Characterization of historical and stochastically generated climate and streamflow conditions in the Souris River Basin, United States and Canada
Angela Gregory, Joel M. Galloway
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5044
The Souris River Basin is a 61,000-square-kilometer basin in the Provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba in Canada and the State of North Dakota in the United States. Greater than average snowpack during the winter of 2010–11, along with record-setting rains in May and June 2011, resulted in historically unprecedented flooding...
Appendix C: Central sands lakes study technical report: Modeling documentation
Michael N. Fienen, Megan J. Haserodt, Andrew T. Leaf, Stephen, M. Westenbroek
2021, Report
This report provides the necessary documentation of the numerical models developed for the Central Sands Lake study in central Wisconsin and will be included as a technical appendix in the report to the Wisconsin State Legislature by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) in response to 2017 Wisconsin Act...
Hydrologic and hydraulic analyses of selected streams near the city of Rittman in Wayne and Medina Counties, Ohio
Chad J. Ostheimer
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5040
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District and the city of Rittman, Ohio, did a study to provide data to update and expand parts of two Federal Emergency Management Agency Flood Insurance Studies. The study consisted of hydrologic and hydraulic analyses for selected reaches of...
Hydrologic variation influences stream fish assemblage dynamics through flow regime and drought
Daniel D. Magoulick, M. P. Dekar, S. W. Hodges, M. K. Scott, M. R. Rabalais, C. M. Bare
2021, Scientific Reports (11)
Hydrologic variation can play a major role in structuring stream fish assemblages and relationships between hydrology and biology are likely to be influenced by flow regime. We hypothesized that more variable flow regimes would have lower and more variable species richness, higher species turnover and lower assemblage stability, and greater...
Improving flood-frequency analysis with a 4,000-year record of flooding on the Tennessee River near Chattanooga, Tennessee
Tessa M. Harden, Jim E. O'Connor, Meredith L. Carr, Mackenzie Keith
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5138
This comprehensive field study applied paleoflood hydrology methods to estimate the frequency of low-probability floods for the Tennessee River near Chattanooga, Tennessee. The study combined stratigraphic records of large, previously unrecorded floods with modern streamflow records and historical flood accounts. The overall approach was to (1) develop a flood...
Reconstructing paleohydrology in the northwest Great Basin since the last deglaciation using Paisley Caves fish remains (Oregon, U.S.A.)
Adam M. Hudson, Meaghan M Emery-Wetherell, Patrick M Lubinski, Virginia L. Butler, Deanna N Grimstead, Dennis L Jenkins
2021, Quaternary Science Reviews (262)
The arid northwest Great Basin underwent substantial hydroclimate changes in the past 15,000 years, greatly affecting its desert ecosystems and prehistoric people. There are conflicting interpretations of the timing of hydrologic changes in this region, requiring more records to resolve the dominant climatic drivers. The Paisley Caves archaeological site, located...
Repeated large-scale mechanical treatment of invasive Typha under increasing water levels promotes floating mat formation and wetland methane emissions
Olivia Fayne Johnson, Abha Panda, Shane C. Lishawa, Beth A. Lawrence
2021, Science of the Total Environment (790)
Invasive species management typically aims to promote diversity and wildlife habitat, but little is known about how management techniques affect wetland carbon (C) dynamics. Since wetland C uptake is largely influenced by water levels and highly productive plants, the interplay of hydrologic extremes and <a class="topic-link" title="Learn more about invasive species from...
GIS-based identification of areas that have resource potential for sediment-hosted Pb-Zn deposits in Alaska
Karen D. Kelley, Garth E. Graham, Keith A. Labay, Nora B. Shew
2021, Open-File Report 2020-1147
A state-wide Geographic Information System analysis was conducted to assess prospectivity for lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) in sediment-hosted deposits in Alaska. The datasets that were utilized include publicly available geospatial datasets of lithologic, geochemical, and mineral occurrence data. Key characteristics of Pb-Zn deposits were identified in available datasets and...
