The role of groundwater in contributing to surface water salinization in the Upper Colorado River Basin
Matthew P. Miller, Olivia L. Miller, Patrick C. Longley, Daniel R. Wise, Morgan C. McDonnell, Noah M. Schmadel, Jay R. Alder
2026, Geophysical Research Letters (53)
Freshwater salinization impacts the availability of water for human use and ecosystem needs worldwide. It has been estimated that total dissolved solids (TDS) in the Colorado River Basin cause $350 million/year in damages and substantial resources are devoted to reducing TDS loading to streams. This study describes the development and...
Hydrogeology, groundwater salinity distributions, and assessment of the effect of oil-production activities on groundwater in the Midway Valley area, western Kern County, San Joaquin Valley, California
Janice M. Gillespie, Riley Gannon, Lyndsay B. Ball, John G. Warden, Rhett R. Everett, Michael J. Stephens
2026, PLOS Water (5)
This study seeks to determine the effects of oil field produced water disposal operations and well mechanical integrity issues on groundwater quality in oil fields in the southwest San Joaquin Valley, California. Whereas previous studies used groundwater wells to study shallow aquifers outside the oil fields, this study demonstrates that...
Water volumes, heat flow, and solute discharge from Old Faithful Geyser eruptions, Yellowstone National Park, USA
Shaul Hurwitz, R. Blaine McCleskey, Maxwell L. Rudolph, Sara Peek, David A. Roth, Melissa Schott-Atkins, Michael Manga, Kiernan F. Folz Donahue, Mara H. Reed, Jefferson D.G. Hungerford
2026, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (474)
The iconic Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park, USA, has attracted a significant amount of research because of the relative regularity and impressive size of its eruptions. Numerous studies have included observations, measurements, and analyses that informed models of geyser eruptions. However, fundamental quantities, including the associated mass and...
Computation of regional groundwater budgets for the Virginia Coastal Plain aquifer system
Jason P. Pope, Alison D. Gordon, Ryan S. Frederiks
2026, Open-File Report 2026-1002
Computation of detailed groundwater flow budgets for subdivisions of the Virginia Coastal Plain aquifer system has enabled quantification and more thorough understanding of groundwater flow within this important water resource. A zone budget analysis based on previously published groundwater models of the Virginia Coastal Plain and Virginia Eastern Shore indicates...
Historical ice jams and associated environmental conditions on Osoyoos Lake
Nicholas A. Sutfin, Stephen J. Breen
2026, Scientific Investigations Report 2026-5003
Ice jams occur regularly at the southern outlet of Osoyoos Lake, which spans the border between the State of Washington and British Columbia, Canada. In recent winters, ice jams caused (1) decreases in downstream discharge that may adversely affect salmon spawning habitat and (2) short-duration lake-level rise that can interfere...
Comparative assessment of STIC sensors, streamflow and rain gauges for quantifying river connectivity in intermittent systems
Cienna R. Cooper, Jane S. Rogosch, Nathan G. Smith, Clinton R. Robertson, Wade M. Wilson
2026, Water Biology and Security
In intermittent stream systems, including those occurring in Texas, USA, the severity of low-flow conditions, duration of seasonal disconnection, and frequency of no-flow events have been amplified by drought. Documentation of these no-flow events is necessary to evaluate ecosystem health. However, many intermittent reaches remain un-gauged given that perennial river...
Late Miocene Colorado River arrival in the Bidahochi basin supports spillover origin of Grand Canyon
John J.Y. He, Ryan S. Crow, John R. Douglass, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Jorge A. Vazquez, Brian F. Gootee, Marsha I Lidzbarski, Laura Pianowski, Harrison J. Gray, Emma Heitmann, Phil Pearthree, Kyle House, Shannon Dulin
2026, Science (395) 285-295
The timing and mechanism of the integration of the Colorado River and incision of the Grand Canyon remain among geology’s enduring controversies. A key question is the configuration of the upper Colorado River watershed between 11 and 6 million years ago. In this study, we present new evidence from zircon...
Logical data model for hydrographic data based on HY_Features concepts
David L. Blodgett, editor(s)
2026, OCG Public Engineering Report 25-045
This report describes background and design of the “hydrofabric data model” which defines logic for implementation of data schemas and software that deals with hydrologic geospatial data. As a “logical” data model, the hydrofabric data model specifies details necessary to support compatibility of data and software that satisfy diverse needs...
