Use of acoustic backscatter to estimate continuous suspended sediment and phosphorus concentrations in the Barton River, northern Vermont, 2010-2013
Laura Medalie, Ann T. Chalmers, Richard G. Kiah, Benjamin Copans
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1184
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, investigated the use of acoustic backscatter to estimate concentrations of suspended sediment and total phosphorus at the Barton River near Coventry, Vermont. The hypothesis was that acoustic backscatter—the reflection of sound waves off objects back to the...
Anthropogenic organic compounds in source water of select community water systems in the United States, 2002-10
Joshua F. Valder, Gregory C. Delzer, James A. Kingsbury, Jessica A. Hopple, Curtis V. Price, David A. Bender
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5139
Drinking water delivered by community water systems (CWSs) comes from one or both of two sources: surface water and groundwater. Source water is raw, untreated water used by CWSs and is usually treated before distribution to consumers. Beginning in 2002, the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment Program initiated...
Relations of water-quality constituent concentrations to surrogate measurements in the lower Platte River corridor, Nebraska, 2007 through 2011
Nathaniel J. Schaepe, Philip J. Soenksen, David L. Rus
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1149
The lower Platte River, Nebraska, provides drinking water, irrigation water, and in-stream flows for recreation, wildlife habitat, and vital habitats for several threatened and endangered species. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Lower Platte River Corridor Alliance (LPRCA) developed site-specific regression models for water-quality constituents at four...
Mercury in the nation's streams - Levels, trends, and implications
Dennis A. Wentz, Mark E. Brigham, Lia C. Chasar, Michelle A. Lutz, David P. Krabbenhoft
2014, Circular 1395
Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that accumulates in fish to levels of concern for human health and the health of fish-eating wildlife. Mercury contamination of fish is the primary reason for issuing fish consumption advisories, which exist in every State in the Nation. Much of the mercury originates from combustion...
High-resolution delineation of chlorinated volatile organic compounds in a dipping, fractured mudstone: depth- and strata-dependent spatial variability from rock-core sampling
Daniel J. Goode, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, Pierre J. Lacombe
2014, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology (171) 1-11
Synthesis of rock-core sampling and chlorinated volatile organic compound (CVOC) analysis at five coreholes, with hydraulic and water-quality monitoring and a detailed hydrogeologic framework, was used to characterize the fine-scale distribution of CVOCs in dipping, fractured mudstones of the Lockatong Formation of Triassic age, of the Newark Basin in West...
California State Waters Map Series — Offshore of Half Moon Bay, California
Guy R. Cochrane, Peter Dartnell, H. Gary Greene, Samuel Y. Johnson, Nadine E. Golden, Stephen R. Hartwell, Bryan E. Dieter, Michael W. Manson, Ray W. Sliter, Stephanie L. Ross, Janet Watt, Charles A. Endris, Rikk G. Kvitek, Eleyne L. Phillips, Mercedes D. Erdey, John L. Chin, Carrie K. Bretz
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1214
In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within the 3-nautical-mile limit of California’s State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration,...
Updated study reporting levels (SRLs) for trace-element data collected for the California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Priority Basin Project, October 2009-March 2013
Tracy A. Davis, Lisa D. Olsen, Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5105
Groundwater samples have been collected in California as part of statewide investigations of groundwater quality conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey for the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Priority Basin Project (PBP). The GAMA-PBP is being conducted in cooperation with the California State Water Resources Control Board to assess...
Microbial water quality during the northern migration of Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) at the central Platte River, Nebraska
Matthew T. Moser
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3094
The central Platte River is an important resource in Nebraska. Its water flows among multiple channels and supports numerous beneficial uses such as drinking water, irrigation for agriculture, groundwater recharge, and recreational activities. The central Platte River valley is an important stopover for migratory waterfowl and cranes, such as the...
Relations between continuous real-time turbidity data and discrete suspended-sediment concentration samples in the Neosho and Cottonwood Rivers, east-central Kansas, 2009-2012
Guy M. Foster
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1171
The Neosho River and its primary tributary, the Cottonwood River, are the primary sources of inflow to the John Redmond Reservoir in east-central Kansas. Sedimentation rate in the John Redmond Reservoir was estimated as 743 acre-feet per year for 1964–2006. This estimated sedimentation rate is more than 80 percent larger...
