Hg concentrations in fish from coastal waters of California and Western North America
Jay Davis, John Ross, Shira Bezalel, Lawrence Sim, Autumn Bonnema, Gary Ichikawa, Wes Heim, Kenneth C Schiff, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Joshua T. Ackerman
2016, Science of the Total Environment (568) 1146-1156
The State of California conducted an extensive and systematic survey of mercury (Hg) in fish from the California coast in 2009 and 2010. The California survey sampled 3483 fish representing 46 species at 68 locations, and demonstrated that methylHg in fish presents a widespread exposure risk to fish consumers. Most...
Debris flow occurrence and sediment persistence, Upper Colorado River Valley, CO
Kyle J Grimsley, Sara L. Rathburn, Jonathan M. Friedman, Joseph F. Mangano
2016, Environmental Management (58) 76-92
Debris flow magnitudes and frequencies are compared across the Upper Colorado River valley to assess influences on debris flow occurrence and to evaluate valley geometry effects on sediment persistence. Dendrochronology, field mapping, and aerial photographic analysis are used to evaluate whether a 19th century earthen, water-conveyance ditch has altered the...
Hydraulic model and flood-inundation maps developed for the Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina
Douglas G. Smith, Chad R. Wagner
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5137
A one-dimensional step-backwater model was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina, to provide a means for predicting flood-plain inundation. The model was developed for selected reaches of the Pee Dee River, Brown Creek,...
An analysis of water data systems to inform the Open Water Data Initiative
David L. Blodgett, Emily K. Read, Jessica M. Lucido, Tad Slawecki, Dwane Young
2016, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (52) 845-858
Improving access to data and fostering open exchange of water information is foundational to solving water resources issues. In this vein, the Department of the Interior's Assistant Secretary for Water and Science put forward the charge to undertake an Open Water Data Initiative (OWDI) that would prioritize and accelerate work...
Tomographic Rayleigh-wave group velocities in the Central Valley, California centered on the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta
Jon Peter B. Fletcher, Jemile Erdem, Kevin Seats, Jesse Lawrence
2016, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (121) 2429-2446
If shaking from a local or regional earthquake in the San Francisco Bay region were to rupture levees in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta then brackish water from San Francisco Bay would contaminate the water in the Delta: the source of fresh water for about half of California. As a prelude...
Influence of manatees' diving on their risk of collision with watercraft
Holly H. Edwards, Julien Martin, Charles J. Deutsch, Robert G Muller, Stacie M. Koslovsky, Alexander J. Smith, Margie E. Barlas
2016, PLoS ONE (11)
Watercraft pose a threat to endangered Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris). Mortality from watercraft collisions has adversely impacted the manatee population’s growth rate, therefore reducing this threat is an important management goal. To assess factors that contribute to the risk of watercraft strikes to manatees, we studied the diving behavior...
From "Duck Factory" to "Fish Factory": Climate induced changes in vertebrate communities of prairie pothole wetlands and small lakes
Kyle I. McLean, David M. Mushet, Craig A. Stockwell
2016, Wetlands (36) 407-421
The Prairie Pothole Region’s myriad wetlands and small lakes contribute to its stature as the “duck factory” of North America. The fishless nature of the region’s aquatic habitats, a result of frequent drying, freezing, and high salinity, influences its importance to waterfowl. Recent precipitation increases have resulted in higher water...
Integrated assessment of wastewater treatment plant effluent estrogenicity in the Upper Murray River, Australia, using the native Murray rainbowfish (Melanotaenia fluviatilis)
Alan M. Vajda, Anupama Kumar, Marianne Woods, Mike Williams, Hai Doan, Peter Tolsher, Rai S. Kookana, Larry B. Barber
2016, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (34) 1078-1087
The contamination of major continental river systems by endocrine-active chemicals (EACs) derived from the discharge of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents can affect human and ecosystem health. As part of a long-term effort to develop a native fish model organism for assessment of endocrine disruption in Australia's largest watershed, the...
