Predicting inundation dynamics and hydroperiods of small, isolated wetlands using a machine learning approach
Jeffrey W. Riley, Charles C. Stillwell
2023, Wetlands (43)
The duration of inundation or saturation (i.e., hydroperiod) controls many wetland functions. In particular, it is a key determinant of whether a wetland will provide suitable breeding habitat for amphibians and other taxa that often have specific hydrologic requirements. Yet, scientists and land managers often are...
Postfire hydrologic response along the central California (USA) coast: Insights for the emergency assessment of postfire debris-flow hazards
Matthew A. Thomas, Jason W. Kean, Scott W. McCoy, Donald N. Lindsay, Jaime Kostelnik, David B. Cavagnaro, Francis K. Rengers, Amy E. East, Jonathan Schwartz, Douglas P. Smith, Brian D. Collins
2023, Landslides (20) 2421-2436
The steep, tectonically active terrain along the Central California (USA) coast is well known to produce deadly and destructive debris flows. However, the extent to which fire affects debris-flow susceptibility in this region is an open question. We documented the occurrence of postfire debris floods and flows following the landfall...
Hydrologic framework and characterization of the Little Colorado River alluvial aquifer near Leupp, Arizona
Jon P. Mason, Jeffrey R. Kennedy, Jamie P. Macy, Bruce Gungle
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5052
The Little Colorado River alluvial aquifer near Leupp, Arizona, was investigated as a possible source of irrigation water for the Leupp and Birdsprings Chapters of the Navajo Nation. The physical, chemical, and hydraulic characteristics of the alluvial aquifer were studied using geophysical surveys, installation of observation wells, water-level measurements, chemical...
Utilizing anthropogenic compounds and geochemical tracers to identify preferential structurally controlled groundwater pathways influencing springs in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA
Kimberly R. Beisner, Nicholas V. Paretti, Jeramy Roland Jasmann, Larry B. Barber
2023, Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies (48)
Study region: This study focuses on the Colorado River watershed in the area along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Study focus: This study utilizes anthropogenic chemical tracers to investigate the fate of treated wastewater effluent discharged within Grand Canyon National Park. Anthropogenic chemical tracers were used to discern...
Importance of subsurface water for hydrological response during storms in a post-wildfire bedrock landscape
Abra Atwood, Madeline Hille, Marin Clark, Francis K. Rengers, Dimitrios Ntarlagiannis, Kirk Townsend, A. Joshua West
2023, Nature Geoscience Communications (14)
Wildfire alters the hydrologic cycle, with important implications for water supply and hazards including flooding and debris flows. In this study we use a combination of electrical resistivity and stable water isotope analyses to investigate the hydrologic response during storms in three catchments: one unburned and...
U.S. Geological Survey Rocky Mountain Region 2022 science exchange, showcasing interdisciplinary and state-of-the-art USGS science
Dana E. Peterson, Katherine L. French, Jeannette H. Oden, Patrick J. Anderson, Timothy N. Titus, Katharine G. Dahm, Jessica M. Driscoll, William J. Andrews
2023, Fact Sheet 2023-3017
IntroductionThe Rocky Mountains and the Colorado River Basin in the Western United States represent complex, interconnected systems that sustain a number of species, including tens of millions of humans. These systems face several challenges, including worsening drought, altered wildfire regimes, climate change, and the spread of invasive species. These factors...
Ensemble estimation of historical evapotranspiration for the conterminous U.S.
Meredith Reitz, Ward E. Sanford, Samuel Saxe
2023, Water Resources Research (59)
Evapotranspiration (ET) is the largest component of the water budget, accounting for the majority of the water available from precipitation. ET is challenging to quantify because of the uncertainties associated with the many ET equations currently in use, and because observations of ET are uncertain and sparse....
Hydrogeomorphic changes along mid-Atlantic coastal plain rivers transitioning from non-tidal to tidal: Implications for a rising sea level
Daniel Kroes, Gregory E. Noe, Cliff R. Hupp, Thomas Rossiter Doody, P.A. Bukaveckas
2023, Estuaries and Coasts (46) 1438-1458
Sea level rise is affecting reaches of coastal rivers by increasing water levels and propagating tides inland. The transition of river systems into tidal estuaries has been neglected in hydrogeomorphic studies. A better understanding of transitioning reaches is critical to understanding ecosystem dynamics, services, and developing predictive capabilities of change...
