Hydrology and water quality of the Great Dismal Swamp, Virginia and North Carolina, and implications for hydrologic-management goals and strategies
Gary K. Speiran, Frederic C. Wurster
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5100
The Great Dismal Swamp is a peat wetland in the Coastal Plain of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. Timber harvesting and the construction of ditches to drain the swamp and facilitate the harvesting are collectively implicated in changes that altered the wetland forests, caused subsidence and decomposition of the...
Assessing specific-capacity data and short-term aquifer testing to estimate hydraulic properties in alluvial aquifers of the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA
Connor P. Newman, Zachary D. Kisfalusi, Michael J. Holmberg
2021, Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies (38) 1-20
Study Region: Rocky Mountains, United StatesStudy Focus: Groundwater-flow modeling requires estimates of hydraulic properties, namely hydraulic conductivity. Hydraulic conductivity values commonly vary over orders of magnitudes however and estimation may require extensive field campaigns applying slug or pumping tests. As an alternative, specific-capacity tests can be used to estimate hydraulic...
Manganese in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system, eastern USA—Modeling regional occurrence with pH, redox, and machine learning
Leslie A. DeSimone, Katherine Marie Ransom
2021, Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies (37)
Study region: The study was conducted in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system, eastern USA, an important water supply in a densely populated region.Study focus: Manganese (Mn), an emerging health concern and common nuisance contaminant in drinking water, is mapped and modeled using the XGBoost machine learning method, predictions...
Hierarchical clustering for paired watershed experiments: Case study in southeastern Arizona, U.S.A.
Roy Petrakis, Laura M. Norman, Kurt Vaughn, Richard Pritzlaff, Caleb Weaver, Audrey J Rader, H. Ronald Pulliam
2021, Water (13)
Watershed studies are often onerous due to a lack of data available to portray baseline conditions with which to compare results of monitoring environmental effects. A paired-watershed approach is often adopted to simulate baseline conditions in an adjacent watershed that can be comparable but assumes there is...
Machine learning predictions of nitrate in groundwater used for drinking supply in the conterminous United States
Katherine Marie Ransom, Bernard T. Nolan, Paul E. Stackelberg, Kenneth Belitz, Miranda S. Fram
2021, Science of the Total Environment
Groundwater is an important source of drinking water supplies in the conterminous United State (CONUS), and presence of high nitrate concentrations may limit usability of groundwater in some areas because of the...
Effects of hydrologic variability and remedial actions on first flush and metal loading from streams draining the Silverton caldera, 1992–2014
Tanya N Petach, Robert L. Runkel, Rory M. Cowie, Diane M. McKnight
2021, Hydrological Processes (35)
This study examined water quality in the upper Animas River watershed, a mined watershed that gained notoriety following the 2015 Gold King mine release of acid mine drainage to downstream communities. Water-quality data were used to evaluate trends in metal concentrations and loads over a two-decade...
Active neutron interrogation experiments and simulation verification using the SIngle-scintillator Neutron and Gamma-Ray spectrometer (SINGR) for geosciences
Lena E. Heffern, Craig J. Hardgrove, Ann Parsons, E. B. Johnson, R. Starr, G. Stoddard, R. E. Blakeley, T. Prettyman, Travis S.J. Gabriel, H. Barnaby, J. Christian, M.A. Unzueta, C. Tate, Alynn Martin, J. Moersch
2021, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment (1020)
We present a new SIngle-scintillator Neutron and Gamma Ray spectrometer (SINGR) instrument for use with both passive and active measurement techniques. Here we discuss the application of SINGR for planetary exploration missions, however, hydrology, nuclear non-proliferation, and resource prospecting are all...
Potential for carbon and nitrogen sequestration by restoring tidal connectivity and enhancing soil surface elevations in denuded and degraded south Florida mangrove ecosystems
N. Cormier, Ken Krauss, Amanda Demopoulos, Brita J. Jessen, Jennifer McClain Counts, Andrew From, Laura L. Flynn
Ken W. Krauss, Zhiliang Zhu, Camille L. Stagg, editor(s)
2021, Book chapter, Wetland carbon and environmental management
Mangroves are tidally dependent wetlands that are influenced often by alterations in hydrology associated with coastal developments that impact their distribution, health, and function. Alteration in frequency, depth, duration, and seasonality of tidal inundation can lead to changes in forest condition, although these stress-adapted ecosystems may persist for many years...
