Public, bottled, and private drinking water: Shared contaminant-mixture exposures and effects challenge
Paul M. Bradley, Kristin M. Romanok, Kelly Smalling, Stephanie E. Gordon, Bradley J. Huffman, Katie Paul Friedman, Daniel L. Villeneuve, Brett R. Blackwell, Suzanne C. Fitzpatrick, Michael Focazio, Elizabeth Medlock-Kakaley, Shannon M. Meppelink, Ana Navas-Acien, Anne E. Nigra, Molly L. Schreiner
2025, Environment International (195)
BACKGROUND: Humans are primary drivers of environmental contaminant exposures worldwide, including in drinking-water (DW). In the United States (US), point-of-use DW (POU DW) is supplied via private tapwater (TW, predominantly private wells), public-supply TW, and bottled water (BW). Differences in management, monitoring, and messaging and lack of directly intercomparable exposure...
Predictability and behavior of water transfers across basin boundaries
Ken Eng, Laura Medalie, Kenneth D. Skinner, Tamara Ivahnenko, Julian A. Heilman, Jared David Smith
2025, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (61)
Inter-basin water transfers (IBTs) are important components of water balances of basins, and they can have substantial impact on regional water availability. Flow information is often not available at locations with known IBTs, which is a drawback in several published IBT databases. Few, if any, studies examine whether IBT flow...
Ensemble methods for parameter estimation of WRF-Hydro
Arezoo RafieeiNasab, Michael N. Fienen, Nina Omani, Ishita Srivastava, Aubrey Dugger
2025, Water Resources Research (61)
The WRF-Hydro hydrological model has been used in many applications in the past with some level of history matching in the majority of these studies. In this study, we use the iterative Ensemble Smoother (iES), a powerful parameter estimation methodology implemented in the open-source PEST++ software. The iES provides an...
A universal method for the simultaneous determination of environmental pollutants in marine biological samples: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and antibiotics as a case study
Di Fang, Ge Yang, Bentuo Xu, Jialin Li, Jiayi Lin, Chunmiao Zheng, Jason Tyler Magnuson, Wenhui Qiu
2025, ACS ES&T Water (5) 274-283
Conventional detection technologies for environmental contaminants have primarily focused on providing accurate qualitative and quantitative evaluations for single pollutant types, leading to increased costs and an inability to satisfy the growing demand for detecting a broader spectrum of pollutants. Here, we introduced a novel analytical method to simultaneously measure the...
Biophysical simulation of wetland surface water flow to predict changing water availability in the Everglades
Judson Harvey, Jay Choi, Walter Wilcox, Michael C. Brown, Wasantha Lal
2025, Ecological Engineering (212)
A central challenge for water managers is to adaptively manage water availability to meet societal needs while simultaneously protecting ecosystems. Progress restoring the Everglades requires predictions of how overland flow of surface water can be increased to rehydrate and revive downstream areas without causing unintended harms. We developed a biophysical...
Identifying lakes critical to the westward spread and establishment of zebra mussels
David A. Creamer, Jane S. Rogosch, Renaldo Patino, Monica E. McGarrity
2025, Biological Conservation (302)
Damaging aquatic invasive species, such as the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), pose an ongoing concern for potential introduction and establishment in the western United States. Our study applied habitat suitability indices and network analysis to identify lakes critical to the continued westward spread and establishment of zebra mussels from a key...
Practical application of time-lapse camera imagery to develop water-level data for three hydrologic monitoring sites in Wisconsin during water year 2020
Keegan Eland Johnson, Paul Reneau, Matthew J. Komiskey
2025, Journal of Hydrology X (26)
Using camera imagery to measure water level (camera-stage) is a well-researched area of study. Previous camera-stage studies have shown promising results when implementing this technology with tight constraints on test conditions. However, there is a need for a more comprehensive evaluation of the extensibility of camera-stage to practical applications. Therefore,...
Intersection of wildfire and legacy mining poses risk to water quality
Sheila F. Murphy, Johanna Blake, Brian A. Ebel, Deborah A. Martin
2025, Environmental Science and Technology (59) 35-44
Mining and wildfires are both landscape disturbances that pose elevated and substantial hazards to water supplies and ecosystems due to increased erosion and transport of sediment, metals, and debris to downstream waters. The risk to water supplies may be amplified when these disturbances occur in the same watershed. This work...
Evaluating approaches for integrating species distributions in spatial conservation planning
Jason M. Winiarski, Amy A. Shipley, Drew Nathan Fowler, Matthew D. Palumbo, Jacob N. Straub
2025, Conservation Science and Practice (7)
Map-based decision support tools (DSTs) that use species distributions are an important means of identifying priority areas for conservation. The 2020 Wisconsin Waterfowl Habitat Conservation Strategy (WWHCS) uses a DST to identify priority ecological landscapes and watersheds to guide waterfowl habitat projects. The WWHCS DST relies on waterfowl habitat suitability...
