Reviews and syntheses: Variable inundation across Earth's terrestrial ecosystems
James Stegen, Amy J. Burgin, Michelle H. Busch, Joshua B. Fisher, Joshua Ladau, Jenna Abrahamson, Lauren Kinsman-Costello, Li Li, Xingyuan Chen, Thibault Datry, Nate McDowell, Corianne Tatariw, Anna Braswell, Jillian M. Deines, Julia A. Guimond, Peter Regier, Kenton Rod, Edward K.P. Bam, Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, Inke Forbrich, Kristin L. Jaeger, Teri O'Meara, Timothy D. Scheibe, Erin Seybold, Jon N. Sweetman, Jianqiu Zheng, Daniel C. Allen, Elizabeth Herndon, Beth Middleton, Scott Painter, Kevin Roche, Julianne Scamardo, Ross Vander Vorste, Kristin Boye, Ellen Wohl, Margaret Zimmer, Kelly Hondula, Maggi Laan, Anna Marshall, Kaizad F. Patel
2025, Biogeosciences (22) 995-1034
The structure, function, and dynamics of Earth's terrestrial ecosystems are profoundly influenced by how often (frequency) and how long (duration) they are inundated with water. A diverse array of natural and human-engineered systems experience temporally variable inundation whereby they fluctuate between inundated and non-inundated states. Variable inundation spans extreme events...
Hydroclimate projections and effects on runoff at National Wildlife Refuges in the semi-arid western U.S.
Brian S. Caruso, Lauren Ellissa Eng, Andrew R. Bock, Nicholas Graff Hall
2025, JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association (61)
This study evaluated hydroclimate projections and effects on runoff at National Wildlife Refuges in a semiarid region of the western United States (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 6) using mean air temperature (TAVE) and precipitation (PPT) inputs and runoff (RO) output from a national application of a Monthly Water...
James Buttle review: The characteristics of baseflow resilience across diverse ecohydrological terrains
Martin A. Briggs, Connor P. Newman, Joshua Robert Benton, David M. Rey, Christopher Konrad, Valerie Ouellet, Christian E. Torgersen, Lance R. Gruhn, Brandon J. Fleming, Christopher L. Gazoorian, Daniel H. Doctor
2025, Hydrological Processes (39)
The dynamic storage of aquifers is the portion of groundwater that can potentially drain to any given point along a stream to create baseflow. Baseflow typically occurs year-round in perennial streams, though the characteristics and stability of dynamic storage are often most important to instream processes during extended dry periods...
A new groundwater energy transport model for the MODFLOW hydrologic simulator
Eric D. Morway, Alden M. Provost, Christian D. Langevin, Joseph D. Hughes, Martijn J. Russcher, Chieh-Ying Chen, Yu-Feng Lin
2025, Groundwater (63) 409-421
Heat transport in the subsurface is an important aspect of research related to the effects of a warming climate on ecological services (i.e., cold-water refugia); the development of geothermal resources for energy banking schemes (i.e., aquifer thermal energy storage [ATES]); and the effects of temperature on other aspects of groundwater...
Confluence of time and space: An innovation for quantifying dynamics of hydrologic floodplain connectivity with remote sensing and GIS
Hafez Ahmad, Leandro E. Miranda, Corey Garland Dunn, Melanie R. Boudreau, Michael E. Colvin, Padmanava Dash
2025, River Research and Applications (41) 1014-1029
Hydrologic connectivity is a crucial determinant of aquatic ecosystem services, governing the exchange of nutrients, sediments, chemicals, and biota. Various indices and metrics exist for quantifying hydrologic connectivity across diverse environments and scales. However, existing methodologies often fail to adequately capture lateral connectivity between floodplain lakes and streams across vast,...
Preprint: Simulated seasonal loads of total nitrogen and total phosphorus by major source from watersheds draining to Washington waters of the Salish Sea, 2005 through 2020
Noah Schmadel, Cristiana Figueroa-Kaminsky, Daniel Wise, Jamie K. Wasielewski, Zachary Johnson, Robert W. Black
2025, Preprint
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) have developed watershed models of seasonal load estimates of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) discharging into the Washington waters of the Salish Sea from 2005 through 2020. The modeling approach used was dynamic SPARROW (SPAtially...
Concentration-discharge relations and transient metal loads reveal spatiotemporal variability in solute-generation mechanisms in a mine-affected watershed
Connor P. Newman, Alexis Navarre-Sitchler, Robert L. Runkel, Rory M. Cowie
2025, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology (269)
Concentration-discharge (CQ) relations are commonly used to understand geochemical and hydrologic controls on the generation of solutes in watersheds. Despite the widespread application of CQ relations, this technique has been infrequently applied to acid mine drainage (AMD) sites, but the CQ framework may allow mechanistic understanding of remedial outcomes such...
