Regional regression equations based on channel-width characteristics to estimate peak-flow frequencies at ungaged sites in Montana using peak-flow frequency data through water year 2011
Katherine J. Chase, Roy Sando, Daniel W. Armstrong, Peter McCarthy
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5142
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Montana Department of Transportation, developed regression equations based on channel width to estimate peak-flow frequencies at ungaged sites in Montana. The equations are based on peak-flow data at streamgages through September 2011 (end of water year 2011), and channel widths measured in...
Uncertainty in remote sensing of streams using noncontact radars
Mushfiqur Rahman Khan, Jonathan J Gourley, Jorge Duarte, Humberto Vergara, Daniel Wasielewski, Pierre-Alain Ayral, John W, Fulton
2021, Journal of Hydrology (603)
Accounting for freshwater resources and monitoring floods are vital functions for societies throughout the world. Remote-sensing methods offer great prospects to expand stream monitoring in developing countries and to smaller, headwater streams that are largely ungauged worldwide. This study evaluates the...
Tandem field and laboratory approaches to quantify attenuation mechanisms of pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical transformation products in a wastewater effluent-dominated stream
Hui Zhi, Alyssa L Mianecki, Dana W. Kolpin, Rebecca D. Klaper, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Gregory H. LeFevre
2021, Water Research (203)
Evolving complex mixtures of pharmaceuticals and transformation products in effluent-dominated streams pose potential impacts to aquatic species; thus, understanding the attenuation dynamics in the field and characterizing the prominent attenuation mechanisms of pharmaceuticals and their transformation products (TPs) is critical for hazard assessments. Herein, we...
Post-wildfire hydrologic recovery in Mediterranean climates: A systematic review and case study to identify current knowledge and opportunities
Joseph W. Wagenbrenner, Brian A. Ebel, Kevin D. Bladon, Alicia M. Kinoshita
2021, Journal of Hydrology (602)
Post-fire hydrologic research typically focuses on the first few years after a wildfire, leading to substantial uncertainty regarding the longevity of impacts. The time needed for hydrologic function to return to pre-fire conditions is critical information for post-fire land...
Freshwater inflow and responses from estuaries across a climatic gradient: An assessment of northwestern Gulf of Mexico estuaries based on stable isotopes
D. A. Marshall, Megan K. La Peyre, Terrence A. Palmer, Gael Guillou, Blair Sterba-Boatwright, Jennifer Beseres Pollack, B. Lebreton
2021, Limnology and Oceanography (66) 3568-3581
Estuaries exist across a large climatic gradient in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, capturing a range of hydrologic conditions and estuarine functioning. We examined freshwater inflow, salinity, and stable isotope compositions (δ13C, δ15N) of oysters, suspended particulate organic matter (SPOM), and surface sediment organic matter (SSOM) from five estuaries across...
Projected changes of regional lake hydrologic characteristics in response to 21st century climate change
Zachary J. Hanson, Jacob Aaron Zwart, Stuart E. Jones, Alan F. Hamlet, Diogo Bolster
2021, Inland Waters (11) 335-350
Inland lakes are socially and ecologically important components of many regional landscapes. Exploring lake responses to plausible future climate scenarios can provide important information needed to inform stakeholders of likely effects of hydrologic changes on these waterbodies in coming decades. To assess potential climate effects on lake...
A seasonally dynamic model of light at the stream surface
Philip Savoy, Emily. S Bernhardt, Lily Kirk, Matthew J. Cohen, James B. Heffernan
2021, Freshwater Science (40) 286-301
Light is a primary constraint on primary production and drives many ecological processes in stream ecosystems, yet light regimes have received considerably less attention than other factors of the stream environment, such as hydrology or nutrient cycling. Light received by streams can be highly heterogeneous in both...
Pervasive changes in stream intermittency across the United States
Samuel Zipper, John C. Hammond, Margaret Shanafield, Margaret Zimmer, Thibault Datry, C. Nathan Jones, Kendra E. Kaiser, Sarah E. Godsey, Ryan Burrow, Joanna Blaszczak, Michelle Busch, Adam N. Price, Kate Boersma, Adam Ward, Katie Costigan, George H. Allen, Corey Krabbenhoft, Walter Dodds, Meryl C. Mims, Julian Olden, Stephanie K. Kampf, Amy J. Burgin, Daniel C. Allen
2021, Environmental Research Letters (16)
Non-perennial streams are widespread, critical to ecosystems and society, and the subject of ongoing policy debate. Prior large-scale research on stream intermittency has been based on long-term averages, generally using annually aggregated data to characterize a highly variable process. As a result, it is not well understood...