Examining inter-regional and intra-seasonal differences in wintering waterfowl landscape associations among Pacific and Atlantic flyways
Matthew J. Hardy, Christopher K. Williams, Brian S. Ladman, Maurice E. Pitesky, Cory T. Overton, Michael L. Casazza, Elliott Matchett, Diann Prosser, Jeffrey J. Buler
2025, Journal of Avian Biology (2025)
The Central Valley of California (CVC) and Mid-Atlantic (MA) in the U.S. are both critical sites for nationwide food security, and many waterfowl species annually, especially during the winter, providing feeding and roosting locations for a variety of species. Mapping waterfowl distributions, using NEXRAD, may aid in the adaptive management...
Intra-urban variations in land surface phenology in a semi-arid environment
Ben Crawford, Kathy Kelsey, Peter Christian Ibsen, Amanda Rees, Amanda Charobee
2025, Environmental Research Letters (20)
Urban vegetation is growing in importance as cities use 'green infrastructure' to mitigate the impacts of climate change, reduce extreme heat, and improve human health and comfort. However, due to the heterogeneity of city landscapes, urban vegetation experiences a diverse range of environmental conditions, potentially leading to differences in growing...
Prioritizing US Geological Survey science on salinization and salinity in candidate and selected priority river basins
Christopher H. Conaway, Nancy T. Baker, Craig J. Brown, Christopher T. Green, Douglas B. Kent
2025, Enviornmental Monitoring and Assessment (197)
The US Geological Survey (USGS) is selecting and prioritizing basins, known as Integrated Water Science basins, for monitoring and intensive study. Previous efforts to aid in this selection process include a scientifically defensible and quantitative assessment of basins facing human-caused water resource challenges (Van Metre et al. in Environmental Monitoring...
Hypothetical CO2 leakage into, and hydrological plume management within, an underground source of drinking water at a proposed CO2 storage facility, Kemper County, Mississippi, USA
Michelle R. Plampin, Matthew D. Merrill
2025, Environmental Geosciences (84)
A large Geologic Carbon Sequestration (GCS) hub has been proposed in Kemper County, Mississippi. The target injection interval consists of numerous Cretaceous-aged deep saline aquifers overlain by a competent and extensive regional sealing layer. Above the seal, the deepest Underground Source of Drinking Water (USDW) at the site is the...
Participatory engagement to reduce communication gaps
Legna M. Torres-Garcia, Manuel Valdés Pizzini, Krystalliá Valdés-Calderón, Donya P. Frank-Gilchrist, Dawn Marie Kotowicz, Emmanuel Maldonado, Priscila Vargas-Babilonia
2025, Natural Hazards (121) 6367-6390
Underserved communities, especially those in coastal areas in Puerto Rico, face significant threats from natural hazards such as hurricanes and rising sea levels. Limited funding hinders the investment in costly mitigation measures, increasing exposure to natural disasters. Providing coastal resources and data products through effective communication mechanisms is fundamental to...
Imperiled Great Basin terminal lakes: Synthesizing ecological and hydrological science gaps and research needs for waterbird conservation
Garth Herring, Ashley L. Whipple, Cameron L. Aldridge, Bryce Alan Pulver, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Rich D. Inman, Elliott Matchett, Adrian P. Monroe, Elizabeth Kari Orning, Benjamin Seward Robb, Jessica E. Shyvers, Bryan C. Tarbox, Nathan D. Van Schmidt, Cassandra Smith, Matthew J. Holloran, Cory T. Overton, David O’Leary, Michael L. Casazza, Rebecca J. Frus
2025, BioScience (75) 112-126
Terminal lakes are declining globally because of human water demands, drought, and climate change. Through literature synthesis and feedback from the resource and conservation community, we review the state of research for terminal lakes in the Great Basin of the United States, which support millions of waterbirds annually, to prioritize...
Late Amazonian ice near Athabasca Valles, Mars: Recent megaflood or climate change?
Colin M. Dundas, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Kaj E. Williams
2025, Icarus (429)
The Athabasca Valles outflow channel system is among the youngest such channels on Mars, with the Athabasca Valles flood lava (AVFL) covering the channel floor and reaching far beyond. Volcanic rootless cones on the AVFL indicate the presence of H2O in the shallow subsurface at the time of lava emplacement....
Great Lakes mallard population dynamics
Benjamin Z. Luukkonen, Scott R. Winterstein, Daniel B. Hayes, Drew Nathan Fowler, Gregory J. Soulliere, John M. Coluccy, Amy A. Shipley, John Simpson, Brendan Shirkey, Jason M. Winiarski, Benjamin J. O’Neal, Barbara A. Avers, Gerald R. Urquhart, Philip Lavretsky
2025, Journal of Wildlife Management (89)
Breeding mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) populations in the Great Lakes region (Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, USA) declined by >40% between 2000–2022 based on abundance data collected during spring aerial surveys. Mallards are an important waterfowl species in this region, where an estimated 60–80% of the mallard harvest is composed of locally banded...