Determining the effects of reduced water availability on seed germination of five bottomland hardwood tree species
Charles J. Pell, Sammy L. King, Tracy S. Hawkins, Matt Symmank
2025, Forest Ecology and Management (577)
Globally, floodplain forests are experiencing shifts in species composition associated with drier conditions and disruptions of flood pulse hydrology. The specific processes behind these shifts in composition are not fully understood, but differential effects of drought on regeneration processes such as seed germination may be partially responsible. To determine how...
Myiasis infection by the toad fly (Lucilia bufonivora; Calliphoidae) in amphibians in Montana, USA
Leah M. Fischer, Blake R. Hossack
2025, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (61) 206-2011
Toad flies in the genus Lucilia (previously referred to as Bufolucilia spp.) parasitize and cause myiasis in several amphibian species in North America. From 2019 to 2022, we documented Lucilia bufonivora infections in post-metamorphic western toads (Anaxyrus boreas) during amphibian surveys in four wetlands in Glacier National Park, Montana, US. We found nine infected adult toads in...
Mapping bedrock outcrops in the Sierra Nevada Mountains (California, USA) using machine learning
Apoorva Ramesh Shastry, Corina Cerovski-Darriau, Brian Coltin, Jonathan D. Stock
2025, Remote Sensing (17)
Accurate, high-resolution maps of bedrock outcrops can be valuable for applications such as models of land–atmosphere interactions, mineral assessments, ecosystem mapping, and hazard mapping. The increasing availability of high-resolution imagery can be coupled with machine learning techniques to improve regional bedrock outcrop maps. In the United States, the existing 30...
Groundwater hydrology, groundwater and surface-water interactions, water quality, and groundwater-flow simulations for the Wet Mountain Valley alluvial aquifer, Custer and Fremont Counties, Colorado, 2017–19
Connor P. Newman, Cory A. Russell, Zachary D. Kisfalusi, Suzanne S. Paschke
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5105
In 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District, began a study to provide a comprehensive analysis of the Wet Mountain Valley alluvial aquifer, Custer and Fremont Counties, Colorado. The study included collection of data pertaining to groundwater hydrology, groundwater and surface-water interactions, and...
Hotter temperatures alter riparian plant outcomes under regulated river conditions
Emily C. Palmquist, Kiona Ogle, Bradley J. Butterfield, Thomas G. Whitham, Gerard J. Allan, Patrick B. Shafroth
2025, Ecological Monographs (95)
Climate change and river regulation alter environmental controls on riparian plant occurrence and cover worldwide. Simultaneous changes to river flow and air temperature could result in unanticipated plant responses to novel environmental conditions. Increasing temperature could alter riparian plant response to hydrology and other factors, while river regulation may exacerbate...
Decomposing the Tea Bag Index and finding slower organic matter loss rates at higher elevations and deeper soil horizons in a minerogenic salt marsh
Satyatejas G. Reddy, W. Reilly Farrell, Fengrun Wu, Steven C. Pennings, Jonathan Sanderman, Meagan J. Eagle, Christopher Craft, Amanda C. Spivak
2025, Biogeosciences (22) 435-453
Environmental gradients can affect organic matter decay within and across wetlands and contribute to spatial heterogeneity in soil carbon stocks. We tested the sensitivity of decay rates to tidal flooding and soil depth in a minerogenic salt marsh using the Tea Bag Index (TBI). Tea bags were buried at 10...
Biotic and abiotic drivers of ecosystem temporal stability in herbaceous wetlands in China
Guodong Wang, Nanlin Hu, Yann Hautier, Beth Middleton, Ming Wang, Meiling Zhao, Jingci Meng, Zijun Ma, Bo Liu, Yanjie Liu, Mingkai Jiang
2025, Global Change Biology (31)
Maintaining the stability of ecosystems is critical for supporting essential ecosystem services over time. However, our understanding of the contribution of the diverse biotic and abiotic factors to this stability in wetlands remains limited. Here, we combined data from a field vegetation survey of 725 herbaceous wetland sites in China...
Effects of river floods and sedimentation on a naturally dynamic Great Lakes estuary
Faith Fitzpatrick, Angus Vaughan, Eric D. Dantoin, Shelby P. Sterner, Paul Reneau, Collin Roland
2025, Journal of Great Lakes Research (51)
Some of the most biologically diverse coastal wetlands and estuaries are found along the Great Lakes, but the spatial extent and timing of river-related inundation and sedimentation vary greatly among natural and altered systems. We used hydrologic data, geomorphic change detection, and satellite imagery to study inundation and sedimentation patterns...