Analyses of meteorological and hydrological records support Tribal members’ accounts of changing climate on the Fort Apache Reservation, east–central Arizona
Jon P. Mason
2026, Scientific Investigations Report 2026-5140
The Fort Apache Reservation in east–central Arizona, home to the White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation, Arizona, contains several climate zones because of the large variation in surface elevation within the reservation. This study was carried out in cooperation with the White Mountain Apache Tribe of the...
The global proliferation of aquatic, benthic Microcoleus: Taxonomy, distribution, toxin production, ecology, and future directions
Laura T. Kelly, Daniel G Beach, Joanna R. Blaszczak, Keith Bouma-Gregson, Sydney M. Brown, Haowu Cheng, Janette L. Davidson, Jutta Fastner, Marcus Francis, Andrea Garcia Jimenez, Laurel Genzoli, Ramesh Goel, Diego Gonzalez, Kim M. Handley, Sabine Hilt, Jean-Francois Humbert, Rob Jamieson, Lindsay Johnston, Pilar Junier, Janice Lawrence, Pearse McCarron, Sven Meissner, Jacob Mormando, Jonathan Puddick, Catherine Quiblier, Nagasaijanani Rajpirathap, Charlotte Schampera, Andy Selwood, Karen Shearer, Abeer Sohrab, Rosalina Stancheva, Cecilio Valadez-Cano, Jordan M. Zebrecky, Susanna A. Wood
2026, Water Research (294)
There have been sporadic reports of aquatic, benthic Microcoleus proliferations in freshwater rivers, lakes, and reservoirs for four decades, with reports increasing in frequency over the last twenty years, suggesting a possible rise in their global distribution, frequency, and intensity. Microcoleus can produce anatoxins which are neurotoxic, and ingestion of toxic...
Mount Rainier volcanic hazard information
Holly F. Weiss-Racine, Joseph A. Bard, Jessica L. Ball, Carolyn L. Mastin
2026, General Information Product 265
Introduction Eruptions at Mount Rainier produce lava flows, plumes of airborne volcanic ash, and avalanches of hot rock, ash, and gas—pyroclastic flows—that rush down the steep, ice-covered slopes of the volcano. Hot rock and ash ejected during an eruption can melt large quantities of snow and ice, forming huge, fast moving...
Evaluation of benthic habitat change within the national historic sites of Hawaiʻi’s Kona Coast
Meredith Leigh McPherson, Joshua B. Logan, Kristen Alkins, Sarah Groff, Gerry A. Hatcher, Ann E. Gibbs, Susan Cochran, Curt D. Storlazzi
2026, Open-File Report 2026-1061
Executive Summary Coral bleaching events have become increasingly common across the Hawaiian Archipelago since 1996 because of more frequent and intense marine heatwaves. The most significant bleaching event to date occurred from 2014 to 2015, which resulted in catastrophic state-wide coral loss. Bleaching events with less severe effects also occurred in...
Assessment of natural gas pipeline construction on stream temperature and turbidity in southwestern Virginia, 2017–25
Brendan M. Foster, Carly Marcella Maas, Alejandra Logan Flota
2026, Scientific Investigations Report 2026-5011
Despite the extensive natural gas pipeline network in the United States that intersects streams and other sensitive habitats, few case studies use a comparative upstream-to-downstream approach to evaluate potential short- and long-term effects of pipeline stream crossings from pre-construction through post-restoration. In 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with...
Proceedings of the Floodplain Vegetation Monitoring Workshop for the Long Term Resource Monitoring Element of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program, January 7–8, 2025, Moline, Illinois
Shelby A. Weiss, Matthew L. Trumper, Nathan R. De Jager, Lyle J. Guyon, Molly Van Appledorn
2026, Open-File Report 2026-1001
Preface In anticipation for increased funding made possible by the Water Resources Development Act of 2020, the Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program identified a need to conduct river-wide assessments of floodplain vegetation. In January 2025, we assembled a group of subject matter experts to perform the following tasks:Review Upper Mississippi...
Opportunities and challenges in using Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking (SPATT) samplers for monitoring cyanotoxins in freshwater and estuarine environments
Andrea Cecile Jaegge, Keith Bouma-Gregson, Thomas D. Byl, Kurt D. Carpenter, Victoria Christensen, Rebecca M. Gorney, Jennifer L. Graham, Heather A. Heckathorn, Hayley T. Olds, Pamela A. Reilly, Joshua J. Rosen, Michael D.W. Stouder
2026, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5093
Cyanobacterial toxins (cyanotoxins) represent a substantial threat to drinking water supplies and safe recreational uses of freshwater resources in watersheds worldwide. Monitoring cyanotoxins can be difficult because toxin events are variable in both space and time, are not always persistent, can be moved easily by wind and currents, and may...