Modeling the impacts of hydrology and management on carbon balance at the Great Dismal Swamp, Virginia and North Carolina, USA
Rachel Sleeter
Ken W. Krauss, Zhiliang Zhu, Camille L. Stagg, editor(s)
2021, Book chapter, Wetland carbon and environmental management
The impact of drainage on the stability of peatland carbon sinks is well known; however, much less is understood regarding the way active management of the water-table affects carbon balance. In this study, we determined the carbon balance in the Great Dismal Swamp, a large, forested peatland in the southeastern...
Summary of wetland carbon and environmental management: Path forward
Zhiliang Zhu, Ken Krauss, Camille Stagg, Eric Ward, Victoria Woltz
Zhiliang Zhu, Ken W. Krauss, Camille L. Stagg, editor(s)
2021, Book chapter, Wetland carbon and environmental management
Wetlands around the world are under pressure from both anthropogenic sources such as land-use change and accelerating climate change (Erwin, 2009; Moomaw et al., 2018). Storage of carbon resources is a key ecosystem service of wetlands and offer natural solutions to climate change mitigation; policies and management actions could determine...
The importance of wetland carbon dynamics to society: Insight from the Second State of the Carbon Cycle Science Report
Randall Kolka, Carl Trettin, Lisamarie Windham-Myers
Ken W. Krauss, Zhiliang Zhu, Camille L. Stagg, editor(s)
2021, Book chapter, Wetland carbon and environmental management
The Second State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR2) culminated in 19 chapters that spanned all North American sectors – from Energy Systems to Agriculture and Land Use – known to be important for understanding carbon (C) cycling and accounting. Wetlands, both inland and coastal, were found to be significant...
Land management strategies influence soil organic carbon stocks of prairie potholes of North America
Sheel Bansal, Brian Tangen, Robert A. Gleason, Pascal Badiou, Irena F. Creed
2021, Book chapter, Wetland Carbon and Environmental Management
Soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks of Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) wetlands in the central plains of Canada and the United States are highly variable due to natural variation in biota, soils, climate, hydrology, and topography. Land-use history (cropland, grassland) and land-management practices (drainage, restoration) also affect SOC...
Developing climate resilience in aridlands using rock detention structures as green infrastructure
Laura M. Norman, Benjamin L. Ruddell, Deborah Tosline, Michael Fell, Blair P. Greimann, Jay Cederberg
2021, Sustainability (13)
The potential of ecological restoration and green infrastructure has been long suggested in the literature as adaptation strategies for a changing climate, with an emphasis on revegetation and, more recently, carbon sequestration and stormwater management. Tree planting and “natural” stormwater detention structures such as bioswales, stormwater detention...
A riverscape approach reveals downstream propagation of stream thermal responses to riparian thinning at multiple scales
David A. Roon, Jason B. Dunham, Christian E. Torgersen
2021, Ecosphere (12)
Hydrological connectivity in river networks influences their response to environmental changes as local effects may extend downstream via flowing water. For example, localized changes in riparian forest conditions can affect stream temperatures, and these effects may propagate downstream. However, studies evaluating stream temperature responses to riparian forest management have not...
Cimarron River alluvial aquifer hydrogeologic framework, water budget, and implications for future water availability in the Pawnee Nation Tribal jurisdictional area, Payne County, Oklahoma, 2016–18
Nicole Paizis, A.R. Trevisan
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5073
The Cimarron River is a free-flowing river and is a major source of water as it flows across Oklahoma. Increased demand for water resources within the Cimarron River alluvial aquifer in north-central Oklahoma (primarily in Payne County) has led to increases in groundwater withdrawals for agriculture, public, irrigation, industrial, and...
Hydrologic and ecological investigations in the School Branch watershed, Hendricks County, Indiana—Water years 2016–2018
Aubrey R. Bunch, Dawn R. McCausland, E. Randall Bayless
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5061
School Branch in Hendricks County in central Indiana, is a small stream with a variety of agricultural and suburban land uses that drains into the Eagle Creek Reservoir, a major source of drinking water for Indianapolis, Indiana. The School Branch watershed has become the focus of a collaborative partnership of...