Identifying hydrologic signatures associated with streamflow depletion caused by groundwater pumping
Dana A. Lapides, Samuel Zipper, John C. Hammond
2023, Hydrological Processes (37)
Groundwater pumping can reduce streamflow in nearby waterways (‘streamflow depletion’), a process which must be accounted for in integrated management of surface and groundwater resources. However, causal identification of streamflow depletion from hydrographs alone is challenging because pumping impacts are masked by other drivers of hydrologic variability. To identify potential...
A century of hydrologic data collection prepares western Long Island for current and future water-resources challenges
Robert F. Breault, John P. Masterson, Ronald Busciolano, Irene Fisher
2023, Fact Sheet 2023-3024
Freshwater is a vital natural resource. New York is a water-rich State; however, even here, the economical use of water resources is needed to ensure there is enough water of adequate quality for human and ecological needs—now and into the future. Nowhere in New York is this more evident than...
Northwest Forest Plan — The first 25 years (1994–2018): Watershed condition status and trends
Jason Dunham, Christine Hirsch, Sean Gordon, Rebecca L. Flitcroft, Nathan Chelgren, Marcia N. Snyder, David P Hockman-Wert, Gordon H. Reeves, Heidi V. Andersen, Scott K. Anderson, William A. Battaglin, Tom A. Black, Jason Brown, Shannon Claeson, Lauren Hay, Emily D. Heaston, Charles H. Luce, Nathan Nelson, Colin Penn, Mark Raggon
2023, Technical Report PNW-GTR-1010
This report describes status and trends in watershed condition across the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) area over the first 25 years since its inception in 1994. The program charged with this task is the Aquatic and Riparian Effectiveness Monitoring Program (AREMP), which has assembled information from field data collection, spatial...
Potentiometric surface map of the Southern High Plains aquifer in the Cannon Air Force Base area, Curry County, New Mexico, 2020
A.B. Goodwin, Meghan T. Bell
2023, Scientific Investigations Map 3504
Declining water levels and the potential impact on water resources on and around Cannon Air Force Base (AFB), New Mexico, has necessitated an up-to-date review of the potentiometric surface to evaluate the availability of water resources for future use. Analysis of groundwater-flow directions and hydraulic gradients can provide an understanding...
Broadening the perspectives of sedimentary organic matter analysis to understand Earth system response to change
Debra A. Willard, Leslie F. Ruppert
2023, International Journal of Coal Geology (274)
This paper broadens the description of sedimentary organic matter from the conventional use of coal petrography to include palynological and geochemical sedimentary organic matter. Palynological sedimentary organic matter includes all chemically resistant organic microfossils, such as pollen and spores, dinocysts, microforaminifera (chitinoid-like linings of...
Floodwater drainage assessment of Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, 2020–22
Christopher M. Hobza, Kellan R. Strauch
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5053
Offutt Air Force Base, south of Omaha, Nebraska, experienced major flooding during the March 2019 flood event because of the proximity of the base to the confluence of the Missouri River and nearby tributaries, which exceeded flood stages. Postflood, standing water remained through much of the year, attracting waterfowl and...
Quality of surface water in Missouri, water year 2021
Kendra M. Markland
2023, Data Report 1179
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, maintains a statewide group of stations known as the Ambient Water-Quality Monitoring Network, which includes selected streams and springs in Missouri. During water year 2021 (October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021), the U.S. Geological Survey collected...
Witnessing history: Comparison of a century of sedimentary and written records in a California protected area
R. Scott Anderson, M. Allison Stegner, SeanPaul La Selle, Brian L. Sherrod, Anthony D. Barnosky, Elizabeth A. Hadly
2023, Regional Environmental Change (23)
We use a combination of proxy records from a high-resolution analysis of sediments from Searsville Lake and adjacent Upper Lake Marsh and historical records to document over one and a half centuries of vegetation and socio-ecological change—relating to logging, agricultural land use change, dam construction, chemical applications, recreation, and other...
Application of the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) to simulate the streamflows and water balance of the Red River Basin, 1980–2016
Victor L. Roland II
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5105
The Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) was used to develop and calibrate a streamflow and water balance model for the Red River Basin as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Census, a research effort focused on developing innovative water accounting...