An empirically based simulation model to inform flow management for endangered species conservation
Timothy E. Walsworth, Phaedra E. Budy
2021, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (78) 1770-1781
Increasing water demand, water development, and ongoing climate change have driven extensive changes to the hydrology, geomorphology and biology of arid-land rivers globally, driving an increasing need to understand how annual hydrologic conditions affect the distribution and abundance of imperiled desert fish populations. We analyzed the relationship between annual hydrologic...
Development of soil radiocarbon profiles in a reactive transport framework
Jennifer Druhan, Corey Lawrence
2021, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (306) 63-83
Today, there is a greater appreciation for the importance of the physical protection of carbon (C) through interactions with mineral surfaces, isolation from microbes, and the important role of transport in shaping soil properties and controlling moisture limitations on decomposition. As our paradigm for soil organic carbon (SOC) preservation changes, so too should our representation...
American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) as restoration bioindicators in the Florida Everglades
Venetia S. Briggs-Gonzalez, Mathieu Basille, Michael Cherkiss, Frank J. Mazzotti
2021, PLoS ONE (16)
The federally threatened American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is a flagship species and ecological indicator of hydrologic restoration in the Florida Everglades. We conducted a long-term capture-recapture study on the South Florida population of American crocodiles from 1978 to 2015 to evaluate the effects of restoration efforts...
Forest evapotranspiration dynamics over a fragmented forest landscape under drought in southwestern Amazonia
Izaya Numata, Kul Bikram Khand, Jeppe Kjaersgaard, Mark A. Cochrane, Sonaira S. Silva
2021, Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (306)
Ongoing climate change and human conversion of forests to other land uses alter regional evapotranspiration dynamics and, consequently, impact associated hydrological systems in Amazonia. We studied the effects of drought and fragmentation on forest evapotranspiration using the surface energy balance-based model METRIC (Mapping Evapotranspiration at high Resolution with Internalized...
Aeolian sediments in paleowetland deposits of the Las Vegas Formation
Harland L. Goldstein, Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Marith C. Reheis, Gary L. Skipp
2021, Quaternary Research (104) 1-13
The Las Vegas Formation (LVF) is a well-characterized sequence of groundwater discharge (GWD) deposits exposed in and around the Las Vegas Valley in southern Nevada. Nearly monolithologic bedrock surrounds the valley, which provides an excellent opportunity to test the hypothesis that GWD deposits include an aeolian component....
Oxygen isotopes in terrestrial gastropod shells track Quaternary climate change in the American Southwest
Jason A. Rech, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Kathleen B. Springer, Stephanie Bosch, Jeffrey C. Nekola, Yurena Yanes
2021, Quaternary Research (104) 43-53
Recent studies have shown the oxygen isotopic composition (δ18O) of modern terrestrial gastropod shells is determined largely by the δ18O of precipitation. This implies that fossil shells could be used to reconstruct the δ18O of paleo-precipitation as long as the isotopic system, including the hydrologic pathways of...
A U.S.-China EcoPartnership study of disturbed wetland vegetation in West Dongting Lake, China
Ting Lei, Beth Middleton
2021, Environmental Progress and Sustainable Energy (40)
West Dongting Lake in China is important for human livelihoods and habitat of migratory waterfowl and other wildlife. The waterway re-engineering and agriculture intensification have contributed to changes in hydrology, sediment, and vegetation on the floodplain. This paper describes an EcoPartnership program conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and...
Emerging dominance of Paratrochammina simplissima (Cushman and McCulloch) in the northern Gulf of Mexico following hydrologic and geomorphic changes
Alisha M. Ellis, Christopher G. Smith
2021, Estuarine, Coastal, and Shelf Science (255)
Grand Bay estuary in coastal Mississippi and Alabama (USA) has undergone significant geomorphic changes over the last few centuries as a result of anthropogenic (bridge, road, and hardened shoreline construction) and climatic (extreme storm events) processes, which reduce freshwater input, sediment supply, and degrade barrier islands. To investigate how geomorphic changes may have altered the Grand Bay...
