Correlations of daily flows at streamgages in and near West Virginia, 1930-2011, and streamflow characteristics relevant to the use of index streamgages
Terence Messinger, Katherine S. Paybins
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5061
Correlation of flows at pairs of streamgages were evaluated using a Spearman’s rho correlation coefficient to better identify gages that can be used as index gages to estimate daily flow at ungaged stream sites in West Virginia. Much of West Virginia (77 percent) is within areas where Spearman’s rho for...
Inundation of a barrier island (Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, USA) during a hurricane: Observed water-level gradients and modeled seaward sand transport
Christopher R. Sherwood, Joseph W. Long, Patrick Dickhudt, P. Soupy Dalyander, David M. Thompson, Nathaniel G. Plant
2014, JGR Earth Surface (119) 1498-1515
Large geomorphic changes to barrier islands may occur during inundation, when storm surge exceeds island elevation. Inundation occurs episodically and under energetic conditions that make quantitative observations difficult. We measured water levels on both sides of a barrier island in the northern Chandeleur Islands during inundation by Hurricane Isaac. Wind...
Modeling turbidity type and intensity effects on the growth and starvation mortality of age-0 yellow perch
Nathan M Manning, Jonathan M. Bossenbroek, Christine M. Mayer, David B. Bunnell, Jeff T. Tyson, Lars G. Rudstam, James R. Jackson
2014, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (71) 1544-1553
We sought to quantify the possible population-level influence of sediment plumes and algal blooms on yellow perch (Perca flavescens), a visual predator found in systems with dynamic water clarity. We used an individual-based model (IBM), which allowed us to include variance in water clarity and the distribution of individual sizes....
Summary of U.S. Geological Survey reports documenting flood profiles of streams in Iowa, 1963-2012
David A. Eash
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5085
This report is part of an ongoing program that is publishing flood profiles of streams in Iowa. The program is managed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Iowa Department of Transportation and the Iowa Highway Research Board (Project HR-140). Information from flood profiles is used by engineers...
Hydrogeology and water quality of the stratified-drift aquifer in the Pony Hollow Creek Valley, Tompkins County, New York
Edward F. Bugliosi, Todd S. Miller, Richard J. Reynolds
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5059
The lithology, areal extent, and the water-table configuration in stratified-drift aquifers in the northern part of the Pony Hollow Creek valley in the Town of Newfield, New York, were mapped as part of an ongoing aquifer mapping program in Tompkins County. Surficial geologic and soil maps, well and test-boring records,...
Spatiotemporal variations in estrogenicity, hormones, and endocrine-disrupting compounds in influents and effluents of selected wastewater-treatment plants and receiving streams in New York, 2008-09
Barry P. Baldigo, Patrick J. Phillips, Anne G. Ernst, James L. Gray, Jocelyn Hemming
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5015
Endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) in wastewater effluents have been linked to changes in sex ratios, intersex (in males), behavioral modifications, and developmental abnormalities in aquatic organisms. Yet efforts to identify and regulate specific EDCs in complex mixtures are problematic because little is known about the estrogen activity (estrogenicity) levels of many...
Baseline and projected future carbon storage and greenhouse-gas fluxes in ecosystems of the eastern United States
Zhi-Liang Zhu, Bradley C. Reed, editor(s)
2014, Professional Paper 1804
This assessment was conducted to fulfill the requirements of section 712 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and to conduct a comprehensive national assessment of storage and flux (flow) of carbon and the fluxes of other greenhouse gases in ecosystems of the Eastern United States. These carbon...
Hydrostratigraphic interpretation of test-hole and borehole geophysical data, Kimball, Cheyenne, and Deuel Counties, Nebraska, 2011-12
Christopher M. Hobza, Steven S. Sibray
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1103
Recently (2004) adopted legislation in Nebraska requires a sustainable balance between long-term supplies and uses of surface-water and groundwater and requires Natural Resources Districts to understand the effect of groundwater use on surface-water systems when developing a groundwater-management plan. The South Platte Natural Resources District (SPNRD) is located in the...
