Inferring surface flow velocities in sediment-laden Alaskan rivers from optical image sequences acquired from a helicopter
Carl J. Legleiter, Paul J. Kinzel
2020, Remote Sensing (12)
The remote, inaccessible location of many rivers in Alaska creates a compelling need for remote sensing approaches to streamflow monitoring. Motivated by this objective, we evaluated the potential to infer flow velocities from optical image sequences acquired from a helicopter deployed above two large, sediment-laden rivers. Rather than artificial seeding,...
Distribution and abundance of Westslope Cutthroat Trout in relation to habitat characteristics at multiple spatial scales
John W Heckel, Michael C. Quist, Carson J. Watkins, Andrew M. Dux
2020, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (40) 893-909
The distribution and relative abundance of Westslope Cutthroat Trout (WCT) Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi in relation to habitat characteristics remain unknown across large portions of the species’ range. The goals of this research were to provide a foundational understanding of WCT distribution and relative abundance related to habitat characteristics in tributaries of the...
Millennial-scale climate and human drivers of environmental change and fire activity in a dry, mixed-conifer forest of northwestern Montana
David B. McWethy, Mio Alt, Elana Argiriadis, Dario Battistel, Richard G. Everett, Gregory T. Pederson
2020, Frontiers in Forests and Global Change (3)
Warm summer temperatures and longer fire seasons are promoting larger, and in some cases, more fires that are severe in low- and mid-elevation, dry mixed-conifer forests of the Northern Rocky Mountains (NRM). Long-term historical fire conditions and human influence on past fire activity are not well understood for these topographically...
Seasonal manganese transport in the hyporheic zone of a snowmelt-dominated river (East River, Colorado)
S. Bryant, A. Sawyer, Martin A. Briggs, C. Saup, A. R Nelson, M. J. Wilkins, J. R. Christensen, K. H. Williams
2020, Hydrogeology Journal (28) 1323-1341
Manganese (Mn) plays a critical role in river-water quality because Mn-oxides serve as sorption sites for contaminant metals. The aim of this study is to understand the seasonal cycling of Mn in an alpine streambed that experiences large spring snowmelt events and the potential responses to changes in snowmelt timing...
Geologic map of the Homestake Reservoir 7.5′ quadrangle, Lake, Pitkin, and Eagle Counties, Colorado
Chester A. Ruleman, Michael G. Frothingham, Theodore R. Brandt, Colin A. Shaw, Marc W. Caffee, Brent M. Goehring, Keith A. Brugger
2020, Scientific Investigations Map 3451
The Homestake Reservoir 7.5' quadrangle lies at the northwestern end of the Upper Arkansas Valley, and headwaters of the Arkansas River, and the Roaring Fork, Fryingpan, and Eagle Rivers of the Colorado River system. The quadrangle lies within tectonic provinces of the 1.4 giga-annum (Ga) Picuris orogeny and includes the...
HESS opinions: Beyond the long-term water balance: Evolving Budyko's supply–demand framework for the Anthropocene towards a global synthesis of land-surface fluxes under natural and human-altered watersheds
A. Sankarasubramanian, Dingbao Wang, Stacey A. Archfield, Meredith Reitz, Richard M Vogel, Amirhossein Mazrooei, Sudarshana Mukhopadhyaya
2020, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (24) 1975-1984
Global hydroclimatic conditions have been substantially altered over the past century by anthropogenic influences that arise from the warming global climate and from local/regional anthropogenic disturbances. Traditionally, studies have used coupling of multiple models to understand how land-surface water fluxes vary due to changes in global climatic patterns and local...
PFAS in the environment
U.S. Geological Survey
2020, General Information Product 197
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is working with Federal, State, and local partners to monitor and evaluate perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the State’s groundwater and surface waters. PFAS are synthetic chemicals with widespread commercial and industrial use that can take a very long time to break down in...
Microplastics
U.S. Geological Survey
2020, General Information Product 196
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is working with Federal, State, and local partners to monitor and evaluate microplastics in our lakes, rivers, and coastal waters. Microplastics are very small pieces of plastic, some-times so small that they cannot be seen with the naked eye. The USGS is taking an active...
