Stable isotope (δ18O and δ2H) data for precipitation, stream water, and groundwater in Puerto Rico
Martha A. Scholl, Angel Torres-Sanchez, Manuel Rosario-Torres
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1101
Puerto Rico is located in the northeastern Caribbean Sea (18.2 °N, 66.3 °W), with the Atlantic Ocean on its northern coast. The U.S. Geological Survey’s Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Budgets (WEBB) program study area in which most of these data were collected comprises the El Yunque National Forest and surrounding...
Multi-scale observations of the variability of magmatic CO2 emissions, Mammoth Mountain, CA, USA
Jennifer L. Lewicki, George E. Hilley
2014, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (284) 1-15
One of the primary indicators of volcanic unrest at Mammoth Mountain is diffuse emission of magmatic CO2, which can effectively track this unrest if its variability in space and time and relationship to near-surface meteorological and hydrologic phenomena versus those occurring at depth beneath the mountain are understood. In June–October...
A precipitation-runoff model for simulating natural streamflow conditions in the Smith River watershed, Montana, water years 1996-2008
Katherine J. Chase, Rodney R. Caldwell, Andrea K. Stanley
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5125
This report documents the construction of a precipitation-runoff model for simulating natural streamflow in the Smith River watershed, Montana. This Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System model, constructed in cooperation with the Meagher County Conservation District, can be used to examine the general hydrologic framework of the Smith River watershed, including quantification of...
Summary of hydrologic conditions in Kansas, 2013 water year
Arin J. Peters, Teresa J. Rasmussen
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3061
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Kansas Water Science Center (KSWSC), in cooperation with local, State, and other Federal agencies, maintains a long-term network of hydrologic monitoring gages in the State of Kansas. These include 195 real-time streamflow-gaging stations (herein gages) and 12 real-time reservoir-level monitoring stations. These data and associated...
An expanded model: flood-inundation maps for the Leaf River at Hattiesburg, Mississippi, 2013
John B. Storm
2014, Scientific Investigations Map 3300
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 6.8-mile reach of the Leaf River at Hattiesburg, Mississippi (Miss.), were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the City of Hattiesburg, City of Petal, Forrest County, Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, Mississippi Department of Homeland Security, and the Emergency Management District. The...
Simulating soil-water movement through loess-veneered landscapes using nonconsilient saturated hydraulic conductivity measurements
Tanja N. Williamson, Brad D. Lee, Philip J. Schoeneberger, W. M. McCauley, Samuel J. Indorante, Phillip R. Owens
2014, Soil Science Society of America Journal (78) 1320-1331
Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO) data are available for the entire United States, so are incorporated in many regional and national models of hydrology and environmental management. However, SSURGO does not provide an understanding of spatial variability and only includes saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) values estimated from particle size analysis...
A multiphased approach to groundwater investigations for the Edwards-Trinity and related aquifers in the Pecos County region, Texas
Jonathan V. Thomas
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3025
The Edwards-Trinity aquifer is a vital groundwater resource for agricultural, industrial, and public supply uses in the Pecos County region of western Texas. Resource managers would like to understand the future availability of water in the Edwards-Trinity aquifer in the Pecos County region and the effects of the possible increase...
Monitoring Everglades freshwater marsh water level using L-band synthetic aperture radar backscatter
Jin-Woo Kim, Zhong Lu, John W. Jones, C. K. Shum, Hyongki Lee, Yuanyuan Jia
2014, Remote Sensing of Environment (150) 66-81
The Florida Everglades plays a significant role in controlling floods, improving water quality, supporting ecosystems, and maintaining biodiversity in south Florida. Adaptive restoration and management of the Everglades requires the best information possible regarding wetland hydrology. We developed a new and innovative approach to quantify spatial and temporal variations in...
Density-stratified flow events in Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA: implications for mercury and salinity cycling
David L. Naftz, Gregory T. Carling, Cory Angeroth, Michael Freeman, Ryan Rowland, Eddy Pazmino
2014, Aquatic Geochemistry (20) 547-571
Density stratification in saline and hypersaline water bodies from throughout the world can have large impacts on the internal cycling and loading of salinity, nutrients, and trace elements. High temporal resolution hydroacoustic and physical/chemical data were collected at two sites in Great Salt Lake (GSL), a saline lake in the...