Hydrogeologic aspects of the Knippa Gap area in eastern Uvalde and western Medina counties, Texas
Rebecca B. Lambert, Allan K. Clark, Diana E. Pedraza, Robert R. Morris
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3045
The Edwards aquifer is the primary source of potable water for the San Antonio area in south-central Texas. The Knippa Gap area is a structural low (trough) postulated to channel or restrict flow in the Edwards aquifer in eastern Uvalde and western Medina Counties, Tex. To better understand the function...
Hydrologic data for the Obed River watershed, Tennessee
Rodney R. Knight, William J. Wolfe, George S. Law
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1102
The Obed River watershed drains a 520-square-mile area of the Cumberland Plateau physiographic region in the Tennessee River basin. The watershed is underlain by conglomerate, sandstone, and shale of Pennsylvanian age, which overlie Mississippian-age limestone. The larger creeks and rivers of the Obed River system have eroded gorges through the...
Estuarine monitoring programs in the Albemarle Sound study area, North Carolina
Michelle Moorman, Katharine R. Kolb, Stacy Supak
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1110
Albemarle Sound was selected in 2012 as one of the two demonstration sites in the Nation to test and improve the design of the National Water Quality Monitoring Council’s National Monitoring Network (NMN) for U.S. Coastal Waters and their tributaries. The goal of the NMN for U.S. coastal waters and...
Using state-of-the-art technology to evaluate saltwater intrusion in the Biscayne aquifer of Miami-Dade County, Florida
Scott T. Prinos
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3050
The fresh groundwater supplies of many communities have been adversely affected or limited by saltwater intrusion. An insufficient understanding of the origin of intruded saltwater may lead to inefficient or ineffective water-resource management. A 2008–2012 cooperative U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Miami-Dade County study of saltwater intrusion describes state-of-the art...
Soil fluxes of methane, nitrous oxide, and nitric oxide from aggrading forests in coastal Oregon
Heather E. Erickson, Steven S. Perakis
2014, Soil Biology and Biochemistry (76) 268-277
Soil exchanges of greenhouse and other gases are poorly known for Pacific Northwest forests where gradients in nutrient availability and soil moisture may contribute to large variations in fluxes. Here we report fluxes of methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and nitric oxide (NO) over multiple seasons from three naturally N-rich,...
Evaluation of groundwater and surface-water interactions in the Caddo Nation Tribal Jurisdictional Area, Caddo County, Oklahoma, 2010-13
Shana L. Mashburn, S. Jerrod Smith
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5082
Streamflows, springs, and wetlands are important natural and cultural resources to the Caddo Nation. Consequently, the Caddo Nation is concerned about the vulnerability of the Rush Springs aquifer to overdrafting and whether the aquifer will continue to be a viable source of water to tribal members and other local residents...
Contaminants of emerging concern in ambient groundwater in urbanized areas of Minnesota, 2009-12
Melinda L. Erickson, Susan K. Langer, Jason L. Roth, Sharon E. Kroening
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5096
A study of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in ambient groundwater in urbanized areas of Minnesota was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. For this study, water samples were collected from November 2009 through June 2012 from 118 wells located in different...
Assessing and addressing the re-eutrophication of Lake Erie: central basin hypoxia
Donald Scavia, J. David Allan, Kristin K. Arend, Steven Bartell, Dmitry Beletsky, Nate S. Bosch, Stephen B. Brandt, Ruth D. Briland, Irem Daloglu, Joseph V. DePinto, David M. Dolan, Mary Anne Evans, Troy M. Farmer, Daisuke Goto, Haejin Han, Tomas O. Hook, Roger Knight, Stuart A. Ludsin, Doran Mason, Anna M. Michalak, R. Peter Richards, James J. Roberts, Daniel K. Rucinski, Edward Rutherford, David J. Schwab, Timothy M. Sesterhenn, Hongyan Zhang, Yuntao Zhou
2014, Journal of Great Lakes Research (40) 226-246
Relieving phosphorus loading is a key management tool for controlling Lake Erie eutrophication. During the 1960s and 1970s, increased phosphorus inputs degraded water quality and reduced central basin hypolimnetic oxygen levels which, in turn, eliminated thermal habitat vital to cold-water organisms and contributed to the extirpation of important benthic macroinvertebrate...