Spectral masking of goethite in abandoned mine drainage systems: implications for Mars
Selby Cull, Charles A. Cravotta III,, Julia Grace Klinges, Chloe Weeks
2014, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (403) 217-224
Remote sensing studies of the surface of Mars use visible- to near-infrared (VNIR) spectroscopy to identify hydrated and hydroxylated minerals, which can be used to constrain past environmental conditions on the surface of Mars. However, due to differences in optical properties, some hydrated phases can mask others in VNIR spectra,...
Runoff sources and flowpaths in a partially burned, upland boreal catchment underlain by permafrost
Joshua C. Koch, Colin P. Kikuchi, Kimberly P. Wickland, Paul Schuster
2014, Water Resources Research (50) 8141-8158
Boreal soils in permafrost regions contain vast quantities of frozen organic material that is released to terrestrial and aquatic environments via subsurface flowpaths as permafrost thaws. Longer flowpaths may allow chemical reduction of solutes, nutrients, and contaminants, with implications for greenhouse gas emissions and aqueous export. Predicting boreal catchment runoff...
Water-level altitudes 2014 and water-level changes in the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifers and compaction 1973-2013 in the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers, Houston-Galveston region, Texas
Mark C. Kasmarek, Michaela R. Johnson, Jason K. Ramage
2014, Scientific Investigations Map 3308
Most of the land-surface subsidence in the Houston-Galveston region, Texas, has occurred as a direct result of groundwater withdrawals for municipal supply, commercial and industrial use, and irrigation that depressured and dewatered the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers, thereby causing compaction of the aquifer sediments, mostly in the fine-grained clay and...
Sampling and monitoring for the mine life cycle
Virginia T. McLemore, Kathleen S. Smith, Carol C. Russell
2014, Book
Sampling and Monitoring for the Mine Life Cycle provides an overview of sampling for environmental purposes and monitoring of environmentally relevant variables at mining sites. It focuses on environmental sampling and monitoring of surface water, and also considers groundwater, process water streams, rock, soil, and other media including air and...
Sedimentary organic biomarkers suggest detrimental effects of PAHs on estuarine microbial biomass during the 20th century in San Francisco Bay, CA, USA
Elena B. Nilsen, Robert J. Rosenbauer, Christopher C. Fuller, Bruce E. Jaffe
2014, Chemosphere (119) 961-970
Hydrocarbon contaminants are ubiquitous in urban aquatic ecosystems, and the ability of some microbial strains to degrade certain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is well established. However, detrimental effects of petroleum hydrocarbon contamination on nondegrader microbial populations and photosynthetic organisms have not often been considered. In the current study, fatty acid...
Potential effects of existing and proposed groundwater withdrawals on water levels and natural groundwater discharge in Snake Valley, Juab and Millard Counties, Utah, White Pine County, Nevada, and surrounding areas in Utah and Nevada
Melissa D. Masbruch, Philip M. Gardner
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1176
Applications have been filed for several water-right changes and new water rights, with total withdrawals of about 1,800 acre-feet per year, in Snake Valley near Eskdale and Partoun, Utah. The Bureau of Land Management has identified 11 sites where the Bureau of Land Management holds water rights and 7 other...
Potential postwildfire debris-flow hazards: a prewildfire evaluation for the Sandia and Manzano Mountains and surrounding areas, central New Mexico
Anne C. Tillery, Jessica R. Haas, Lara W. Miller, Joe H. Scott, Matthew P. Thompson
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5161
Wildfire can drastically increase the probability of debris flows, a potentially hazardous and destructive form of mass wasting, in landscapes that have otherwise been stable throughout recent history. Although there is no way to know the exact location, extent, and severity of wildfire, or the subsequent rainfall intensity and duration...
