Decadal changes in channel morphology of a freely meandering river—Powder River, Montana, 1975–2016
John A. Moody, Robert H. Meade
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1012
Few studies exist on the long-term geomorphic effects of floods. However, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was able to begin such a study after a 50-year recurrence interval flood in 1978 because 20 channel cross sections along a 100-kilometer reach of river were established in 1975 and 1977 as part...
Flood-inundation and flood-mitigation modeling of the West Branch Wapsinonoc Creek Watershed in West Branch, Iowa
Charles V. Cigrand
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5002
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the city of West Branch and the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site of the National Park Service assessed flood-mitigation scenarios within the West Branch Wapsinonoc Creek watershed. The scenarios are intended to demonstrate several means of decreasing peak streamflows and improving the...
Geologic map of the Nepenthes Planum Region, Mars
James A. Skinner, Kenneth L. Tanaka
2018, Scientific Investigations Map 3389
This map product contains a map sheet at 1:1,506,000 scale that shows the geology of the Nepenthes Planum region of Mars, which is located between the cratered highlands that dominate the southern hemisphere and the less-cratered sedimentary plains that dominate the northern hemisphere. The map region contains cone- and mound-shaped landforms...
Model methodology for estimating pesticide concentration extremes based on sparse monitoring data
Aldo V. Vecchia
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5159
This report describes a new methodology for using sparse (weekly or less frequent observations) and potentially highly censored pesticide monitoring data to simulate daily pesticide concentrations and associated quantities used for acute and chronic exposure assessments, such as the annual maximum daily concentration. The new methodology is based on a...
Natural and man-made hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), in groundwater near a mapped plume, Hinkley, California—study progress as of May 2017, and a summative-scale approach to estimate background Cr(VI) concentrations
John A. Izbicki, Krishangi D. Groover
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1045
This report describes (1) work done between January 2015 and May 2017 as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), background study and (2) the summative-scale approach to be used to estimate the extent of anthropogenic (man-made) Cr(VI) and background Cr(VI) concentrations near the Pacific Gas and...
Delineation of the hydrogeologic framework of the Big Sioux aquifer near Sioux Falls, South Dakota, using airborne electromagnetic data
Kristen J. Valseth, Gregory C. Delzer, Curtis V. Price
2018, Scientific Investigations Map 3393
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, began developing a groundwater-flow model of the Big Sioux aquifer in 2014 that will enable the City to make more informed water management decisions, such as delineation of areas of the greatest specific yield, which is...
Nitrogen concentrations and loads for the Connecticut River at Middle Haddam, Connecticut, computed with the use of autosampling and continuous measurements of water quality for water years 2009 to 2014
John R. Mullaney, Joseph W. Martin, Jonathan Morrison
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5006
The daily and annual loads of nitrate plus nitrite and total nitrogen for the Connecticut River at Middle Haddam, Connecticut, were determined for water years 2009 to 2014. The analysis was done with a combination of methods, which included a predefined rating curve method for nitrate plus nitrite and total...
Hydrologic assessment of the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge
Christine M. Wieben, Mary M. Chepiga
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5088
The Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (hereafter Forsythe refuge or the refuge) is situated along the central New Jersey coast and provides a mixture of freshwater and saltwater habitats for numerous bird, wildlife, and plant species. Little data and information were previously available regarding the freshwater dynamics that support...
SWToolbox: A surface-water tool-box for statistical analysis of streamflow time series
Julie E. Kiang, Kate Flynn, Tong Zhai, Paul Hummel, Gregory E. Granato
2018, Techniques and Methods 4-A11
This report is a user guide for the low-flow analysis methods provided with version 1.0 of the Surface Water Toolbox (SWToolbox) computer program. The software combines functionality from two software programs—U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) SWSTAT and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) DFLOW. Both of these programs have been used primarily...
Collection methods and quality assessment for Escherichia coli, water quality, and microbial source tracking data within Tumacácori National Historical Park and the upper Santa Cruz River, Arizona, 2015-16
Nicholas V. Paretti, Alissa L. Coes, Christopher M. Kephart, Justine P. Mayo
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5139
Tumacácori National Historical Park protects the culturally important Mission, San José de Tumacácori, while also managing a portion of the ecologically diverse riparian corridor of the Santa Cruz River. This report describes the methods and quality assurance procedures used in the collection of water samples for the analysis of Escherichia coli (E....
Volcanic aquifers of Hawai‘i—Hydrogeology, water budgets, and conceptual models
Scot K. Izuka, John A. Engott, Kolja Rotzoll, Maoya Bassiouni, Adam G. Johnson, Lisa D. Miller, Alan Mair
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5164
Hawai‘i’s aquifers have limited capacity to store fresh groundwater because each island is small and surrounded by saltwater. Saltwater also underlies much of the fresh groundwater. Fresh groundwater resources are, therefore, particularly vulnerable to human activity, short-term climate cycles, and long-term climate change. Availability of fresh groundwater for human use...
THRESH—Software for tracking rainfall thresholds for landslide and debris-flow occurrence, user manual
Rex L. Baum, Sarah J. Fischer, Jacob C. Vigil
2018, Techniques and Methods 14-A2
Precipitation thresholds are used in many areas to provide early warning of precipitation-induced landslides and debris flows, and the software distribution THRESH is designed for automated tracking of precipitation, including precipitation forecasts, relative to thresholds for landslide occurrence. This software is also useful for analyzing multiyear precipitation records to compare...
Effects of the proposed California WaterFix North Delta Diversion on flow reversals and entrainment of juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) into Georgiana Slough and the Delta Cross Channel, northern California
Russell W. Perry, Jason G. Romine, Adam C. Pope, Scott D. Evans
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1028
The California Department of Water Resources and Bureau of Reclamation propose new water intake facilities on the Sacramento River in northern California that would convey some of the water for export to areas south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (hereinafter referred to as the Delta) through tunnels rather...
