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Study regionChaco Culture National Historical Park (CCNHP) is in the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico, U.S.A. Its only water supply is in Gallup Sandstone aquifer, stratigraphically surrounded by layers long targeted for oil and natural gas extraction.Study focusTo assess groundwater flow direction, age,...

The availability of reliable gridded precipitation datasets is limited around the world, especially in arid regions. In this study, we utilized observations from satellite-based precipitation data and in situ rain gauge observations to determine a suitable precipitation dataset in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region. First, we evaluated seven different...

The Buffalo National River in northwest Arkansas preserves an extensive Quaternary record of fluvial bedrock incision and aggradation across lithologies of variable resistance. In this work, we apply optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating to strath and fill terraces along the Buffalo River to elucidate the role of lithology and climate...

Redox-active functional groups in dissolved organic matter (DOM) are crucial for microbial electron transfer and methane emissions. However, the extent of aquatic DOM redox properties across northern high-latitude lakes and their relationships with DOM composition have not been thoroughly described. We quantified...

Introduction: Designs for safe and effective road crossing structures for small animals are typically under-road microtunnels and culverts which have varying levels of effectiveness reported in the scientific literature. Many species, particularly migratory amphibians, may have limited ability to find and use passages if they are too far apart, resulting...

One of the primary purposes of the 2023 Coastal Master Plan Integrated Compartment Model (ICM) is to forecast potential changes in coastal wetland area under varying environmental and restoration scenarios. To validate the model performance, historical analyses of observed wetland changes are needed for comparison to hindcast model runs. To...

Two synoptic sampling campaigns were conducted to quantify metal loading to Illinois Gulch, a small stream affected by historical mining activities. The first campaign was designed to determine the degree to which Illinois Gulch loses water to the underlying mine workings, and to determine the effect of these losses on observed metal loads....

Spatiotemporal variations in reference evapotranspiration (ETo) are sensitive to the meteorological data used in its estimation. The sensitivity of the ASCE standardized ETo equation to meteorological variables from GOES-PRWEB dataset was evaluated for the island of Puerto Rico. Island wide, ETo is most sensitive to daily mean relative humidity (RHmean), followed...

The objectives of this study are to identify per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Pennsylvania surface waters, corresponding associations with potential sources of PFAS contamination (PSOC) and other parameters, and compare raw surface water concentrations to human and ecological benchmarks. Surface water samples from...

The Muddy River provides habitat for several wildlife and endemic aquatic species protected under the Endangered Species Act. Near Moapa, Nevada, in the Bureau of Land Management’s Muddy River Floodplain Restoration Project Area, a previously constructed levee on the east side of the river alters the natural hydrology and decreases...

In contrast to many other arid region rivers, streamflow in the South Platte River is heavily augmented by trans-basin water imports and irrigation return flows. Hydrological changes began in the 1880s, resulting in channel narrowing and the development of a continuous Populus-Salix forest by the mid-twentieth century. We assessed the composition, structure...

This report presents a reference flow network for the conterminous United States that is built from the best available information from the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Weather Service, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The work is intended to support durable data integration and reproducibility. Originating...

River networks play a critical role in the global carbon cycle. Although global/continental scale riverine carbon cycle studies demonstrate the significance of rivers and streams for linking land and coastal regions, the lack of spatially distributed riverine carbon load data represents a gap for quantifying riverine carbon net gain or...

In 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey partnered with Fairfax County, Virginia, to establish a long-term water-resources monitoring program to evaluate the hydrology, water quality, and ecology of Fairfax County streams and the watershed-scale effects of management practices. Fairfax County uses a variety of management practices, policies, and programs to protect...

Study RegionThe groundwater basin underlying the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.Study FocusThe study focuses on changes in groundwater storage and how those changes relate to groundwater-level changes. Groundwater storage change was measured using repeat microgravity at 35...

Wildfire can alter soil-hydraulic properties, often resulting in an increased prevalence of infiltration-excess overland flow and greater potential for debris-flow hazards. Mini disk tension infiltrometers (MDIs) can be used to estimate soil hydraulic properties, such as field-saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs) and wetting front potential...

Wildfire has been shown to increase, decrease, or have no detectable effect on actual evapotranspiration (ETa) fluxes in the western United States. Where disturbance-induced shifts are significant, source-water hydrology may be impacted as ETa constitutes the largest outgoing water flux in...

The Colorado River is often referred to as “the lifeblood of the west.” The basin supplies municipal water to nearly 40 million people and irrigates approximately 22,000 km2 of agricultural lands. Twenty-two major rivers converge with the Colorado after it begins its descent from the Rocky Mountains and winds through the plateaus...

The Rio San Jose Integrated Hydrologic Model (RSJIHM) was developed to provide a tool for analyzing the hydrologic system response to historical water use and potential changes in water supplies and demands in the Rio San Jose Basin. The study area encompasses about 6,300 square miles in west-central New Mexico...

Discussed in this chapter are seven significant tributaries of the Lower Mississippi River and its major distributary. As a group, these eight rivers and their basins encompass substantial variation in physical form, hydrology, biota, ecology, and human impacts. The Current River, Ouachita River, and Saline River, flow to the Mississippi out...

This chapter describes the geomorphology, hydrology, chemistry, biodiversity, and ecology of rivers in the North American Arctic. The history, physiography, climate, and land use of the Arctic regions are also described. The chapter includes details on the Kobuk and Colville...

The U.S. Geological Survey and University of Wisconsin–Green Bay collected hydrologic and water-quality data to assess the effectiveness of agricultural conservation management practice (CMP) implementation at mainstem Plum Creek and west Plum Creek in northeastern Wisconsin. These two subbasins cover 88 percent of the Plum Creek Basin (Hydrologic Unit Code...

Previously glaciated landscapes often share similar surficial characteristics, including large areas of exposed bedrock, blankets of till deposits, and alluvium-floored valleys. These materials play significant roles in geologic and hydrologic resources, geohazards, and landscape evolution; however, the vast extents of many previously glaciated landscapes have rendered comprehensive, detailed field...

Within the geographic range of salmonid fishes, many apparently suitable rivers and streams are used for reproduction by some species but not others. This is widely known but seldom addressed, as studies often examine factors determining the distribution of one or only a few species. We examined...

Groundwater in the karst groundwater system at Area B of Fort Detrick in Frederick County, Maryland, is contaminated with chlorinated solvents from the past disposal of laboratory wastes. In cooperation with U.S. Army Environmental Command and U.S. Army Garrison Fort Detrick, the U.S. Geological Survey performed a 3-year study to...