Sea-level rise exponentially increases coastal flood frequency
Mohsen Taherkhani, Sean Vitousek, Patrick L. Barnard, L Neil Frazer, Tiffany Anderson, Charles Fletcher
2020, Scientific Reports (10)
Sea-level rise will radically redefine the coastline of the 21st century. For many coastal regions, projections of global sea-level rise by the year 2100 (e.g., 0.5–2 meters) are comparable in magnitude to today’s extreme but short-lived increases in water level due to storms. Thus, the 21st century will...
Updated study reporting levels (SRLs) for trace-element data collected for the California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program Priority Basin Project, October 2009–October 2018
George L. V Bennett V
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5034
Groundwater samples have been collected in California as part of statewide investigations of groundwater quality conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey for the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Priority Basin Project (PBP) since 2004. The GAMA-PBP is being conducted in cooperation with the California State Water Resources Control Board...
Passive sampling of groundwater wells for determination of water chemistry
Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, Philip T. Harte
2020, Techniques and Methods 1-D8-
IntroductionPassive groundwater sampling is defined as the collection of a water sample from a well without the use of purging by a pump or retrieval by a bailer (Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council [ITRC], 2006; American Society for Testing and Materials [ASTM], 2014). No purging means that advection of water...
Nutrient status of San Francisco Bay and its management implications
James E. Cloern, Tara Schraga, Erica Nejad, Charles A. Martin
2020, Estuaries and Coasts (43) 1299-1317
Nutrient enrichment has degraded many of the world’s estuaries by amplifying algal production, leading to hypoxia/anoxia, loss of vascular plants and fish/shellfish habitat, and expansion of harmful blooms (HABs). Policies to protect coastal waters from the effects of nutrient enrichment require information to determine if a water body is impaired...
Benthic vertical hydraulic gradients in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, 2017
Nicholas Corson-Dosch
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5029
Groundwater piezometers and lake stilling wells were deployed as paired sets at 10 locations in Upper Klamath Lake in south-central Oregon from May to October 2017 to measure hydraulic heads in and beneath the lake. Continuous water-level data from piezometers and stilling wells were then used to calculate the...
Assessing mercury distribution using isotopic fractionation of mercury processes and sources adjacent and downstream of a legacy mine district in Tuscany, Italy
Michael J. Pribil, Valentina Rimondi, Pilario Costagliola, Pierfranco Lattanzi, Danny Rutherford
2020, Applied Geochemistry (117)
Mercury (Hg) concentrations and isotopic compositions in a range of sample types collected from the legacy Abbadia San Salvatore Mine (ASSM) area were used to evaluate the distribution of Hg in the region. The district generated more than 100,000 metric tons of Hg releasing extensive amounts of gaseous Hg...
Characterization of water-quality and bed-sediment conditions in Currituck Sound, North Carolina, prior to the Mid-Currituck Bridge construction, 2011–18
Stephen L. Harden, Sharon A. Fitzgerald, Chad R. Wagner, Emilia L. Bristow, Keith A. Loftin, Barry H. Rosen
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1031
The North Carolina Turnpike Authority plans to improve transportation in the Currituck Sound area by constructing a two-lane bridge—the Mid-Currituck Bridge—across Currituck Sound from the mainland to the Outer Banks, North Carolina. The results of the final environmental impact statement for the project indicate potential water-quality and habitat effects for...
InFish: A professional network to promote global conservation and responsible use of inland fish
Abigail J Lynch, Devin M. Bartley, Beard Jr., David Bunnell, Steve J. Cooke, Ian. G. Cowx, Simon Funge-Smith, Craig P. Paukert, Mark W. Rogers, William W. Taylor
2020, Fisheries Magazine (45) 319-326
Inland fishes and fisheries make substantial contributions to individuals, society, and the environment in a changing global landscape that includes climate, water allocations, and societal changes. However, current limitations to valuing the services provided by inland fish and their fisheries often leaves them out of key decision‐making discussions. InFish is...
Bathymetric and velocimetric surveys at highway bridges crossing the Missouri River between Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri, May 22–31, 2017
Richard J. Huizinga
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5018
Bathymetric and velocimetric data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Transportation, near 10 bridges at 9 highway crossings of the Missouri River between Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri, from May 22 to 31, 2017. A multibeam echosounder mapping system was used...
