Determination of steroid hormones and related compounds in filtered and unfiltered water by solid-phase extraction, derivatization, and gas chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry
William T. Foreman, James L. Gray, Rhiannon C. ReVello, Chris E. Lindley, Scott A. Losche, Larry B. Barber
2012, Techniques and Methods 5-B9
A new analytical method has been developed and implemented at the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Laboratory that determines a suite of 20 steroid hormones and related compounds in filtered water (using laboratory schedule 2434) and in unfiltered water (using laboratory schedule 4434). This report documents the procedures and...
Microbial colonization and controls in dryland systems
Stephen B. Pointing, Jayne Belnap
2012, Nature Reviews Microbiology (10) 551-562
Drylands constitute the most extensive terrestrial biome, covering more than one-third of the Earth's continental surface. In these environments, stress limits animal and plant life, so life forms that can survive desiccation and then resume growth following subsequent wetting assume the foremost role in ecosystem processes. In this Review, we...
Bankfull-channel geometry and discharge curves for the Rocky Mountains Hydrologic Region in Wyoming
Katharine Foster
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5178
Regional curves relate bankfull-channel geometry and bankfull discharge to drainage area in regions with similar runoff characteristics and are used to estimate the bankfull discharge and bankfull-channel geometry when the drainage area of a stream is known. One-variable, ordinary least-squares regressions relating bankfull discharge, cross-sectional area, bankfull width, and bankfull...
Simulated effects of alternative withdrawal strategies on groundwater flow in the unconfined Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer system, the Rio Grande water-bearing zone, and the Atlantic City 800-foot sand in the Great Egg Harbor and Mullica River Basins, New Jersey
Daryll A. Pope, Glen B. Carleton, Debra E. Buxton, Richard L. Walker, Jennifer L. Shourds, Pamela A. Reilly
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5187
Groundwater is essential for water supply and plays a critical role in maintaining the environmental health of freshwater and estuarine ecosystems in the Atlantic Coastal basins of New Jersey. The unconfined Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer system and the confined Atlantic City 800-foot sand are major sources of groundwater in the area, and...
Flood-inundation maps for the Leaf River at Hattiesburg, Mississippi
John B. Storm
2012, Scientific Investigations Map 3228
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 1.7-mile reach of the Leaf River were developed 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 Leaf River study reach...
Construction of estimated flow- and load-duration curves for Kentucky using the Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources (WATER)
Michael D. Unthank, Jeremy K. Newson, Tanja N. Williamson, Hugh L. Nelson
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5168
Flow- and load-duration curves were constructed from the model outputs of the U.S. Geological Survey's Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources (WATER) application for streams in Kentucky. The WATER application was designed to access multiple geospatial datasets to generate more than 60 years of statistically based streamflow data for Kentucky....
Characterizing the proposed geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada: hydrology and geochemistry
John S. Stuckless, Robert A. Levich
2012, Book chapter, Hydrology and geochemistry of Yucca Mountain and vicinity, Southern Nevada and California
This hydrology and geochemistry volume is a companion volume to the 2007 Geological Society of America Memoir 199, The Geology and Climatology of Yucca Mountain and Vicinity, Southern Nevada and California, edited by Stuckless and Levich. The work in both volumes was originally reported in the U.S. Department of Energy...
Hydrology of the unsaturated zone, Yucca Mountain, Nevada
Gary D. LeCain, John S. Stuckless
2012, Book chapter, Hydrology and geochemistry of Yucca Mountain and vicinity, Southern Nevada and California
The unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain was investigated as a possible site for the nation's first high-level nuclear waste repository. Scientific investigations included infiltration studies, matrix properties testing, borehole testing and monitoring, underground excavation and testing, and the development of conceptual and numerical models of the hydrologic processes at Yucca...
MiniSipper: A new in situ water sampler for high-resolution, long-duration acid mine drainage monitoring
Thomas P. Chapin, Andrew S. Todd
2012, Science of the Total Environment (439) 343-353
Abandoned hard-rock mines can be a significant source of acid mine drainage (AMD) and toxic metal pollution to watersheds. In Colorado, USA, abandoned mines are often located in remote, high elevation areas that are snowbound for 7–8 months of the year. The difficulty in accessing these remote sites, especially during...