Lateral baroclinic forcing enhances sediment transport from shallows to channel in an estuary
Jessica R. Lacy, Steve Gladding, Andreas Brand, Audric Collignon, Mark T. Stacey
2014, Estuaries and Coasts (37) 1058-1077
We investigate the dynamics governing exchange of sediment between estuarine shallows and the channel based on field measurements at eight stations spanning the interface between the channel and the extensive eastern shoals of South San Francisco Bay. The study site is characterized by longitudinally homogeneous bathymetry and a straight channel,...
Comparison of surficial CO2 efflux to other measures of subsurface crude oil degradation
Ean Warren, Natasha J. Sihota, Frances D. Hostettler, Barbara A. Bekins
2014, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology (164) 275-284
At a spill site near Bemidji, Minnesota, crude oil at the water table has been undergoing anaerobic biodegradation for over 30 years. Previous work at this site has shown that methane produced from biodegradation of the oil migrates upward and is oxidized in a methanotrophic zone midway between the water...
Watershed characteristics and water-quality trends and loads in 12 watersheds in Gwinnett County, Georgia
John K. Joiner, Brent T. Aulenbach, Mark N. Landers
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5141
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources, established a Long-Term Trend Monitoring (LTTM) program in 1996. The LTTM program is a comprehensive, long-term, water-quantity and water-quality monitoring program designed to document and analyze the hydrologic and water-quality conditions of selected watersheds of Gwinnett County,...
Continuous estimation of baseflow in snowmelt-dominated streams and rivers in the Upper Colorado River Basin: A chemical hydrograph separation approach
Matthew P. Miller, David D. Susong, Christopher L. Shope, Victor M. Heilweil, Bernard J. Stolp
2014, Water Resources Research (50) 6986-6999
Effective science-based management of water resources in large basins requires a qualitative understanding of hydrologic conditions and quantitative measures of the various components of the water budget, including difficult to measure components such as baseflow discharge to streams. Using widely available discharge and continuously collected specific conductance (SC) data, we...
A mass balance approach to investigating geochemical controls on secondary water quality impacts at a crude oil spill site near Bemidji, MN
Gene-Hua Crystal Ng, Barbara A. Bekins, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Mary Jo Baedecker, Philip C. Bennett, Richard T. Amos
2014, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology (164) 1-15
Secondary water quality impacts can result from a broad range of coupled reactions triggered by primary groundwater contaminants. Data from a crude-oil spill research site near Bemidji, MN provide an ideal test case for investigating the complex interactions controlling secondary impacts, including depleted dissolved oxygen and elevated organic carbon, inorganic...
Integrated assessment of runoff from livestock farming operations: analytical chemistry, in vitro bioassays, and in vivo fish exposures
Jenna E. Cavallin, Elizabeth J. Durhan, Nicola Evans, Kathleen M. Jensen, Michael D. Kahl, Dana W. Kolpin, Edward Kolodziej, William T. Foreman, Carlie A. LaLone, Elizabeth A. Makynen, Sara M. Seidl, Linnea M. Thomas, Daniel L. Villeneuve, Matthew A. Weberg, Vickie S. Wilson, Gerald T. Ankley
2014, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (33) 1849-1857
Animal waste from livestock farming operations can contain varying levels of natural and synthetic androgens and/or estrogens, which can contaminate surrounding waterways. In the present study, surface stream water was collected from 6 basins containing livestock farming operations. Aqueous concentrations of 12 hormones were determined via chemical analyses. Relative androgenic...
Long-term trends in alkalinity in large rivers of the conterminous US in relation to acidification, agriculture, and hydrologic modification
Edward G. Stets, Valerie J. Kelly, Charles G. Crawford
2014, Science of the Total Environment (488-489) 280-289
Alkalinity increases in large rivers of the conterminous US are well known, but less is understood about the processes leading to these trends as compared with headwater systems more intensively examined in conjunction with acid deposition studies. Nevertheless, large rivers are important conduits of inorganic carbon and other solutes to...
Effects of hydrologic modifications on salinity and formation of hypoxia in the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet and adjacent waterways, southeastern Louisiana, 2008 to 2012
Christopher M. Swarzenski, Scott V. Mize
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5077
The Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MRGO) was constructed between 1958 and 1968 to provide a safer and shorter route between the Gulf of Mexico and the Port of New Orleans for ocean-going vessels. In 2006, the U.S. Congress directed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to develop and implement a...