Evaluating indicators of marsh vulnerability to sea level rise along a historical marsh loss gradient
Lennert Schepers, Matt L. Kirwan, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Stijn Temmerman
2020, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms (45) 2107-2117
Sea level rise (SLR) is threatening coastal marshes, leading to large‐scale marsh loss in several micro‐tidal systems. Early recognition of marsh vulnerability to SLR is critical in these systems to aid managers to take appropriate restoration or mitigation measures. However, it is not clear if current marsh vulnerability indicators correctly...
Effects of legacy sediment removal and effects on nutrients and sediment in Big Spring Run, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 2009–15
Michael J. Langland, Joseph W. Duris, Tammy M. Zimmerman, Jeffrey J. Chaplin
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5031
Big Spring Run is a 1.68-square mile watershed underlain by mostly carbonate rock in a mixed land-use setting (part agricultural and part developed) in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Big Spring Run is a subwatershed of Mill Creek, a tributary to the Conestoga River. These watersheds are known contributors of nutrient and...
Genesis and evolution of ferromanganese crusts from the summit of Rio Grande Rise, southwest Atlantic Ocean
Mariana Benites, James R. Hein, Kira Mizell, Terrence Blackburn, Luigi Jovane
2020, Minerals (10)
The Rio Grande Rise (RGR) is a large elevation in the Atlantic Ocean and known to host potential mineral resources of ferromanganese crusts (Fe–Mn), but no investigation into their general characteristics have been made in detail. Here, we investigate the chemical and mineralogical composition, growth rates and...
Explaining mass balance and retreat dichotomies at Taku and Lemon Creek Glaciers, Alaska
Christopher J. McNeil, Shad O’Neel, Michael Loso, Mauri Pelto, Louis C. Sass, Emily Baker, Seth Campbell
2020, Journal of Glaciology
We reanalyzed mass balance records at Taku and Lemon Creek Glaciers to better understand the relative roles of hypsometry, local climate and dynamics as mass balance drivers. Over the 1946–2018 period, the cumulative mass balances diverged. Tidewater Taku Glacier advanced and gained mass at an average rate of +0.25±0.28 m...
Characterization of surface-water and groundwater quality on the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota, 2014–17
Robert F. Lundgren, Mary J. Iorio
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5020
The Fort Berthold Reservation is in west-central North Dakota and home to the Three Affiliated Tribes. The primary water-resources concerns on the Fort Berthold Reservation are associated with the different types of land uses from agricultural activities and the rapid development of oil and gas resources in western North Dakota....
Zero or not? Causes and consequences of zero-flow stream gage readings
Margaret Zimmer, Kendra E. Kaiser, Joanna Blaszczak, Samuel Zipper, John C. Hammond, Ken M. Fritz, Katie H. Costigan, Jacob D. Hosen, Sarah E Godsey, George H. Allen, Stephanie K. Kampf, Ryan Burrow, Corey Krabbenhoft, Walter Dodds, Rebecca Hale, Julian D. Olden, Margaret Shanafield, Amanda DelVecchia, Adam S Ward, Meryl C. Mims, Thibault Datry, Michael A. Bogan, Kate Boersma, Michelle Busch, Nathan M. Jones, Amy Burgin, Daniel C. Allen
2020, WIREs Water (7)
Streamflow observations can be used to understand, predict, and contextualize hydrologic, ecological, and biogeochemical processes and conditions in streams. Stream gages are point measurements along rivers where streamflow is measured, and are often used to infer upstream watershed‐scale processes. When stream gages read zero, this may indicate that the stream...
Bathymetric survey and sedimentation analysis of Lago Carite, Puerto Rico, January 2018
Julieta M. Gomez-Fragoso
2020, Scientific Investigations Map 3454
During January 23–30, 2018, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, conducted a bathymetric survey of Lago Carite primarily to update estimates of the contemporary reservoir storage capacity and sedimentation rate. Previously designated transect lines were surveyed by using a depth sounder coupled to...
Preliminary analysis to estimate the spatial distribution of benefits of P load reduction: Identifying the spatial influence of phosphorus loading from the Maumee River (USA) in western Lake Erie
James H. Larson, Enrika Hlavacek, Nathan R. De Jager, Mary Anne Evans, Timothy Wynne
2020, Ecology and Evolution (10) 3968-3976
Since the early 2000s, Lake Erie has been experiencing annual cyanobacterial blooms that often cover large portions of the western basin and even reach into the central basin. These blooms have affected several ecosystem services provided by Lake Erie to surrounding communities (notably drinking water quality). Several modeling efforts have...