Water quality at a biosolids-application area near Deer Trail, Colorado, 1993-1999
Tracy J.B. Yager
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5074
The Metro Wastewater Reclamation District (Metro District) in Denver, Colo., applied biosolids resulting from municipal sewage treatment to farmland in eastern Colorado beginning in December 1993. In mid-1993, the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Metro District began monitoring water quality at the biosolids-application area about 10 miles east...
Water quality and algal community dynamics of three deepwater lakes in Minnesota utilizing CE-QUAL-W2 models
Erik A. Smith, Richard L. Kiesling, Joel M. Galloway, Jeffrey R. Ziegeweid
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5066
Water quality, habitat, and fish in Minnesota lakes will potentially be facing substantial levels of stress in the coming decades primarily because of two stressors: (1) land-use change (urban and agricultural) and (2) climate change. Several regional and statewide lake modeling studies have identified the potential linkages between land-use and...
Concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and azaarenes in runoff from coal-tar- and asphalt-sealcoated pavement
Barbara Mahler, Peter C. Van Metre, William T. Foreman
2014, Environmental Pollution (188) 81-87
Coal-tar-based sealcoat, used extensively on parking lots and driveways in North America, is a potent source of PAHs. We investigated how concentrations and assemblages of PAHs and azaarenes in runoff from pavement newly sealed with coal-tar-based (CT) or asphalt-based (AS) sealcoat changed over time. Samples of simulated runoff were collected...
Particle-tracking investigation of the retention of sucker larvae emerging from spawning grounds in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon
Tamara M. Wood, Susan A. Wherry, David C. Simon, Douglas F. Markle
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1061
This study had two objectives: (1) to use the results of an individual-based particle-tracking model of larval sucker dispersal through the Williamson River delta and Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, to interpret field data collected throughout Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes, and (2) to use the model to investigate the retention...
Spatial variability in nutrient transport by HUC8, state, and subbasin based on Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin SPARROW models
Dale M. Robertson, David A. Saad, Gregory E. Schwarz
2014, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (50) 988-1009
Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loading from the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB) has been linked to hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. With geospatial datasets for 2002, including inputs from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), and monitored loads throughout the MARB, SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) watershed models were...
Effects of lakes and reservoirs on annual river nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment export in agricultural and forested landscapes
Stephen M. Powers, Dale M. Robertson, Emily H. Stanley
2014, Hydrological Processes (28) 5919-5937
Recently, effects of lakes and reservoirs on river nutrient export have been incorporated into landscape biogeochemical models. Because annual export varies with precipitation, there is a need to examine the biogeochemical role of lakes and reservoirs over time frames that incorporate interannual variability in precipitation. We examined long-term (~20 years) time...
Estimation of flood discharges at selected annual exceedance probabilities for unregulated, rural streams in Vermont, with a section on Vermont regional skew regression
Scott A. Olson, Andrea G. with a section by Veilleux
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5078
This report provides estimates of flood discharges at selected annual exceedance probabilities (AEPs) for streamgages in and adjacent to Vermont and equations for estimating flood discharges at AEPs of 50-, 20-, 10-, 4-, 2-, 1-, 0.5-, and 0.2-percent (recurrence intervals of 2-, 5-, 10-, 25-, 50-, 100-, 200-, and 500-years,...
Modeling low-temperature geochemical processes:
D. Kirk Nordstrom, Kate M. Campbell
2014, Book chapter, Reference module in earth systems and environmental sciences: Treatise on geochemistry
This chapter provides an overview of geochemical modeling that applies to water–rock interactions under ambient conditions of temperature and pressure. Topics include modeling definitions, historical background, issues of activity coefficients, popular codes and databases, examples of modeling common types of water–rock interactions, and issues of model reliability. Examples include speciation,...
Streamflow, water quality, and aquatic macroinvertebrates of selected streams in Fairfax County, Virginia, 2007-12
John D. Jastram
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5073
Efforts to mitigate the effects of urbanization on streams rely on best management practices (BMPs) that are implemented with the intent of reducing and retaining stormwater runoff. A cooperative monitoring effort between the U.S. Geological Survey and Fairfax County, Virginia, was initiated in 2007 to assess the condition of county...