Peak-flow variability, peak-flow informational needs, and consideration of regional regression analyses in managing the crest-stage gage network in Montana
Steven K. Sando
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5063
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT), has operated a crest-stage gage (CSG) network in Montana to collect peak-flow data since 1955. The CSG network is vital to collecting peak-flow data on small drainage basins that typically are not addressed by continuous streamflow...
Timing and hydrological conditions associated with bigheaded carp movement past navigation dams on the upper Mississippi river
Jonathan M. Vallazza, Kayle J. Mosel, David M. Reineke, Ann L. Runstrom, James H. Larson, Brent C. Knights
2021, Biological Invasions (23) 3409-3425
As the range of non-native bigheaded carps (Hypophthalmichthys spp.) continues to expand throughout river systems of the United States, managers are tasked with preventing or slowing the spread of these invasive species. Main stem navigation dams on the upper Mississippi River, long considered a deterrent to fish...
Limited shifts in the distribution of migratory bird breeding habitat density in response to future changes in climate
Owen P. McKenna, David M. Mushet, Samuel R. Kucia, Elyssa Christina Mcculloch-Huseby
2021, Ecological Applications (31)
Grasslands, and the depressional wetlands that exist throughout them, are endangered ecosystems that face both climate and land-use change pressures. Tens of millions of dollars are invested annually to manage the existing fragments of these ecosystems to serve as critical breeding habitat for migratory birds. The North American Prairie Pothole...
Submerged aquatic vegetation habitat use of age-0 Florida bass Micropterus floridanus
Audrey Looby, Laura K. Reynolds, Carrie R. Adams, Stephen Walsh, Charles W. Martin
2021, Environmental Biology of Fishes (104) 947-958
Hatchery-raised, age-0 Florida bass Micropterus floridanus are commonly used for fish enhancement efforts to support popular recreational fisheries and are ecologically important as both a food source and consumer. Despite their importance and frequent use of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) habitats, critical information is lacking on the specific...
Plant growth and biocrust-fire interactions across five North American deserts
Ellie McCann, Sasha C. Reed, Pradip Saud, Robin H. Reibold, Armin J. Howell, Akasha M. Faist
2021, Geoderma (401)
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are communities predominately comprised of lichens, bryophytes, fungi, algae, and cyanobacteria that form at the soil surface in dryland ecosystems worldwide. Biocrusts can influence the vascular plant community by altering surface hydrology, nutrient cycling, and the availability...
A global dataset of inland fisheries expert knowledge
Gretchen L. Stokes, Abigail Lynch, Simon Funge-Smith, John Valbo-Jorgensen, Beard Jr., Benjamin S. Lowe, Jesse P. Wong, Samuel J. Smidt
2021, Scientific Data (8)
Inland fisheries and their freshwater habitats face intensifying effects from multiple natural and anthropogenic pressures. Fish harvest and biodiversity data remain largely disparate and severely deficient in many areas, which makes assessing and managing inland fisheries difficult. Expert knowledge is increasingly used to improve and inform biological or vulnerability assessments,...
Event scale relationships of DOC and TDN fluxes in throughfall and stemflow diverge from stream exports in a forested catchment
Kevin A. Ryan, Thomas Adler, Ann T. Chalmers, Julia Perdrial, James B. Shanley, Aron Stubbins
2021, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (126)
Aquatic fluxes of carbon and nutrients link terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Within forests, storm events drive both the delivery of carbon and nitrogen to the forest floor and the export of these solutes from the land via streams. To increase understanding of the relationships between hydrologic event character and the...
A reactive transport approach to modeling cave seepage water chemistry II: Elemental signatures
Jessica Oster, Aaron Covey, Corey Lawrence, Max Giannetta, Jennifer Druhan
2021, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (311) 353-373
Karst systems are useful for examining spatial and temporal variability in Critical Zone processes because they provide a window into the subsurface where waters have interacted with vegetation, soils, regolith, and bedrock across a range of length and timescales. These hydrologic pathways frequently include the precipitation of speleothems, which provide long-term archives of climate and...
Occurrence and distribution of mercury in streams and reservoirs in the Triangle Area of North Carolina, July 2007–June 2009
Anna M. McKee, Sharon Fitzgerald, Mary J. Giorgino
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5027
During the time period 2001–2006, the U.S. Geological Survey reported mercury-concentration measurements that exceeded the North Carolina water-quality criterion (NCWQC) of 0.012 microgram per liter for total recoverable mercury in streams and reservoirs across the Triangle Area of North Carolina. Mercury data were sparse, however, generally consisting of only one...