Grand challenges of hydrologic modeling for food-energy-water nexus security in high mountain Asia
Shruti K. Mishra, Summer Rupper, Sarah B. Kapnick, Kimberly Ann Casey, Hoi Ga Chan, Enrico Ciraci, Umesh Haritashya, John Hayse, Jeffrey S. Kargel, Rijan Kayatha, Nir Y. Krakauer, Sujay Kumar, Richard B. Lammers, Vivian Maggioni, Steven A. Margulis, Mathew Olson, Batuhan Osmanoglu, Yun Qian, Sasha McLarty, Karl Rittger, David R. Rounce, David Shean, Isabella Velicogna, Thomas D. Veselka, Anthony Arendt
2021, Frontiers in Water (3)
Climate-influenced changes in hydrology affect water-food-energy security that may impact up to two billion people downstream of the High Mountain Asia (HMA) region. Changes in water supply affect energy, industry, transportation, and ecosystems (agriculture, fisheries) and as a result, also affect the region's social, environmental, and economic fabrics. Sustaining...
Post-drought groundwater storage recovery in California’s Central Valley
Sarfaraz Alam, Mekonnen Gebremichael, Zhaoxin Ban, Bridget R. Scanlon, Gabriel B. Senay, D. P. Lettenmaier
2021, Water Resources Research (57)
Groundwater depletion is a major threat to agricultural and municipal water supply in California's Central Valley. Recent droughts during 2007–2009 and 2012–2016 exacerbated chronic groundwater depletion. However, it is unclear how much groundwater storage recovered from drought-related overdrafts during post-drought years, and how climatic conditions and water...
Complex vulnerabilities of the water and aquatic carbon cycles to permafrost thaw
Michelle A. Walvoord, Robert G. Striegl
2021, Frontiers in Climate (3)
The spatial distribution and depth of permafrost are changing in response to warming and landscape disturbance across northern Arctic and boreal regions. This alters the infiltration, flow, surface and subsurface distribution, and hydrologic connectivity of inland waters. Such changes in the water cycle consequently alter the source, transport, and biogeochemical...
Vulnerability assessment in and near Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota
Kristen J. Valseth
2021, Scientific Investigations Map 3479
Theodore Roosevelt National Park is in western North Dakota and was established in 1978 under the National Wilderness Preservation system to preserve and protect the qualities of the North Dakota Badlands, including the wildlife, scenery, and wilderness. The park is made up of three units (North, Elkhorn Ranch, and South)...
Delineation of areas contributing groundwater and travel times to receiving waters in Kings, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties, New York
Paul E. Misut, Nicole A. Casamassina, Donald A. Walter
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5047
To assist resource managers and planners in developing informed strategies to address nitrogen loading to coastal water bodies of Long Island, New York, the U.S. Geological Survey and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation initiated a program to delineate areas contributing groundwater to coastal water bodies by assembling a...
Hydrogeology and simulation of groundwater flow in Columbia County, Wisconsin
Madeline Gotkowitz, Andrew T. Leaf, Steven M. Sellwood
2021, Report
This report describes the regional hydrogeology and groundwater resources of Columbia County, Wisconsin, and documents a regional groundwater flow model developed for the county. Regional hydrostratigraphic units include the unlithified aquifer, the upper bedrock aquifer, and the Elk Mound aquifer. The unlithified aquifer consists of deposits that range in composition from...
Floodplain forest tree seedling response to variation in flood timing and duration
W.A. Kroschel, Sammy L. King
2021, Forest Ecology and Management (502)
The regeneration process is a sensitive period within life cycles of floodplain tree species and can strongly influence forest community composition. Yet, fundamental information remains limited on the relationship between regeneration processes and the flood disturbances that, together, construct floodplain forest landscapes. In a controlled greenhouse experiment we tested the effects of complete submergence on six...
Clays are not created equal: How clay mineral type affects soil parameterization
Peter Lehmann, Ben Leshchinsky, Surya Gupta, Benjamin B. Mirus, Samuel Bickel, Ning Lu, Dani Or
2021, Geophysical Research Letters (48)
Clay minerals dominate the soil colloidal fraction and its specific surface area. Differences among clay mineral types significantly influence their effects on soil hydrological and mechanical behavior. Presently, the soil clay content is used to parameterize soil hydraulic and mechanical properties (SHMP) for land surface models while...
Effect of an algal amendment on the microbial conversion of coal to methane at different sulfate concentrations from the Powder River Basin, USA
Heidi J. Smith, Hannah S. Schweitzer, Elliott Barnhart, William H. Orem, Robin Gerlach, Matthew W. Fields
2021, International Journal of Coal Geology (248)
Biogenic methane is estimated to account for one-fifth of the natural gas worldwide and there is great interest in controlling methane from different sources. Biogenic coalbed methane (CBM) production relies on syntrophic associations between fermentative bacteria and methanogenic archaea to anaerobically degrade recalcitrant coal and produce methanogenic substrates. However, very...