A geospatial analysis of water-quality threats from orphan wells in principal and secondary aquifers of the United States
Joshua Woda, Karl B. Haase, Nicholas J. Gianoutsos, Kalle Jahn, Kristina Gutchess
2025, Science of the Total Environment (976)
Throughout the history of oil and gas production in the United States, millions of wells have been drilled for exploration and energy production. Hundreds of thousands of unplugged wells are no longer actively producing and are currently under orphan status, with no responsible party obligated for plugging. Orphan wells can...
Antigone canadensis (Sandhill Crane) foraging patterns influenced by crop type, roost distance, and tillage intensity during spring and autumn migration at a primary stopover area
Rachel A. Vanausdall, William L. Kendall, Daniel P. Collins
2025, Ornithological Applications (127)
The San Luis Valley in Colorado, USA, an agriculturally dominated stopover area, is used by the Rocky Mountain population of Antigone canadensis tabida (Greater Sandhill Crane) and some midcontinental individuals of A. c. canadensis (Lesser Sandhill Crane) during migration. While the numbers of both subspecies are stable, the effects of continued water scarcity and...
Status of water-level altitudes and long-term and short-term water-level changes in the Chicot and Evangeline (undifferentiated) and Jasper aquifers, greater Houston area, Texas, 2024
Jason K. Ramage, Alexandra C. Adams
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5028
Since the early 1900s, groundwater withdrawn from the primary aquifers that compose the Gulf Coast aquifer system—the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifers—has been an important source of water in the greater Houston area, Texas. This report, prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District, City...
Global methane budget 2000-2020
Marielle Saunois, Adrien Martinez, Benjamin Poulter, Zhen Zhang, Peter A. Raymond, Pierre Regnier, Josep G. Canadell, Robert B. Jackson, Prabir K. Patra, Philippe Bousquet, Philippe Ciais, Edward J. Dlugokencky, Xin Lan, George H. Allen, David Bastviken, David J. Beerling, Dmitry Belikov, Donald R. Blake, Simona Castaldi, Monica Crippa, Bridget Deemer, Fraser Dennison, Giuseppe Etiope, Nicola Gedney, Lena Höglund-Isaksson, Meredith A. Holgerson, Peter O. Hopcroft, Gustaf Hugelius, Akihiko Ito, Atul K. Jain, Rajesh Janardanan, Matthew S. Johnson, Thomas Kleinen, Paul B. Krummel, Ronny Lauerwald, Tingting Li, Xiangyu Liu, Kyle C. McDonald, Joe R. Melton, Jens Mühle, Jurek Müller, Fabiola Murguia-Flores, Yosuke Niwa, Sergio Noce, Shufen Pan, Robert J. Parker, Changhui Peng, Michel Ramonet, William J. Riley, Gerard Rocher-Ros, Judith A. Rosentreter, Motoki Sasakawa, Arjo Segers, Steven J. Smith, Emily H. Stanley, Joël Thanwerdas, Hanqin Tian, Aki Tsuruta, Francesco N. Tubiello, Thomas S. Weber, Guido R. van der Werf, Douglas E. Worthy, Yi Xi, Yukio Yoshida, Wenxin Zhang, Bo Zheng, Qing Zhu, Qiuan Zhu, Qianlai Zhuang
2025, Earth System Science Data (17) 1873-1958
Understanding and quantifying the global methane (CH4) budget is important for assessing realistic pathways to mitigate climate change. CH4 is the second most important human-influenced greenhouse gas in terms of climate forcing after carbon dioxide (CO2), and both emissions and atmospheric concentrations of CH4 have continued to...
Small waterbodies of large conservation concern: Towards an integrated approach to more accurately measuring surface water dynamics
Owen P. McKenna, Audrey Claire Lothspeich, Sara Vacek, Dawn MacDonald, Josh D. Eash, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Elyssa C. McCulloch, Caryn D. Ross, Sadia Sabrina, Joseph F. Knight
2025, Ecological Indicators (175)
Millions of small waterbodies are dispersed throughout the middle of the North American continent, and billions of dollars have been invested to conserve, restore, and manage these waterbodies in the 20th and 21st centuries. Small waterbody conservation has been supported by different stakeholders aiming at improving water quality, enhancing floodwater...