Documentation of a groundwater flow model (SJRRPGW) for the San Joaquin River Restoration Program study area, California
Jonathan A. Traum, Steven P. Phillips, George L. Bennett V, Celia Zamora, Loren F. Metzger
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5148
To better understand the potential effects of restoration flows on existing drainage problems, anticipated as a result of the San Joaquin River Restoration Program (SJRRP), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), developed a groundwater flow model (SJRRPGW) of the SJRRP study area...
Simulation of groundwater flow and the interaction of groundwater and surface water in the Willamette Basin and Central Willamette subbasin, Oregon
Nora B. Herrera, Erick R. Burns, Terrence D. Conlon
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5136
Full appropriation of tributary streamflow during summer, a growing population, and agricultural needs are increasing the demand for groundwater in the Willamette Basin. Greater groundwater use could diminish streamflow and create seasonal and long-term declines in groundwater levels. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD)...
A cross-validation package driving Netica with python
Michael N. Fienen, Nathaniel G. Plant
2014, Environmental Modelling and Software (63) 14-23
Bayesian networks (BNs) are powerful tools for probabilistically simulating natural systems and emulating process models. Cross validation is a technique to avoid overfitting resulting from overly complex BNs. Overfitting reduces predictive skill. Cross-validation for BNs is known but rarely implemented due partly to a lack of software tools designed to...
The effects of Missouri River mainstem reservoir system operations on 2011 flooding using a Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System model
Adel E. Haj Jr., Daniel E. Christiansen, Roland J. Viger
2014, Professional Paper 1798-K
In 2011 the Missouri River Mainstem Reservoir System (Reservoir System) experienced the largest volume of flood waters since the initiation of record-keeping in the nineteenth century. The high levels of runoff from both snowpack and rainfall stressed the Reservoir System’s capacity to control flood waters and caused massive damage and...
Modelling methane emissions from natural wetlands by development and application of the TRIPLEX-GHG model
Qing Zhu, Jinxun Liu, C. Peng, H. Chen, X. Fang, H. Jiang, G. Yang, D. Zhu, W. Wang, X. Zhou
2014, Geoscientific Model Development (7) 981-999
A new process-based model TRIPLEX-GHG was developed based on the Integrated Biosphere Simulator (IBIS), coupled with a new methane (CH4) biogeochemistry module (incorporating CH4 production, oxidation, and transportation processes) and a water table module to investigate CH4 emission processes and dynamics that occur in natural wetlands. Sensitivity analysis indicates that...
Hydrogeologic framework and occurrence, movement, and chemical characterization of groundwater in Dixie Valley, west-central Nevada
Jena M. Huntington, C. Amanda Garcia, Michael R. Rosen
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5152
Dixie Valley, a primarily undeveloped basin in west-central Nevada, is being considered for groundwater exportation. Proposed pumping would occur from the basin-fill aquifer. In response to proposed exportation, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation and Churchill County, conducted a study to improve the understanding of...
Groundwater discharge by evapotranspiration, Dixie Valley, west-central Nevada, March 2009-September 2011
C. Amanda Garcia, Jena M Huntington, Susan G. Buto, Michael T. Moreo, J. LaRue Smith, Brian J. Andraski
2014, Professional Paper 1805
With increasing population growth and land-use change, urban communities in the desert Southwest are progressively looking toward remote basins to supplement existing water supplies. Pending applications by Churchill County for groundwater appropriations from Dixie Valley, Nevada, a primarily undeveloped basin east of the Carson Desert, have prompted a reevaluation of...
Quality of surface-water supplies in the Triangle area of North Carolina, water year 2009
C. A. Pfeifle, M. J. Giorgino, R. B. Rasmussen
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1192
Surface-water supplies are important sources of drinking water for residents in the Triangle area of North Carolina, which is located within the upper Cape Fear and Neuse River Basins. Since 1988, the U.S. Geological Survey and a consortium of governments have tracked water-quality conditions and trends in several of the...
Great Lakes restoration success through science: U.S. Geological Survey accomplishments 2010 through 2013
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2014, Circular 1404
The Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario) are the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth and serve as an important source of drinking water, transportation, power, and recreational opportunities for the United States and Canada. They also support an abundant commercial and recreational fishery, are crucial for...