Potentiometric surfaces, summer 2013 and winter 2015, and select hydrographs for the Southern High Plains aquifer, Cannon Air Force Base, Curry County, New Mexico
Jake Collison
2016, Scientific Investigations Map 3352
Cannon Air Force Base (Cannon AFB) is located in the High Plains physiographic region of east-central New Mexico, about 5 miles west of Clovis, New Mexico. The area surrounding Cannon AFB is primarily used for agriculture, including irrigated cropland and dairies. The Southern High Plains aquifer is the principal source...
High rates of detection of Clade 2.3.4.4 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5 viruses in wild birds in the Pacific Northwest during the winter of 2014-2015
S. Ip, Robert J. Dusek, Barbara L. Bodenstein, Mia Kim Torchetti, Paul DeBruyn, Kristin G. Mansfield, Thomas J. DeLiberto, Jonathan M. Sleeman
2016, Avian Diseases (60) 354-358
In 2014, Clade 2.3.4.4 H5N8 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses spread across the Republic of Korea and ultimately were reported in China, Japan, Russia and Europe. Mortality associated with a reassortant HPAI H5N2 virus was detected in poultry farms in Western Canada at the end of November. The same...
Differentiating sex and species of Western Grebes (Aechmophorus occidentalis) and Clark's Grebes (Aechmophorus clarkii) and their eggs using external morphometrics and discriminant function analysis
C. Alex Hartman, Joshua T. Ackerman, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Mark P. Herzog
2016, Waterbirds (39) 13-26
In birds where males and females are similar in size and plumage, sex determination by alternative means is necessary. Discriminant function analysis based on external morphometrics was used to distinguish males from females in two closely related species: Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis) and Clark's Grebe (A. clarkii). Additionally, discriminant function...
Semi-arid vegetation response to antecedent climate and water balance windows
David P. Thoma, Seth M. Munson, Kathryn M. Irvine, Dana L. Witwicki, Erin Bunting
2016, Applied Vegetation Science (19) 413-429
Questions Can we improve understanding of vegetation response to water availability on monthly time scales in semi-arid environments using remote sensing methods? What climatic or water balance variables and antecedent windows of time associated with these variables best relate to the condition of vegetation? Can we develop credible...
Effect of variable annual precipitation and nutrient input on nitrogen and phosphorus transport from two Midwestern agricultural watersheds
Stephen J. Kalkhoff, Laura E. Hubbard, Mark D. Tomer, D.E. James
2016, Science of the Total Environment (559) 53-62
Precipitation patterns and nutrient inputs affect transport of nitrate (NO3-N) and phosphorus (TP) from Midwest watersheds. Nutrient concentrations and yields from two subsurface-drained watersheds, the Little Cobb River (LCR) in southern Minnesota and the South Fork Iowa River (SFIR) in northern Iowa, were evaluated during 1996–2007 to document relative differences...
Report of the River Master of the Delaware River for the period December 1, 2008–November 30, 2009
Bruce E. Krejmas, Gary N. Paulachok, Mason Jr., Marie Owens
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1231
A Decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, entered June 7, 1954, established the position of Delaware River Master within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). In addition, the Decree authorizes diversions of water from the Delaware River Basin and requires compensating releases from certain reservoirs, owned by New...
Logistic and linear regression model documentation for statistical relations between continuous real-time and discrete water-quality constituents in the Kansas River, Kansas, July 2012 through June 2015
Guy M. Foster, Jennifer L. Graham
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1040
The Kansas River is a primary source of drinking water for about 800,000 people in northeastern Kansas. Source-water supplies are treated by a combination of chemical and physical processes to remove contaminants before distribution. Advanced notification of changing water-quality conditions and cyanobacteria and associated toxin and taste-and-odor compounds provides drinking-water...
Effect of a levee setback on aquatic resources using two-dimensional flow and bioenergetics models
Robert W. Black, Christiana R. Czuba, Christopher S. Magirl, Sarah McCarthy, Hans Berge, Kyle Comanor
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5025
Watershed restoration is the focus of many resource managers and can include a multitude of restoration actions each with specific restoration objectives. For the White River flowing through the cities of Pacific and Sumner, Washington, a levee setback has been proposed to reconnect the river with its historical floodplain...