A partner-driven decision support model to inform the reintroduction of bull trout
Joseph R. Benjamin, Judith Neibauer, Hugh Anthony, Jose Vazquez, Ashley Rawhouser, Jason B. Dunham
2025, PLoS ONE (20)
Assessments of species reintroductions involve a series of complex decisions that include human perspectives and ecological contexts. Here, we present a reintroduction assessment involving bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) using a structured decision-making process. We approached this assessment by engaging partners representing public utilities, government agencies, and Tribes with shared interests...
Variability in hydrologic response to wildfire between snow zones in forested headwaters
Quinn Miller, David M Barnard, Megan Sears, John C. Hammond, Stephanie Kampf
2025, Hydrological Processes (39)
Rising temperatures and shifting fire regimes in the western United States are pushing fires upslope into areas of deep winter snowpack, where we have little knowledge of the likely hydrologic impacts of wildfire. We quantified differences in the timing and magnitude of stormflow responses to summer rainstorms among six catchments...
Interpreting a sudden population decline in a long-lived species (Malaclemys terrapin rhizophorarum)
Jacquelyn C. Guzy, Brian J. Smith, Mathew Denton, Michael Cherkiss, David Roche, Andrew G. Crowder, Kristen Hart
2025, Ecology and Evolution (15)
Long-term ecological studies are critical for providing insight into population dynamics and detecting population declines, particularly for species of conservation concern. However, spatiotemporal variation and logistical challenges make the identification of sudden population declines difficult. We conducted an in-water capture-mark-recapture study of mangrove diamond-backed terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin rhizophorarum) within Big...
Long-term patterns in growth of White Sturgeon in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River basin, California.
Michael Quist, Shannon Blackburn, Marta Ulaski, Zachary Jackson
2025, Frontiers in Freshwater Science (3)
Introduction: The Sacramento-San Joaquin River system (SSJ) of California includes both riverine, delta, and estuarine habitats and is among the most modified aquatic ecosystems in the United States. Water development projects in the system are associated with declines of many native species, including White Sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus.Methods: We used White Sturgeon...
Factors influencing landslide occurrence in low-relief formerly glaciated landscapes: Landslide inventory and susceptibility analysis in Minnesota, USA
Laura Triplett, Morena N Hammer, Stephen B. DeLong, Karen B. Gran, Carrie E. Jennings, Zachary T. Engle, Julie K. Bartley, Dylan J. Blumentritt, Andy Breckenridge, Stephanie Day, Melissa A. Kohout, Philip H. Larson, Jeni A. McDermott, Emilie Richard
2025, Natural Hazards (121) 11799-11827
In landscapes recently impacted by continental glaciation, landslides may occur where topographic relief has been generated by the drainage of glacial lakes and ensuing post-glacial fluvial network development into unconsolidated glacially derived sediments and exhumed bedrock. To investigate linkages among environmental variables, post-glacial landscape development, and landslides, we created a...
Modeling lamprey distribution using flow, geomorphology, and elevation in a terminal lake system
Jacob C. Dickey, Benjamin J. Clemens, Michael Dumelle, Melanie J. Davis
2025, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (154) 322-338
ObjectiveLampreys are an ecologically important group of fishes. Several species are imperiled and lack key distribution and habitat data. The terminal Goose Lake Basin, U.S.A. is home to two such species, the Goose Lake Lamprey, Entosphenus sp. (formally undescribed), and the Pit-Klamath Brook Lamprey, E. lethophagus. Species distribution models (SDMs)...
Inferring snowpack contributions and the mean elevation of source water to streamflow in the Willamette River, Oregon using water stable isotopes
J. Renee Brooks, Henry M. Johnson, Keira R. Johnson, Steven P. Cline, Randy Comeleo, WIlliam Rugh, Lisandra Trine
2025, Hydrological Processes (39)
Snowpacks are an important water source for mountainous rivers, worldwide. The timing and volume of streamflow in systems reliant on snowmelt can be affected by changes in snow accumulation and melt time. In the Cascade Range (western USA), seasonal snowpacks are predicted to decrease by over 50% within the next...