Roles of climatic and anthropogenic factors in shaping Holocene vegetation and fire regimes in Great Dismal Swamp, eastern USA
Debra A. Willard, Miriam C. Jones, Jay R. Alder, David Fastovich, Kristen Hoefke, Robert Poirier, Fred C. Wurster
2023, Quaternary Science Reviews (311)
The Great Dismal Swamp wetland, spanning >400 km2 along the Virginia and North Carolina border, was shaped by a complex combination of geomorphic, climatic, and anthropogenic forcings during the last 14,000 years. Pollen, macrofossils, charcoal, and physical properties from sediment cores at seven sites...
Quantification of wetland vegetation communities features with airborne AVIRIS-NG, UAVSAR, and UAV LiDAR data in Peace-Athabasca Delta
Chao Wang, Tamlin M. Pavelsky, Ethan D. Kyzivat, Fenix Garcia-Tigreros, Erika Podest, Fangfang Yao, Xiao Yang, Shuai Zhang, Conghe Song, Theodore Langhorst, Wayana Dolan, Martin R. Kurek, Merritt E. Harlan, Laurence C. Smith, David Butman, Robert G.M. Spencer, Colin J. Gleason, Kimberly Wickland, Robert G. Striegl, Daniel L. Peters
2023, Remote Sensing of Environment (294)
Arctic-boreal wetlands, important ecosystems for biodiversity and ecological services, are experiencing hydrological changes including permafrost thaw, earlier snowmelt, and increased wildfire susceptibility. These changes are affecting wetland productivity, species diversity, and biogeochemical cycles. However, given the diverse forms and structures of wetland vegetation...
Groundwater residence times in glacial aquifers—A new general simulation-model approach compared to conventional inset models
J. Jeffrey Starn, Leon J. Kauffman, Daniel T. Feinstein
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5142
Groundwater is important as a drinking-water source and for maintaining base flow in rivers, streams, and lakes. Groundwater quality can be predicted, in part, by its residence time in the subsurface, but the residence-time distribution cannot be measured directly and must be inferred from models. This report compares residence-time distributions...
Flood-inundation maps for an 8-mile reach of Papillion Creek near Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, 2022
Kellan R. Strauch, Christopher M. Hobza
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5054
Digital flood-inundation maps for an 8-mile reach of Papillion Creek near Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force, Offutt Air Force Base. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Program website...
Estimating streamflow permanence with the watershed erosion prediction project model: Implications for surface water presence modeling and data collection
Konrad Hafen, Kyle W. Blasch, Paul E. Gessler, Jason Dunham, Erin Brooks
2023, Journal of Hydrology (622)
Many data collection efforts and modeling studies have focused on providing accurate estimates of streamflow while fewer efforts have sought to identify when and where surface water is present and the duration of surface water presence in stream channels, hereafter referred...
Pliocene–Pleistocene hydrology and pluvial lake during Marine Isotope Stages 5a and 4, Deep Springs Valley, western Great Basin, Inyo County, California
Jeffrey R. Knott, Shannon A. Mahan, Jordan E. Bright, Lindsey Langer, Adam Ramirez, Kyle McCarty, Anna L. Garcia
2023, Quaternary Research (115) 160-178
Deep Springs Valley (DSV) is a hydrologically isolated valley between the White and Inyo mountains that is commonly excluded from regional paleohydrology and paleoclimatology. Previous studies showed that uplift of Deep Springs ridge (informal name) by the Deep Springs fault defeated streams crossing DSV and hydrologically isolated...
Source contributions to suspended sediment and particulate selenium export from the Loutsenhizer Arroyo and Sunflower Drain watersheds in Colorado
Carleton R. Bern, Cory A. Williams, Christopher G. Smith
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5056
Selenium in aquatic ecosystems of the lower Gunnison River Basin in Colorado is affecting the recovery of populations of endangered, native fish species. Dietary exposure is the primary pathway for bioaccumulation of selenium in fish, and particulate selenium can be consumed directly by fish or by the invertebrates on which...
Viewing river corridors through the lens of critical zone science
Adam Wymore, Adam Ward, Ellen Wohl, Judson Harvey
2023, Frontiers in Water (3)
River corridors integrate the active channels, geomorphic floodplain and riparian areas, and hyporheic zone while receiving inputs from the uplands and groundwater and exchanging mass and energy with the atmosphere. Here, we trace the development of the contemporary understanding of river corridors from the perspectives of geomorphology, hydrology, ecology,...