Temporal trends in water-quality constituent concentrations and annual loads of chemical constituents in Michigan watersheds, 1998–2013
Christopher J. Hoard, Lisa R. Fogarty, Joseph W. Duris
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5147
In 1998, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Geological Survey began the Water Chemistry Monitoring Program for select streams in the State of Michigan. Objectives of this program were to provide assistance with (1) statewide water-quality assessments, (2) the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permitting process, and...
Landsat classification of surface-water presence during multiple years to assess response of playa wetlands to climatic variability across the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative region
Daniel J. Manier, Jennifer R. Rover
2018, Open-File Report 2017-1166
To improve understanding of the distribution of ecologically important, ephemeral wetland habitats across the Great Plains, the occurrence and distribution of surface water in playa wetland complexes were documented for four different years across the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GPLCC) region. This information is important because it informs land...
Stream-channel and watershed delineations and basin-characteristic measurements using lidar elevation data for small drainage basins within the Des Moines Lobe landform region in Iowa
David A. Eash, Kimberlee K. Barnes, Padraic S. O’Shea, Brian K. Gelder
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5108
Basin-characteristic measurements related to stream length, stream slope, stream density, and stream order have been identified as significant variables for estimation of flood, flow-duration, and low-flow discharges in Iowa. The placement of channel initiation points, however, has always been a matter of individual interpretation, leading to differences in stream definitions...
Assessment of water resources and the potential effects from oil and gas development in the Bureau of Land Management Tri-County planning area, Sierra, Doña Ana, and Otero Counties, New Mexico
Johanna M. Blake, Keely Miltenberger, Anne M. Stewart, Andre Ritchie, Jennifer Montoya, Corey Durr, Amy R. McHugh, Emmanuel G. Charles
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5151
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, conducted a study to assess the water resources and potential effects on the water resources from oil and gas development in the Tri-County planning area, Sierra, Doña Ana, and Otero Counties, New Mexico. Publicly available data were...
Relations between total phosphorus and orthophosphorus concentrations and rainfall, surface-water discharge, and groundwater levels in Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation, Florida, 2014–16
W. Scott McBride, Dorothy F. Sifuentes
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1014
The Seminole Tribe of Florida (the Tribe) is partnering with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to develop a numeric phosphorus criterion for the 52,000-acre Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation (BCSIR), which is located downgradient of the Everglades Agricultural Area, and of other public and private lands, in southeastern Hendry County...
Wind River Subbasin Restoration, Annual report of U.S. Geological Survey activities, January 2016 through December 2016
Ian G. Jezorek, Patrick J. Connolly
2018, Report
We used Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT)-tagging and a series of instream PIT-tag interrogation systems (PTISs) to investigate life-histories, populations, and efficacy of habitat restoration actions for steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss in the Wind River subbasin, WA. Our tagging focused on parr in headwaters areas of the subbasin and our instream readers...
Bathymetry of Ashokan, Cannonsville, Neversink, Pepacton, Rondout, and Schoharie Reservoirs, New York, 2013–15
Elizabeth A. Nystrom
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5064
Drinking water for New York City is supplied from several large reservoirs, including a system of reservoirs west of the Hudson River. To provide updated reservoir capacity tables and bathymetry maps of the City’s six West of Hudson reservoirs, bathymetric surveys were conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey from 2013...
Missouri StreamStats—A water-resources web application
Jarrett T. Ellis
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3003
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) maintains and operates more than 8,200 continuous streamgages nationwide. Types of data that may be collected, computed, and stored for streamgages include streamgage height (water-surface elevation), streamflow, and water quality. The streamflow data allow scientists and engineers to calculate streamflow statistics, such as the 1-percent annual exceedance...
Evaluation of the Radar Stage Sensor manufactured by Forest Technology Systems—Results of laboratory and field testing
Gerald A. Kunkle
2018, Open-File Report 2017-1085
Two identical Radar Stage Sensors from Forest Technology Systems were evaluated to determine if they are suitable for U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) hydrologic data collection. The sensors were evaluated in laboratory conditions to evaluate the distance accuracy of the sensor over the manufacturer’s specified operating temperatures and distance to water...
Quaternary sediment thickness and bedrock topography of the glaciated United States east of the Rocky Mountains
David R. Soller, Christopher P. Garrity
2018, Scientific Investigations Map 3392
Beginning roughly 2.6 million years ago, global climate entered a cooling phase known as the Pleistocene Epoch. As snow in northern latitudes compacted into ice several kilometers thick, it flowed as glaciers southward across the North American continent. These glaciers extended across the northern United States, dramatically altering the landscape...
Hydrogeologic framework and groundwater conditions of the Ararat Basin in Armenia
Joshua F. Valder, Janet M. Carter, Colton J. Medler, Ryan F. Thompson, Mark T. Anderson
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5163
Armenia is a landlocked country located in the mountainous Caucasus region between Asia and Europe. It shares borders with the countries of Georgia on the north, Azerbaijan on the east, Iran on the south, and Turkey and Azerbaijan on the west. The Ararat Basin is a transboundary basin in Armenia...
Nutrient and metal loads estimated by using discrete, automated, and continuous water-quality monitoring techniques for the Blackstone River at the Massachusetts-Rhode Island State line, water years 2013–14
Jason R. Sorenson, Gregory E. Granato, Kirk P. Smith
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5094
Flow-proportional composite water samples were collected in water years 2013 and 2014 by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, from the Blackstone River at Millville, Massachusetts (U.S. Geological Survey station 01111230), about 0.5 mile from the border with Rhode Island. Samples were collected...