Groundwater dominates snowmelt runoff and controls streamflow efficiency in the western United States
Paul D. Brooks, D. Kip Solomon, Stephanie Kampf, Sara Warix, Carleton R. Bern, David Barnard, Holly R. Barnard, Gregory T. Carling, Rosemary Carroll, Jon Chorover, Adrian Harpold, Kathleen Lohse, Fabiola Meza, Jennifer McIntosh, Bethany Neilson, Megan Sears, Margaret Wolf
2025, Communications Earth & Environment (6)
Climate change in seasonally snow-covered mountain catchments is reducing water supply and decreasing streamflow predictability. Here, we use tritium age dating to show that contrary to the common assumption that snowmelt quickly contributes to runoff, streamflow during snowmelt in western US catchments is dominated by older groundwater. The average age of...
One-hundred fundamental, open questions to integrate methodological approaches in lake ice research
Joshua Culpepper, Sapna Sharma, Grant Gunn, Madeline Magee, Michael Frederick Meyer, Eric Anderson, Christoper D. Arp, Sarah Cooley, Wayana Dolan, Hilary Dugan, Claude R. Duguay, Benjamin C. Jones, Georgiy Kirillin, Robert Ladwig, Matti Lepparanta, Di Long, John J. Magnuson, Tamlin Pavelsky, Sebastiano Piccolroaz, Dale M. Robertson, Bethel Steele, Manu Tom, Gesa A. Weyhenmeyer, R. Iesytn Woolway, Marguerite A. Xenopoulos, Xiao Yang
2025, Water Resources Research (616)
The rate of technological innovation within aquatic sciences outpaces the collective ability of individual scientists within the field to make appropriate use of those technologies. The process of in situ lake sampling remains the primary choice to comprehensively understand an aquatic ecosystem at local scales; however, the impact of climate change on lakes necessitates...
Occurrence of pesticides in Oregon coastal waters
Bria Bleil, Elise F. Granek, Michelle Hladik
2025, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (44) 2098-2107
Pesticides are used globally for a wide range of applications including agricultural, forestry, roadsides, freshwater systems, and personal use. While pesticides have ensured efficient crop production, they are frequently transported away from application sites and are found in almost all terrestrial and aquatic environments. Pesticides are frequently detected in watersheds...
Gillnet sampling methods for monitoring status and trends of Clear Lake Hitch in Clear Lake, Lake County, California
Frederick Feyrer, Matthew J. Young, Brock Huntsman, Veronica Violette, Justin K. Clause, Jordan Buxton, Danielle Palm, Marissa L. Wulff, Jeff Gronemyer, Luis Santana
2025, Open-File Report 2025-1018
The Clear Lake Hitch (Lavinia exilicauda chi) is a minnow endemic to Clear Lake, Lake County, California. This species is listed as a threatened species under the California Endangered Species Act and has been petitioned for listing under the United States Endangered Species Act. In 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey,...
Utility of a swath laser rangefinder for characterizing mass movement flow depth and landslide initiation
Maciej Obryk, Emily Christina Bedinger, Alexandra M. Iezzi, Emily H Bryant, Kate E. Allstadt, David L. George, Benjamin B. Mirus
2025, Landslides (22) 2693-2700
Mass movements such as debris flows and landslides are some of the deadliest and most destructive natural hazards occurring mostly in alpine and volcanic settings. With ever-growing populations located downslope from known debris flow channels, early warning systems can help prevent loss of life. Geophysical and technological advances have improved...
An early Holocene wet period in the southwestern United States
Kathleen B. Springer, Adam M. Hudson, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Katharine W. Huntington, Andrew J. Schauer
2025, Geology (53) 631-635
Multiple generations of spring-fed streams traversed ∼800 km2 of the Las Vegas Valley in southern Nevada between ca. 10.9 ka and 8.5 ka, depositing an extensive tufa network. The scale of this network and diversity of tufa morphologies is novel in North America and offers an opportunity to obtain quantitative paleoclimate...