Tracing metal sources and groundwater flow paths in the Upper Animas River watershed using rare earth elements and stable isotopes
Connor P. Newman, Rory M. Cowie, Rick Wilkin, Alexis Navarre-Sitchler
2025, Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis (25)
Groundwater flow paths and processes that govern metal mobility and transport are difficult to characterize in mountainous bedrock watersheds. Despite the difficulty in holistic characterization, conceptual understanding of subsurface hydrologic and geochemical processes is key to developing remediation plans for locations affected by acid mine drainage, such as the Upper...
Forecasting water levels using the ConvLSTM algorithm in the Everglades, USA
Raidan Bassah, Gerald A. Corzo Perez, Biswa Bhattacharya, Saira M. Haider, Eric D. Swain, Nicholas Aumen
2025, Journal of Hydrology (652)
Forecasting water levels in complex ecosystems like wetlands can support effective water resource management, ecological conservation, and understanding surface and groundwater hydrology. Predictive models can be used to simulate the complex interactions among natural processes, hydrometeorological factors, and human activities. The Greater Everglades in the USA is a well-known example...
Ecohydrological response of a forested headwater catchment to a flash drought in the Southeastern U.S.
Jeffrey W. Riley, Luke A. Pangle, Michael Forster, Brent T. Aulenbach
2025, Journal of Hydrology (652)
Flash droughts differ from traditionally defined droughts in their rapidity of intensification and often associated high vapor-pressure deficit. These droughts can lead to declines in streamflow and water table depth and induce water stress to vegetation at a greater rate than droughts that manifest over longer periods. However, little is...
Integrated water availability in the conterminous United States, 2010–20
Edward G. Stets, Matthew J. Cashman, Olivia L. Miller, Kathryn Powlen
2025, Professional Paper 1894-F
Water availability is defined as the spatial and temporal distribution of water quantity and quality as it relates to the needs of humans and ecosystems. Broad assessment of water availability requires the consideration of multiple indicators because water users have different sensitivities to the degradation of water conditions. This chapter...
Water use across the conterminous United States, water years 2010–20
Laura Medalie, Amy E. Galanter, Anthony J. Martinez, Althea A. Archer, Carol L. Luukkonen, Melissa A. Harris, Jonathan V. Haynes
2025, Professional Paper 1894-D
Withdrawals of water for human use are fundamental to the evaluation of the Nation’s water availability. This chapter provides an analysis of public supply, crop irrigation, and thermoelectric power water use for the conterminous United States (CONUS) during water years 2010–20. These three categories account for about 90 percent of...
Water supply in the conterminous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, water years 2010–20
Galen Gorski, Edward G. Stets, Martha A. Scholl, James R. Degnan, John R. Mullaney, Amy E. Galanter, Anthony J. Martinez, Julie Padilla, Jacob H. LaFontaine, Hayley R. Corson-Dosch, Allen Shapiro
2025, Professional Paper 1894-B
We present an assessment of water supply across the conterminous United States (CONUS), Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico covering water years 2010–20. Our analysis drew on two national hydrologic models, the National Hydrologic Model Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System and the Weather Research and Forecasting model hydrologic modeling system. Both models produced...
The National integrated water availability assessment, water years 2010–20
Edward G. Stets, Althea A. Archer, James R. Degnan, Melinda L. Erickson, Galen Gorski, Laura Medalie, Martha A. Scholl
2025, Professional Paper 1894-A
Water availability is fundamentally important to human well-being, economic vitality, and ecosystem health. Because of its central importance, the U.S. Congress tasked the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and other Federal agencies with conducting regular, comprehensive assessments of water availability in the United States through the requirements under the SECURE Water...
Endemic and invasive species: A history of distributional trends in the fish fauna of the lower New River drainage
Stuart A. Welsh, Daniel A. Cincotta, Nathaniel V. Owens, Jay R. Stauffer Jr.
2025, Water (17)
Invasive species are often central to conservation efforts, particularly when concerns involve potential impacts on rare, endemic native species. The lower New River drainage of the eastern United States is a watershed that warrants conservation assessment, as the system is naturally depauperate of native fish species and it is nearly...
Enhanced hydrologic monitoring and characterization of groundwater drainage features
Martin A. Briggs
2025, Nature Water (3) 2-3
Groundwater drains to the land surface, generating the baseflow of streams, lakes, and wetlands. The hydrologic resilience of baseflow during prolonged dry periods and after disturbance can be assessed with evolving remote sensing analysis paired with localized monitoring of groundwater drainage features and creative model calibration strategies....
Local water use and climate drive water stress over the conterminous United States with substantial impacts to fish species of conservation concern
Edward G. Stets, Olivia L. Miller, Matthew J. Cashman, Kathryn Powlen, Anthony J. Martinez, Althea A. Archer, Julie Padilla
2025, Preprint
There is a growing need for consistent, large-scale estimates of water availability to identify and avoid potential conflicts among human and ecosystem uses of water. We present an assessment of water limitation, defined as the monthly balance (difference) between water supply (ws) and human consumptive water use (wc), for the...