The Sedimentary Geochemistry and Paleoenvironments Project Phase 2 data release: An open data resource for the study of Earth's environmental history
Una Farrell, Hunter Olson, Maya Thompson, Michelle L. Abshire, Oyeleye Adeboye, Anne-Sofie Ahm, Lewis Alcott, Thomas Algeo, Ross Anderson, Arif Ansari, Lucas Bastos, Kohen Bauer, Brian Beaty, Justin E. Birdwell, Fred Bowyer, Jochen J. Brocks, Tessa Brunoir, James F. Busch, Donald Canfield, Fabrício Caxito, Chao-Chin Chang, Meng Cheng, Jean Clemente, David Cordie, Peter W. Crockford, Huan Cui, Celeste Cunningham, Tais Dahl, Janaina Rodrigues de Paula, Carol Dehler, Lucas Del Mouro, Keith Dewing, Dermeval Aparecido do Carmo, Stephen Dornbos, Nadja Drabon, Julie A. Dumoulin, Omabehere Ejeh, Emily Ellefson, Maya Elrick, Joseph Emmings, Bokanda Eric, Hao Fang, Gabriella Fazio, Henrique Fernandes, Katherine L. French, Robert R. Gaines, Richard Gaschnig, Timothy M. Gibson, Geoffrey J. Gilleaudeau, Karin Goldberg, Zheng Gong, Amy Hagen, Galen P. Halverson, Kalev G. Hantsoo, Emma R. Haxen, Miles A. Henderson, João-Pedro Hippertt, Malcolm S. W. Hodgskiss, Paul Hoffman, Edward Huang, Benjamin Johnson, Pavel B. Kabanov, Junyao Kang, C. Brenhin Keller, Brian Kendall, Julien Kimmig, Sara Kimmig, Michael A. Kipp, Andrew H. Knoll, Timmu Kreitsmann, Anurag Kulkarni, Alexandra Kunert, Marcus Kunzmann, Jiankang Lai, Richard O. Lease, Chao Li, Sen Li, Alex Lipp, Yang Liu, David Loydell, Xinze Lu, Katie Maloney, Kaarel Mänd, Alexie E. G. Millikin, N. Tanner Mills, Kento Motomura, Chiza N. Mwinde, Lyle Nelson, Nora M. Nieminski, Brennan O'Connell, Edel Mary O'Sullivan, Juliana Okubo, Jaden Olah, Frantz Ossa Ossa, Chadlin Ostrander, Kärt Paiste, Camille A. Partin, Egberto Pereira, Shanan Peters, Tiffany L. Playter, Susannah M. Porter, Simon W. Poulton, Sara B. Pruss, Zhen Qiu, Daven Quinn, Mariano Remirez, Sebastian Richiano, Sylvain Richoz, Kathryn Rico, Samantha R. Ritzer, Zachary Roney, Alan D. Rooney, William C. Rose, Elias Rugen, Swapan K. Sahoo, Shane D. Schoepfer, Judith A. Sclafani, Nathan D. Sheldon, Yanan Shen, Graham Shields, Pulkit Singh, Arvind Singh, Sarah P. Slotznick, Emily Smith, Haijun Song, Sam Spinks, Richard G. Stockey, Justin Strauss, Eva Stüeken, Zongyuan Sun, Dongjie Tang, Lidya Tarhan, Danielle Thomson, Nicholas Tosca, Rosalie Tostevin, Chenyi Tu, Maoli Vizcaíno, Yuxuan Wang, Changle Wang, Xiaomei Wang, Lucas Warren, Lucy Webb, Philip R. Wilby, Christina R. Woltz, Rachel Wood, Yuyang Wu, Xiuqing Yang, Inessa A. Yurchenko, Junpeng Zhang, Jessica Whiteside, Benjamin C. Gill, Akshay Mehra, Kimberly V. Lau, Noah J. Planavsky, David T. Johnston, Erik A Sperling
2026, Chemical Geology (712)
Geochemical data from sedimentary rocks are the primary source of information regarding Earth's surface evolution through time, including its air and water envelopes and interactions with life and deep Earth processes. The Sedimentary Geochemistry and Paleoenvironments Project (SGP) is a scientific consortium centered around open data and community-driven development of...