Sources and risk factors for nitrate, pathogens, and fecal contamination of private wells in rural southwestern Wisconsin, USA
Joel P. Stokdyk, Aaron D. Firnstahl, Kenneth Bradbury, Maureen A. Muldoon, Burney Kieke Jr., Mark A. Borchardt
2025, Water Research (275)
Household well water can be degraded by contaminants from the land's surface, but private well owners lack means to protect the source water from neighboring disturbances. Rural residents of southwestern Wisconsin, USA, rely on private well water, and the combination of land use and fractured carbonate bedrock makes groundwater vulnerable...
Nonstationary flood frequency analysis using regression in the north-central United States
Sara B. Levin
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5034
Traditional flood frequency methods assume that the statistical properties of peak streamflow do not change with time and may not be appropriate for many areas in the north-central United States. This study examines a nonstationary flood frequency analysis method that uses ordinary least squares linear regression to estimate flood magnitudes...
Airborne geophysical analysis to decipher salinization for coastal Louisiana
Michael Attia, Frank T.-C. Tsai, Shuo Yang, Burke J. Minsley, Wade Kress
2025, Water Research (271)
Coastal Louisiana is known for saltwater intrusion that threatens wetlands, aquifers, and rivers. However, the extent of saltwater intrusion is not well understood. This study develops an innovative framework with airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data to map chloride concentration distributions for wetlands in the Mississippi River deltaic plain and Chenier plain...
U.S. Geological Survey Colorado River Basin science and technology collaboration meetings on drought (2021)—Synthesis of findings
Adrian Pierre-Frederic Monroe, Jason S. Alexander, Eric D. Anderson, Patrick J. Anderson, William J. Andrews, Jessica M. Driscoll, Rebecca J. Frus, Joseph A. Hevesi, Daniel K. Jones, Kathryn A. Thomas, Anne C. Tillery, Alicia A. Torregrosa, Katharine G. Dahm
2025, Circular 1551
Ongoing, prolonged, and severe drought and water overuse during the first two decades of the 21st century have reduced water supplies of the Colorado River Basin, with effects cascading to ecosystems and human communities throughout the basin. In June and July 2021, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Colorado River Basin...
Monitoring recreation on federally managed lands and waters—Visitation estimation
Dieta Hanson, Emily J. Wilkins, Spencer H. Wood, Christian S.L. Crowley, Whitney Boone, Rudy Schuster
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5022
Federally managed public lands and waters attract millions of visitors each year, generating significant economic benefits for surrounding communities. Accurate visitation data are crucial for guiding policy decisions and managing resources effectively. This report explores the methods employed by agencies to collect and use data on recreational visitation to Federal...
Alaskan hydrology in transition: Changing precipitation and evapotranspiration patterns are projected to reshape seasonal streamflow and water temperature by midcentury (2035-2064)
D Blaskey, Yifan Cheng, A. C. Newman, Joshua C. Koch, M Goseff, K Musselman
2025, Journal of Hydrometeorology (26) 613-626
High spatial and temporal resolution models are essential for understanding future climate impacts and developing effective climate resilience plans. However, existing regional and global river models often lack the resolution needed to accurately capture local conditions. This study uses a series of high-resolution models, including the Regional Arctic System Model,...
Sampling dragonflies for mercury analysis in Grand Canyon National Park, 2018–2024: A contribution of the Dragonfly Mercury Project
Colleen M. Flanagan Pritz, Colleen Emery, Branden L. Johnson, James Willacker, Christopher James Kotalik, Katherine Ko, Michael A. Bell, David Walters, Collin A. Eagles-Smith
2025, Science Report NPS/SR-2025/283
The Dragonfly Mercury Project is a collaborative initiative that utilizes dragonfly larvae as biosentinels to monitor mercury concentrations across 180 national parks and other protected lands, including Grand Canyon National Park (GRCA). These indicators serve as surrogates for environmental risk and can indicate where fish consumption could pose health risks...