Periphyton biomass and community compositions as indicators of water quality in the Lower Grand River hydrologic unit, Missouri and Iowa, 2011–18
Heather M. Krempa
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5012
Biological communities, including periphyton, are continuously affected by chemical, physical, and other biological factors, and the health of these communities can reflect the overall health of the aquatic system. A diverse community is more robust, and communities with lower richness and evenness often indicate a degraded community dominated by few...
Hydraulic conductivity can no longer be considered a fixed property when quantifying flow between groundwater and surface water
Donald O. Rosenberry, Peter Engesgaard, Christine E. Hatch
2021, Hydrological Processes (35)
No abstract available....
The timing and magnitude of changes to Hortonian overland flow at the watershed scale during the post-fire recovery process
Taojun Liu, Luke A. McGuire, Haiyan Wei, Francis K. Rengers, Hoshin Gupta, Lin Ji, David C. Goodrich
2021, Water Resources Research (35)
Extreme hydrologic responses following wildfires can lead to floods and debris flows with costly economic and societal impacts. Process-based hydrologic and geomorphic models used to predict the downstream impacts of wildfire must account for temporal changes in hydrologic parameters related to the generation and subsequent routing...
Runoff response to directional land cover change across reference basins in the conterminous United States
Kul Bikram Khand, Gabriel B. Senay
2021, Advances in Water Resources (153)
Land cover change plays a critical role in influencing hydrological responses. Change in land cover has impacted runoff across basins with substantial human interference; however, the impacts in basins with minimal human interference have been studied less. In this study, we investigated the impacts of directional land cover changes (forest...
Enigmatic near‐extirpation in a boreal toad metapopulation in northwestern Montana
Rebecca McCaffery, Robin E. Russell, Blake R. Hossack
2021, Journal of Wildlife Management (85) 953-963
North America's protected lands harbor biodiversity and provide habitats where species threatened by a variety of stressors in other environments can thrive. Yet disease, climate change, and other threats are not limited by land management boundaries and can interact with conditions within protected landscapes to affect...
Water quality associations and spatiotemporal distribution of the harmful alga Prymnesium parvum in an impounded urban stream system
J. B. Clayton, Reynaldo Patino, R. H. Rashel, S. Tábora-Sarmiento
2021, Journal of Urban Ecology (7)
The Jim Bertram Lake System consists of several stream impoundments within the City of Lubbock, Texas (USA). Baseflow in the upstream reach is dominated by nitrogen-rich-treated wastewater. While toxic blooms of Prymnesium parvum have occurred in this system for ∼2 decades during fall or winter-spring, little is known about water quality variables...
Long-term monitoring reveals convergent patterns of recovery from mining contamination across 4 western US watersheds
William H. Clements, David B. Herbst, Michelle I. Hornberger, Christopher A. Mebane, Terry M. Short
2021, Freshwater Science (40) 407-426
Long-term studies of stream ecosystems are essential for assessing restoration success because they allow researchers to quantify recovery trajectories, gauge the relative influence of episodic events, and determine the time required to achieve clean-up objectives. To quantify responses of benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages to stream remediation, we integrated...
Postwildfire soil‐hydraulic recovery and the persistence of debris flow hazards
Matthew A. Thomas, Francis K. Rengers, Jason W. Kean, Luke A. McGuire, Dennis M. Staley, Katherine R. Barnhart, Brian A. Ebel
2021, Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface (126)
Deadly and destructive debris flows often follow wildfire, but understanding of changes in the hazard potential with time since fire is poor. We develop a simulation‐based framework to quantify changes in the hydrologic triggering conditions for debris flows as postwildfire infiltration properties evolve through time. Our approach produces time‐varying rainfall...
Storms and floods of July 30, 2016, and May 27, 2018, in Ellicott City, Howard County, Maryland
Edward J. Doheny, Christopher W. Nealen
2021, Fact Sheet 2021-3025
IntroductionOn July 30, 2016, and May 27, 2018, the downtown area of Ellicott City, Maryland (fig. 1), was severely flooded by intense, short-duration rainfall that resulted in loss of life; significant damage to buildings, roads, infrastructure; and hundreds of vehicles washed away. Precipitation from the 2016 event totaled 6.60 inches...