Identifying dominant controls on hydrologic parameter transfer from gauged to ungauged catchments: a comparative hydrology approach
R. Singh, S.A. Archfield, T. Wagener
2014, Journal of Hydrology (517) 985-996
Daily streamflow information is critical for solving various hydrologic problems, though observations of continuous streamflow for model calibration are available at only a small fraction of the world’s rivers. One approach to estimate daily streamflow at an ungauged location is to transfer rainfall–runoff model parameters calibrated at a gauged (donor)...
Occurrence and transport of nitrogen in the Big Sunflower River, northwestern Mississippi, October 2009-June 2011
Jeannie R.B. Barlow, Richard H. Coupe
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5107
The Big Sunflower River Basin, located within the Yazoo River Basin, is subject to large annual inputs of nitrogen from agriculture, atmospheric deposition, and point sources. Understanding how nutrients are transported in, and downstream from, the Big Sunflower River is key to quantifying their eutrophying effects on the Gulf. Recent...
Flood-inundation maps for the North Branch Elkhart River at Cosperville, Indiana
Moon H. Kim, Esther M. Johnson
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5128
Digital flood-inundation maps for a reach of the North Branch Elkhart River at Cosperville, Indiana (Ind.), were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District. The inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science Web...
Incorporation of inorganic mercury (Hg2+) in pelagic food webs of ultraoligotrophic and oligotrophic lakes: the role of different plankton size fractions and species assemblages
Carolina Soto Cardenas, Maria C. Dieguez, Sergio Ribeiro Guevara, Mark Marvin-DiPasquale, Claudia P. Queimalinos
2014, Science of the Total Environment (494-495) 65-73
In lake food webs, pelagic basal organisms such as bacteria and phytoplankton incorporate mercury (Hg2+) from the dissolved phase and pass the adsorbed and internalized Hg to higher trophic levels. This experimental investigation addresses the incorporation of dissolved Hg2+ by four plankton fractions (picoplankton: 0.2–2.7 μm; pico + nanoplankton: 0.2–20...
Detecting well casing leaks in Bangladesh using a salt spiking method
M.O. Stahl, J.B. Ong, C.F. Harvey, C. D. Johnson, A.B.M. Badruzzaman, M.H. Tarek, A. VanGeen, J.A. Anderson, J. W. Lane
2014, Ground Water (52) 195-200
We apply fluid-replacement logging in arsenic-contaminated regions of Bangladesh using a low-cost, down-well fluid conductivity logging tool to detect leaks in the cased section of wells. The fluid-conductivity tool is designed for the developing world: it is lightweight and easily transportable, operable by one person, and can be built for...
Widespread occurrence of neonicotinoid insecticides in streams in a high corn and soybean producing region, USA
Michelle Hladik, Dana W. Kolpin, Kathryn Kuivila
2014, Environmental Pollution (193) 189-196
Neonicotinoid insecticides are of environmental concern, but little is known about their occurrence in surface water. An area of intense corn and soybean production in the Midwestern United States was chosen to study this issue because of the high agricultural use of neonicotinoids via both seed treatments and other forms...
Flood inundation maps and water-surface profiles for tropical storm Irene and selected annual exceedance probability floods for Flint Brook and the Third Branch White River in Roxbury, Vermont
Elizabeth A. Ahearn, Pamela J. Lombard
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5118
Flint Brook, a tributary to the Third Branch White River in Roxbury, Vermont, has a history of flooding the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s Roxbury Fish Culture Station (the hatchery) and surrounding infrastructure. Flooding resulting from tropical storm Irene on August 28–29, 2011, caused widespread destruction in the region, including...
Application of near-surface geophysics as part of a hydrologic study of a subsurface drip irrigation system along the Powder River floodplain near Arvada, Wyoming
James I. Sams, Garret Veloski, Bruce D. Smith, Burke J. Minsley, Mark A. Engle, Brian A. Lipinski, Richard W. Hammack, John W. Zupancic
2014, International Journal of Coal Geology (126) 128-139
Rapid development of coalbed natural gas (CBNG) production in the Powder River Basin (PRB) of Wyoming has occurred since 1997. National attention related to CBNG development has focused on produced water management, which is the single largest cost for on-shore domestic producers. Low-cost treatment technologies allow operators to reduce...