Earlier winter/spring runoff and snowmelt during warmer winters lead to lower summer chlorophyll-a in north temperate lakes
Allison R. Hrycik, Peter D. F. Isles, Rita Adrian, Matthew Albright, Linda C. Bacon, Stella A. Berger, Ruchi Bhattacharya, Hans-Peter Grossart, Josef Hejzlar, Amy L. Hetherington, Lesley B. Knoll, Alo Laas, Cory P. McDonald, Kellie Merrell, Jens C. Nejstgaard, Kirsten Nelson, Peeter Noges, Andrew M. Paterson, Rachel M. Pilla, Dale M. Robertson, Lars G. Rudstam, James A. Rusak, Steven Sadro, Eugene A. Silow, Jason D. Stockwell, Huaxia Yao, Kiyoko Yokota, Donald C. Pierson
2021, Global Change Biology (27) 4615-4629
Winter conditions, such as ice cover and snow accumulation, are changing rapidly at northern latitudes and can have important implications for lake processes. For example, snowmelt in the watershed—a defining feature of lake hydrology because it delivers a large portion of annual nutrient inputs—is becoming earlier. Consequently, earlier and a...
Hydraulic modeling at selected dam-removal and culvert-retrofit sites in the northeastern United States
Scott A. Olson, Caelan E. Simeone
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5056
Aquatic connectivity projects, such as removing dams and modifying culverts, have substantial benefits. The restoration of natural flow conditions improves water quality, sediment transport, aquatic and riparian habitat, and fish passage. These projects can also decrease hazards faced by communities by lowering water-surface elevations of flood waters and by removing...
Investigation of scale-dependent groundwater/surface-water exchange in rivers by gradient self-potential logging: Numerical modeling and field experiments
Scott Ikard, Martin A. Briggs, John W. Lane
2021, Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics (26)
Exchanges of groundwater and surface-water are fundamental to a wide range of water-supply and water-quality management issues but challenging to map beyond the reach scale. Waterborne gradient self-potential (SP) measurements are directly sensitive to water flow through riverbed sediments and can be used to infer exchange locations, direction (gain versus...
Distributed memory parallel groundwater modeling for the Netherlands Hydrological Instrument
Jarno Verkaik, Joseph D. Hughes, van Walsum, G.H.P. Oude Essink, H.X. Lin, M.F.P. Bierkens
2021, Environmental Software & Modelling (143)
Worldwide, billions of people rely on fresh groundwater reserves for their domestic, agricultural and industrial water use. Extreme droughts and excessive groundwater pumping put pressure on water authorities in maintaining sustainable water usage. High-resolution integrated models are valuable assets in supporting them. The Netherlands Hydrological Instrument (NHI) provides the Dutch...
Knowledge synthesis of Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow science
Allison Benscoter, Saira M. Haider, Kelly G. Guilbeau, Stephanie Romanach
2021, Report
This report represents a literature review of science conducted on the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow (Ammospiza maritima mirabilis, hereafter “CSSS” or “spar-row”). This information can be used as a foundation for the upcoming Species Status Assessment and for updating the CSSS Recovery Plan. This report focuses on areas of interest...
Restoration of organic coastal and inland freshwater forests
Beth Middleton, Eric Ward, Lorenzo Menichetti
2021, Book chapter, Recarbonizing global soils – A technical manual of recommended management practices
Peatland forests occur worldwide in inundated soils where primary production and anaerobic conditions contribute to the building of soil organic matter (Günther et al., 2020). Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) can be substantial from drained freshwater forests with organic soils. Therefore, rewetting peat via hydrologic restoration (see factsheet n°12 on Peatland...
Effects of chronic and acute stressors on transplanted black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) seedlings along an eroding Louisiana shoreline
Aaron Macy, Michael Osland, Julia A. Cherry, Just Cebrian
2021, Restoration Ecology (29)
Coastal wetland restoration can be used to offset past wetland losses and/or reduce future losses due to land-use changes, rising sea levels, and accelerating climate change. However, there is a need for information regarding the restoration-relevant performance of foundation species like mangrove and marsh plants, including their responses to acute...
Preserving soil organic carbon in prairie wetlands of central North America
Sheel Bansal, Brian Tangen
2021, Book chapter, Recarbonizing global soils– A technical manual of recommended management practices
Wetlands of the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) in the Great Plains of central North America are numerous, densely distributed, and have highly productive plant and animal communities (Photo 49). When in a natural, unaltered condition, these wetlands store relatively large amounts of organic carbon in their soils (Photo 50). Human...