Physiography, geology, and land cover of four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico: Chapter A in Water quality and landscape processes of four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico
Sheila F. Murphy, Robert F. Stallard, Matthew C. Larsen, William A. Gould
Sheila F. Murphy, editor(s)
2012, Professional Paper 1789-A
Four watersheds with differing geology and land cover in eastern Puerto Rico have been studied on a long-term basis by the U.S. Geological Survey to evaluate water, energy, and biogeochemical budgets. These watersheds are typical of tropical, island-arc settings found in many parts of the world. Two watersheds are located...
Difference infiltrometer: a method to measure temporally variable infiltration rates during rainstorms
John A. Moody, Brian A. Ebel
2012, Hydrological Processes (26) 3312-3318
We developed a difference infiltrometer to measure time series of non-steady infiltration rates during rainstorms at the point scale. The infiltrometer uses two, tipping bucket rain gages. One gage measures rainfall onto, and the other measures runoff from, a small circular plot about 0.5-m in diameter. The small size allows...
Hydrology and climate of four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico: Chapter C in Water quality and landscape processes of four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico
Sheila F. Murphy, Robert F. Stallard
Sheila F. Murphy, Robert F. Stallard, editor(s)
2012, Professional Paper 1789-C
Puerto Rico lies directly in the path of the easterly trade winds, which deliver steady rainfall to the mountains and steer tropical wave systems toward the island. Hurricanes and tropical storms derived from these tropical waves differ in frequency and intensity, contributing to substantial interannual variation in precipitation and stream...
Simulating potential structural and operational changes for Detroit Dam on the North Santiam River, Oregon, for downstream temperature management
Norman L. Buccola, Stewart A. Rounds, Annett B. Sullivan, John C. Risley
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5231
Detroit Dam was constructed in 1953 on the North Santiam River in western Oregon and resulted in the formation of Detroit Lake. With a full-pool storage volume of 455,100 acre-feet and a dam height of 463 feet, Detroit Lake is one of the largest and most important reservoirs in the...
Regional regression models of watershed suspended-sediment discharge for the eastern United States
David C. Roman, Richard M. Vogel, Gregory E. Schwarz
2012, Journal of Hydrologic Engineering (472-4723) 53-62
Estimates of mean annual watershed sediment discharge, derived from long-term measurements of suspended-sediment concentration and streamflow, often are not available at locations of interest. The goal of this study was to develop multivariate regression models to enable prediction of mean annual suspended-sediment discharge from available basin characteristics useful for most...
Water quality and mass transport in four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico: Chapter E in Water quality and landscape processes of four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico
Robert F. Stallard, Sheila F. Murphy
Sheila F. Murphy, Robert F. Stallard, editor(s)
2012, Professional Paper 1789-E
Water quality of four small watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico has been monitored since 1991 as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Budgets program. These watersheds represent a montane, humid-tropical environment and differ in geology and land cover. Two watersheds are located on granitic rocks, and...
Weathering processes in the Rio Icacos and Rio Mameyes watersheds in Eastern Puerto Rico: Chapter I in Water quality and landscape processes of four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico
Heather L. Buss, Arthur F. White
Sheila F. Murphy, Robert F. Stallard, editor(s)
2012, Professional Paper 1789-I
Streams draining watersheds of the two dominant lithologies (quartz diorite and volcaniclastic rock) in the Luquillo Experimental Forest of eastern Puerto Rico have very high fluxes of bedrock weathering products. The Río Blanco quartz diorite in the Icacos watershed and the Fajardo volcaniclastic rocks in the Mameyes watershed have some...
The hydrology of a drained topographical depression within an agricutlural field in north-central Iowa
Jason L. Roth, Paul D. Capel
2012, Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (55) 1801-1814
North-central Iowa is an agriculturally intensive area comprising the southeastern portion of the Prairie Pothole Region, a landscape containing a high density of enclosed topographical depressions. Artificial drainage practices have been implemented throughout the area to facilitate agricultural production. Vertical surface drains are utilized to drain the topographical depressions that...