Hydrologic monitoring for Chicago’s Sustainable Streetscapes Program
James J. Duncker, William S. Morrow
2016, Fact Sheet 2016-3014
The Chicago Department of Transportation’s Sustainable Streetscapes Program is an innovative program that strives to convert Chicago’s neighborhood commercial areas, riverwalks, and bicycle facilities into active, attractive places for Chicagoans to live, work, and play. The objective of each project is to create flourishing public places while improving the ability...
Simulation of hypothetical Asian carp egg and larvae development and transport in the Lockport, Brandon Road, Dresden Island, and Marseilles Pools of the Illinois Waterway by use of the Fluvial Egg Drift Simulator (FluEgg) model
Elizabeth A. Murphy, Tatiana Garcia, P. Ryan Jackson, James J. Duncker
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1011
As part of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is conducting an assessment of the vulnerability of the Chicago Area Waterway System and Des Plaines River to Asian carp (specifically, Hypophthalmichthys nobilis (bighead carp) and Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (silver carp)) spawning and...
Toxicity of waters from the Rochester Embayment Area of Concern to the plankton species Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and Ceriodaphnia dubia
Barry P. Baldigo, Brian T. Duffy, Alexander J. Smith, Scott D. George
2016, Journal of Great Lakes Research (42) 464-471
The lower Genesee River and Rochester Embayment of Lake Ontario are a designated Area of Concern (AOC) under the binational Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. The “degradation of phytoplankton and zooplankton populations” or plankton Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI) was classified as unknown and in need of further assessment...
Montana StreamStats—A method for retrieving basin and streamflow characteristics in Montana: Chapter A in Montana StreamStats
Peter McCarthy, DeAnn M. Dutton, Steven K. Sando, Roy Sando
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5019-A
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides streamflow characteristics and other related information needed by water-resource managers to protect people and property from floods, plan and manage water-resource activities, and protect water quality. Streamflow characteristics provided by the USGS, such as peak-flow and low-flow frequencies for streamflow-gaging stations, are frequently used...
Peak-flow frequency analyses and results based on data through water year 2011 for selected streamflow-gaging stations in or near Montana: Chapter C in Montana StreamStats
Steven K. Sando, Peter McCarthy, DeAnn M. Dutton
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5019-C
Chapter C of this Scientific Investigations Report documents results from a study by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Montana Department of Transportation and the Montana Department of Natural Resources, to provide an update of statewide peak-flow frequency analyses and results for Montana. The purpose of this report...
Montana StreamStats
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5019
About this volumeMontana StreamStats is a Web-based geographic information system (http://water.usgs.gov/osw/streamstats/) application that provides users with access to basin and streamflow characteristics for gaged and ungaged streams in Montana. Montana StreamStats was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Montana Departments of Transportation, Environmental...
Streamflow characteristics based on data through water year 2009 for selected streamflow-gaging stations in or near Montana: Chapter E in Montana StreamStats
Peter McCarthy
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5019-E
Chapter E of this Scientific Investigations Report documents results from a study by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, to provide an update of statewide streamflow characteristics based on data through water year 2009...
Methods for estimating streamflow characteristics at ungaged sites in western Montana based on data through water year 2009: Chapter G in Montana StreamStats
Peter McCarthy, Roy Sando, Steven K. Sando, DeAnn M. Dutton
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5019-G
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, developed regional regression equations based on basin and streamflow characteristics for streamflow-gaging stations through water year 2009 that can be used to estimate streamflow characteristics for ungaged sites...
Adjusted peak-flow frequency estimates for selected streamflow-gaging stations in or near Montana based on data through water year 2011: Chapter D in Montana StreamStats
Steven K. Sando, Roy Sando, Peter McCarthy, DeAnn M. Dutton
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5019-D
The climatic conditions of the specific time period during which peak-flow data were collected at a given streamflow-gaging station (hereinafter referred to as gaging station) can substantially affect how well the peak-flow frequency (hereinafter referred to as frequency) results represent long-term hydrologic conditions. Differences in the timing of the periods...
