona was withdrawn from consideration of mineral extraction for a 20-year period to protect the Grand Canyon watershed from potentially adverse effects of U mineral exploration and development. The development, operation, and reclamation of the Canyon Mine during the withdrawal...
Isotope hydrology of the Chalk River Laboratories site, Ontario, Canada
Zell E. Peterman, Leonid A. Neymark, K.J. King-Sharp, Mel Gascoyne
2016, Applied Geochemistry (66) 149-161
This paper presents results of hydrochemical and isotopic analyses of groundwater (fracture water) and porewater, and physical property and water content measurements of bedrock core at the Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) site in Ontario. Density and water contents were determined and water-loss porosity values were calculated for core samples. Average...
Mercury transformation and release differs with depth and time in a contaminated riparian soil during simulated flooding
Brett Poulin, George R. Aiken, Kathryn L. Nagy, Alain Manceau, David P. Krabbenhoft, Joseph N. Ryan
2016, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (176) 118-138
Riparian soils are an important environment in the transport of mercury in rivers and wetlands, but the biogeochemical factors controlling mercury dynamics under transient redox conditions in these soils are not well understood. Mercury release and transformations in the Oa and underlying A horizons of a contaminated riparian soil were...
Elevation dynamics in a restored versus a submerging salt marsh in Long Island Sound
Shimon C. Anisfeld, Troy D. Hill, Donald R. Cahoon
2016, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science (170) 145-154
Accelerated sea-level rise (SLR) poses the threat of salt marsh submergence, especially in marshes that are relatively low-lying. At the same time, restoration efforts are producing new low-lying marshes, many of which are thriving and avoiding submergence. To understand the causes of these different fates, we studied two Long Island...
Influence of vertical and lateral heat transfer on permafrost thaw, peatland landscape transition, and groundwater flow
Barret L. Kurylyk, Masaki Hayashi, William L. Quinton, Jeffrey M. McKenzie, Clifford I. Voss
2016, Water Resources Research (52) 1286-1305
Recent climate change has reduced the spatial extent and thickness of permafrost in many discontinuous permafrost regions. Rapid permafrost thaw is producing distinct landscape changes in the Taiga Plains of the Northwest Territories, Canada. As permafrost bodies underlying forested peat plateaus shrink, the landscape slowly transitions into unforested wetlands. The...
Statistical analysis and mapping of water levels in the Biscayne aquifer, water conservation areas, and Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade County, Florida, 2000–2009
Scott T. Prinos, Joann F. Dixon
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5005
Statistical analyses and maps representing mean, high, and low water-level conditions in the surface water and groundwater of Miami-Dade County were made by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources, to help inform decisions necessary for urban planning and development. Sixteen...
Groundwater
David A. Stonestrom
Ellen E. Wohl, editor(s)
2016, Book chapter, Oxford Bibliographies in Environmental Science
Introduction Groundwater represents the terrestrial subsurface component of the hydrologic cycle. As such, groundwater is generally in motion, moving from elevated areas of recharge to lower areas of discharge. Groundwater usually moves in accordance with Darcy’s law (Dalmont, Paris: Les Fontaines Publiques de la Ville de Dijon, 1856). Groundwater residence times...
Ecoregions of California
Glenn E. Griffith, James M. Omernik, David W. Smith, Terry D. Cook, Ed Tallyn, Kendra Moseley, Colleen B. Johnson
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1021
Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ecosystems and in the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. They are designed to serve as a spatial framework for the research, assessment, management, and monitoring of ecosystems and ecosystem components. By recognizing the spatial differences in the capacities and potentials of...
Sediment accumulation in prairie wetlands under a changing climate: The relative roles of landscape and precipitation
Susan K. Skagen, Lucy E. Burris, Diane A. Granfors
2016, Wetlands (36) 383-395
Sediment accumulation threatens the viability and hydrologic functioning of many naturally formed depressional wetlands across the interior regions of North America. These wetlands provide many ecosystem services and vital habitats for diverse plant and animal communities. Climate change may further impact sediment accumulation rates in the context of current land...
Hydraulic and biochemical gradients limit wetland mercury supply to an Adirondack stream
Paul M. Bradley, Douglas A. Burns, Judson Harvey, Celeste A. Journey, Mark E. Brigham, Karen Riva-Murray
2016, SOJ Aquatic Research (1) 1-9
Net fluxes (change between upstream and downstream margins) for water, methylmercury (MeHg), total mercury (THg), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and chloride (Cl) were assessed twice in an Adirondack stream reach (Sixmile Brook, USA), to test the hypothesized importance of wetland-stream hydraulic and chemical gradients as fundamental controls on fluvial mercury...
Experimental studies and model analysis of noble gas fractionation in porous media
Xin Ding, B. Mack. Kennedy, William C. Evans, David A. Stonestrom
2016, Vadose Zone Journal (15) 1-12
The noble gases, which are chemically inert under normal terrestrial conditions but vary systematically across a wide range of atomic mass and diffusivity, offer a multicomponent approach to investigating gas dynamics in unsaturated soil horizons, including transfer of gas between saturated zones, unsaturated zones, and the atmosphere. To evaluate the...
Simulating future water temperatures in the North Santiam River, Oregon
Norman L. Buccola, John C. Risley, Stewart A. Rounds
2016, Journal of Hydrology (535) 318-330
A previously calibrated two-dimensional hydrodynamic and water-quality model (CE-QUAL-W2) of Detroit Lake in western Oregon was used in conjunction with inflows derived from Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) hydrologic models to examine in-lake and downstream water temperature effects under future climate conditions. Current and hypothetical operations and structures at Detroit Dam...
Wetting and drying of soil in response to precipitation: Data analysis, modeling, and forecasting
Aniruddha Basak, Chinmay Kulkarni, Kevin M. Schmidt, Ole Mengshoel
2016, Conference Paper
This paper investigates methods to analyze and forecast soil moisture time series. We extend an existing Antecedent Water Index (AWI) model, which expresses soil moisture as a function of time and rainfall. Unfortunately, the existing AWI model does not forecast effectively for time periods beyond a few hours. To overcome...