A basin-scale approach for assessing water resources in a semiarid environment: San Diego region, California and Mexico
L. E. Flint, A. L. Flint, Bernard J. Stolp, W.R. Danskin
2012, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (16) 3817-3833
Many basins throughout the world have sparse hydrologic and geologic data, but have increasing demands for water and a commensurate need for integrated understanding of surface and groundwater resources. This paper demonstrates a methodology for using a distributed parameter water-balance model, gaged surface-water flow, and a reconnaissance-level groundwater flow model...
Influence of permafrost distribution on groundwater flow in the context of climate-driven permafrost thaw: Example from Yukon Flats Basin, Alaska, United States
Michelle Ann Walvoord, Clifford I. Voss, Tristan P. Wellman
2012, Water Resources Research (48)
Understanding the role of permafrost in controlling groundwater flow paths and fluxes is central in studies aimed at assessing potential climate change impacts on vegetation, species habitat, biogeochemical cycling, and biodiversity. Recent field studies in interior Alaska show evidence of hydrologic changes hypothesized to result from permafrost degradation. This study...
A random biogeochemical walk into three soda lakes of the western USA: With an introduction to a few of their microbial denizens
Ronald S. Oremland
Joseph Seckbach, Aharon Oren, Helga Stan-Lotter, editor(s)
2012, Book chapter, Polyextremophiles -- Organisms living under multiple stress
Preliminary assessment of channel stability and bed-material transport in the Tillamook Bay tributaries and Nehalem River basin, northwestern Oregon
Krista L. Jones, Mackenzie K. Keith, Jim E. O'Connor, Joseph F. Mangano, J. Rose Wallick
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1187
This report summarizes a preliminary study of bed-material transport, vertical and lateral channel changes, and existing datasets for the Tillamook (drainage area 156 square kilometers [km2]), Trask (451 km2), Wilson (500 km2), Kilchis (169 km2), Miami (94 km2), and Nehalem (2,207 km2) Rivers along the northwestern Oregon coast. This study,...
Passive thermal refugia provided warm water for Florida manatees during the severe winter of 2009-2010
B.M. Stith, D. H. Slone, M. de Wit, H.H. Edwards, C.A. Langtimm, E.D. Swain, L.E. Soderqvist, J.P. Reid
2012, Marine Ecology Progress Series (462) 287-301
Haloclines induced by freshwater inflow over tidal water have been identified as an important mechanism for maintaining warm water in passive thermal refugia (PTR) used by Florida manatees Trichechus manatus latirostris during winter in extreme southwestern Florida. Record-setting cold during winter 2009–2010 resulted in an unprecedented number of manatee deaths,...
Changes in water budgets and sediment yields from a hypothetical agricultural field as a function of landscape and management characteristics--A unit field modeling approach
Jason L. Roth, Paul D. Capel
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5203
Crop agriculture occupies 13 percent of the conterminous United States. Agricultural management practices, such as crop and tillage types, affect the hydrologic flow paths through the landscape. Some agricultural practices, such as drainage and irrigation, create entirely new hydrologic flow paths upon the landscapes where they are implemented. These hydrologic...
waterData--An R package for retrieval, analysis, and anomaly calculation of daily hydrologic time series data, version 1.0
Karen R. Ryberg, Aldo V. Vecchia
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1168
Hydrologic time series data and associated anomalies (multiple components of the original time series representing variability at longer-term and shorter-term time scales) are useful for modeling trends in hydrologic variables, such as streamflow, and for modeling water-quality constituents. An R package, called waterData, has been developed for importing daily hydrologic...
Quantification of water-level variability effect on plant species populations using paleoecological and hydrological time series data
Edwin A. Roehl Jr., Paul Conrads, Christopher Bernhardt
2012, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 2012 South Carolina Water Resources Conference
Soil cores provide valuable data on historical changes in vegetation and hydrologic conditions. Empirical models were developed to quantify the effect of meteorological and hydrologic forcing on plant species distributions over a 110-year period in Water Conservation Area 1 (WCA1) in the Florida Everglades, also known as the Arthur R....