Sampling for disease surveillance: Assessing effects on blue-winged teal survival and recovery
Rose J. Swift, Todd W. Arnold, Deborah L. Carter, Paul K. Link, Rebecca L. Poulson, David E. Stallknecht, Aaron T. Pearse
2025, Journal of Wildlife Management (89)
Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in wild animals highlight the need for disease surveillance in wild birds to improve our understanding of their role as reservoirs and dispersers, and potential threats to domestic poultry and wild bird populations. Surveillance for avian influenza varies in its approach, objectives, and...
Changes in streamflow seasonality associated with hydroclimatic variability in the north-central United States among three discrete temporal periods, 1946–2020
Nancy A. Barth, Harper N. Wavra, Anthony R Koebele, Steven K. Sando
2025, Journal of Hydrology—Regional Studies (57)
Study regionNorth-central United StatesStudy focusThis study uses circular statistics to characterize the seasonal properties of annual maximum (AMS) and peaks-over-threshold (POT) streamflow time series for 841 and 623 selected U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgages, respectively, without regulation or substantial diversion...
Drought before fire increases tree mortality after fire
C. Alina Cansler, Micah C. Wright, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Timothy M. Shearman, J. Morgan Varner, Sharon M. Hood
2025, Ecosphere (15)
Fire and drought are expected to increase in frequency and severity in temperate forests due to climate change. To evaluate whether drought increases the likelihood of post-fire tree mortality, we used a large database of tree survival and mortality from 32 years of wildland fires covering four dominant western North American...
Smectite-rich horizons in Inceptisols trigger shallow landslides in tropical granitic terranes
Peter C. Ryan, D. Mahmud, K. L. Derenoncourt, L. F. Nerbonne, I. L. Perez-Martin, J. Reyes Collovati, M. Junaid, Corina Cerovski-Darriau
2025, Geoderma Regional (40)
Puerto Rico was affected by >70,000 landslides in the wake of 2017 Hurricane Maria, and landslide prevalence was especially high in the Utuado region in the Cordillera Central. Landslide density was highest where soil parent material is granodiorite; landslide slip surfaces tended to be shallow (<60 cm), and often were mobilized...
Hurricane wave energy dissipation and wave-driven currents over a fringing reef
Zoe Zimmerman, Ryan Mulligan, Curt D. Storlazzi
2025, Coral Reefs (44) 291-308
In 2018, two successive tropical cyclones, Hurricane Hector and Hurricane Lane, generated waves that impacted the Hawaiian Islands. This study investigates wave breaking over a broad fringing reef and aims to quantify the magnitudes and length scales of the corresponding wave-driven circulation using detailed field observations and numerical models corresponding...
Evaluation of solid bitumen created from marine oil shale bituminite under hydrous and anhydrous pyrolysis conditions
Paul C. Hackley, Brett J. Valentine, Ryan J. McAleer, Javin J. Hatcherian, Jennifer Nedzweckas, Bonnie McDevitt, Imran Khan
2025, Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis (186)
To test the influence of environmental conditions on aromaticity of solid bitumen generated during petroleum generation, four organic-rich (26–36 wt% total organic carbon) oil shale samples collected from the Neoproterozoic–Lower Cambrian restricted marine Salt Range Formation in the upper Indus Basin, Pakistan, were pyrolyzed under hydrous and anhydrous conditions. Experiments used...
Arsenic accumulation in Sonora Mud Turtles (Kinosternon sonoriense) in an unusual freshwater food web
Jeffrey E. Lovich, Thomas R. Kulp, Charles A. Drost, Rodrigo Macipríos, Susan Knowles, Joshua R. Ennen
2025, Chelonian Conservation and Biology (23) 236-245
Montezuma Well is an unusual fishless, spring-fed, desert wetland in central Arizona. Water in the wetland is naturally enriched with > 100 µg/l dissolved geogenic arsenic (As) and supports a simple aquatic food web dominated by a small number of endemic invertebrate species that achieve high abundances. Previous studies of As...
The joint effect of changes in urbanization and climate on trends in floods: A comparison of panel and single-station quantile regression approaches
Thomas M. Over, Mackenzie K. Marti, Jaqueline Ortiz, Hannah Lee Podzorski
2025, Journal of Hydrology (648)
Estimates of annual maximum (peak) flow quantiles are needed for basins undergoing changes in both urbanization and climate. Most previous work on the effect of urbanization on peak flows has considered urbanization alone and only the spatial variation in flood quantiles...