Phytoplankton responses to experimental nitrogen and phosphorus loading in the eutrophic and colored Caloosahatchee River, Florida
Viviana Mazzei, Keith A. Loftin, Emily Karwacki, Jose V. Lopez, Lauren E. Krausfeldt, Barry H. Rosen, Hidetoshi Urakawa
2026, Scientific Investigations Report 2026-5141
The Caloosahatchee River, located in southwest Florida, is a eutrophic and colored river that flows from Lake Okeechobee westward into its estuary and the Gulf of America. Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (HABs) are a documented problem along this freshwater-to-marine waterway where nutrient enrichment has been identified as a key factor...
Occurrence of cyanobacteria and associated cyanotoxins in the Raritan Basin Water Supply Complex, New Jersey, August 2020 to August 2021
Rebecca M. Gorney, Heather A. Heckathorn, Kyle R. Clonan, Pamela A. Reilly, Kathryn Cahalane, Bradley W. Bjorklund
2026, Scientific Investigations Report 2026-5128
Harmful algal blooms, particularly cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs), have emerged as a substantial global concern because of their detrimental effects on water quality and aquatic ecosystem health. CyanoHABs can produce cyanotoxins, which pose serious health risks to humans and wildlife, such as liver failure and respiratory distress. This is...
Arsenic and isotope concentrations in the lower Platte River valley of eastern Nebraska, early 1970s to 2023
Matthew T. Moser, Mikaela L. Cherry, Brent M. Hall
2026, Scientific Investigations Report 2026-5138
The City of Lincoln, Nebraska, has been monitoring concentrations of arsenic in their source water and evaluating their options for treatment and removal since at least 2002. In 2022, the City of Lincoln, Nebr., with funding assistance from the Nebraska Water Sustainability Fund, began cooperating with the U.S. Geological Survey...
Escherichia coli monitoring and assessment in 2022 and 2023 after beach restoration at Lake St. Clair Metropark Beach, Macomb County, Michigan
Hayden A. Lockmiller, Victoria (Tori) Byers, Lisa R. Fogarty
2026, Scientific Investigations Report 2026-5134
Lake St. Clair Metropark Beach in Michigan has a history of closures because of elevated Escherichia coli (E. coli) concentrations in its recreational waters. To reduce closures, restoration projects were implemented in 2021 to deter waterfowl from congregating on the beach. In this study, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation...
Simulation of groundwater flow to evaluate hydrogeologic controls on a PFAS plume, Coakley Landfill Superfund Site, Rockingham County, New Hampshire
Phil Harte, Andrew L. Collins
2026, Preprint
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), have been detected at combined concentrations above 2,000 nanograms per liter (ng/L) at groundwater seep locations near the Coakley Landfill Superfund site, in North Hampton, New Hampshire. The landfill was active from 1972 to 1985. An impermeable...
Describing the seasonal abundance and growth rates of larval fishes across productivity gradients in Lake Huron in 2017
David B. Bunnell, Lauren A. Eaton, Patricia M. Dieter, Paris D. Collingsworth, Joel C. Hoffman, Mark D. Rowe, Wendylee Stott, Amanda Susanne Ackiss, Edward S. Rutherford
2026, Journal of Great Lakes Research
Several of the Laurentian Great Lakes, including Lake Huron, have undergone oligotrophication in the past decades and prey fish biomass has concomitantly declined. One potential mechanism to explain declines in prey fish is slower growth and lower survival at the larval stage. To determine whether reduced productivity...
Natural language processing for groundwater insights
Catherine Christenson, Kurt J. McCoy
2026, Groundwater
No abstract available....
Selected water-quality data from the Cedar River and Cedar Rapids well fields, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 2017–22
Shannon M. Meppelink, Stephen J. Kalkhoff
2026, Data Report 1224
The Cedar River alluvial aquifer is the source of drinking water in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Production wells are completed in the alluvial aquifer approximately 40 to 80 feet below land surface. The City of Cedar Rapids and the U.S. Geological Survey have studied the groundwater-flow system and water quality of...
Abundance and movement patterns of fish accessing a reconnected Lake Erie coastal wetland: Insights from high-resolution sonar data
Kurt P. Kowalski, Alexandra A. Bozimowski, McKenzie K.H. Smith, Michael R. Eggleston, Maxwell F. Ramsay, Holly J. Eschenburg
2026, Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management (28) 66-85
Coastal wetlands of the Laurentian Great Lakes are complex ecosystems that provide essential biological services, including providing habitat for a suite of fish species. As restoration efforts for these coastal wetlands increase, there is a need to characterize how well restored areas support the life histories of wetland, riverine, and...
