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...
Performance of a surface bypass structure to enhance juvenile steelhead passage and survival at Lower Granite Dam, Washington
Noah S. Adams, John M. Plumb, Russell W. Perry, Dennis W. Rondorf
2014, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (34) 576-594
An integral part of efforts to recover stocks of Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. and steelhead O. mykiss in Pacific Northwest rivers is to increase passage efficacy and survival of juveniles past hydroelectric dams. As part of this effort, we evaluated the efficacy of a prototype surface bypass structure, the removable spillway weir (RSW), installed...
Methylmercury production in sediment from agricultural and non-agricultural wetlands in the Yolo Bypass, California, USA
Mark Marvin-DiPasquale, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Jennifer L. Agee, Evangelos Kakouros, Le H. Kieu, Jacob A. Fleck, Charles N. Alpers, Craig A. Stricker
2014, Science of the Total Environment (484) 288-299
As part of a larger study of mercury (Hg) biogeochemistry and bioaccumulation in agricultural (rice growing) and non-agricultural wetlands in California's Central Valley, USA, seasonal and spatial controls on methylmercury (MeHg) production were examined in surface sediment. Three types of shallowly-flooded agricultural wetlands (white rice, wild rice, and fallow fields)...
Simulation of the effects of rainfall and groundwater use on historical lake water levels, groundwater levels, and spring flows in central Florida
Andrew M. O’Reilly, Edwin A. Roehl Jr., Paul Conrads, Ruby C. Daamen, Matthew D. Petkewich
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5032
The urbanization of central Florida has progressed substantially in recent decades, and the total population in Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk, and Seminole Counties more than quadrupled from 1960 to 2010. The Floridan aquifer system is the primary source of water for potable, industrial, and agricultural purposes in central Florida. Despite...
PAH concentrations in lake sediment decline following ban on coal-tar-based pavement sealants in Austin, Texas
Peter C. Van Metre, Barbara Mahler
2014, Environmental Science & Technology (48) 7222-7228
Recent studies have concluded that coal-tar-based pavement sealants are a major source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in urban settings in large parts of the United States. In 2006, Austin, TX, became the first jurisdiction in the U.S. to ban the use of coal-tar sealants. We evaluated the effect of...
Mobile terrestrial light detection and ranging (T-LiDAR) survey of areas on Dauphin Island, Alabama, in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac, 2012
Dustin R. Kimbrow
2014, Data Series 855
Topographic survey data of areas on Dauphin Island on the Alabama coast were collected using a truck-mounted mobile terrestrial light detection and ranging system. This system is composed of a high frequency laser scanner in conjunction with an inertial measurement unit and a position and orientation computer to produce highly...
Histograms showing variations in oil yield, water yield, and specific gravity of oil from Fischer assay analyses of oil-shale drill cores and cuttings from the Piceance Basin, northwestern Colorado
John D. Dietrich, Michael E. Brownfield, Ronald C. Johnson, Tracey J. Mercier
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1057
Recent studies indicate that the Piceance Basin in northwestern Colorado contains over 1.5 trillion barrels of oil in place, making the basin the largest known oil-shale deposit in the world. Previously published histograms display oil-yield variations with depth and widely correlate rich and lean oil-shale beds and zones throughout the...
Reproductive ecology of lampreys
Nicholas S. Johnson, Tyler J. Buchinger, Weiming Li
2014, Book chapter, Lampreys: Biology, Conservation and Control
Lampreys typically spawn in riffle habitats during the spring. Spawning activity and diel (i.e., during daylight and at night) behavioral patterns are initiated when spring water temperatures increase to levels that coincide with optimal embryologic development. Nests are constructed in gravel substrate using the oral disc to move stones and...
Variability common to global sea surface temperatures and runoff in the conterminous United States
Gregory J. McCabe, David M. Wolock
2014, Journal of Hydrometeorology (15) 714-725
Singular value decomposition (SVD) is used to identify the variability common to global sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and water-balance-modeled water-year (WY) runoff in the conterminous United States (CONUS) for the 1900–2012 period. Two modes were identified from the SVD analysis; the two modes explain 25% of the variability in WY...
Conceptual model of the uppermost principal aquifer systems in the Williston and Powder River structural basins, United States and Canada
Andrew J. Long, Katherine R. Aurand, Jennifer M. Bednar, Kyle W. Davis, Jonathan D.R.G. McKaskey, Joanna N. Thamke
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5055
The three uppermost principal aquifer systems of the Northern Great Plains—the glacial, lower Tertiary, and Upper Cretaceous aquifer systems—are described in this report and provide water for irrigation, mining, public and domestic supply, livestock, and industrial uses. These aquifer systems primarily are present in two nationally important fossil-fuelproducing areas: the...
Hydrogeologic framework of the uppermost principal aquifer systems in the Williston and Powder River structural basins, United States and Canada
Joanna N. Thamke, Gary D. LeCain, Derek W. Ryter, Roy Sando, Andrew J. Long
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5047
The glacial, lower Tertiary, and Upper Cretaceous aquifer systems in the Williston and Powder River structural basins within the United States and Canada are the uppermost principal aquifer systems and most accessible sources of groundwater for these energy-producing basins. The glacial aquifer system covers the northeastern part of the Williston...
Estimates of inorganic nitrogen wet deposition from precipitation for the conterminous United States, 1955-84
Jo Ann M. Gronberg, Amy S. Ludtke, Donna L. Knifong
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5067
The U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water-Quality Assessment program requires nutrient input information for analysis of national and regional assessment of water quality. Historical data are needed to lengthen the data record for assessment of trends in water quality. This report provides estimates of inorganic nitrogen deposition from precipitation for the...
California Groundwater Units
Tyler D. Johnson, Kenneth Belitz
2014, Data Series 796
The California Groundwater Units dataset classifies and delineates areas within the State of California into one of three groundwater-based polygon units: (1) those areas previously defined as alluvial groundwater basins or subbasins, (2) highland areas that are adjacent to and topographically upgradient of groundwater basins, and (3) highland areas not...
Summary of suspended-sediment concentration data, San Francisco Bay, California, water year 2010
Paul A. Buchanan, Tara L. Morgan
2014, Data Series 808
Suspended-sediment concentration data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in San Francisco Bay during water year 2010 (October 1, 2009–September 30, 2010). Turbidity sensors and water samples were used to monitor suspended-sediment concentration at two sites in Suisun Bay, one site in San Pablo Bay, three sites in Central...
What are gas hydrates?
Y. C. Beaudoin, W. Waite, R. Boswell, Scott Dallimore, editor(s)
2014, Book chapter, Frozen heat: UNEP global outlook on methane gas hydrates
The English chemistry pioneer Sir Humphry Davy first combined gas and water to produce a solid substance in his lab in 1810. For more than a century after that landmark moment, a small number of scientists catalogued various solid “hydrates” formed by combining water with an assortment of gases and...
The hydrogeology of the Tully Valley, Onondaga County, New York: an overview of research, 1992-2012
William M. Kappel
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1076
Onondaga Creek begins approximately 15 miles south of Syracuse, New York, and flows north through the Onondaga Indian Nation, then through Syracuse, and finally into Onondaga Lake in central New York. Tully Valley is in the upper part of the Onondaga Creek watershed between U.S. Route 20 and the Valley...
Atrazine reduces reproduction in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes)
Diana M. Papoulias, Donald E. Tillitt, Melaniya G. Talykina, Jeffrey J. Whyte, Catherine A. Richter
2014, Aquatic Toxicology (154) 230-239
Atrazine is an effective broadleaf herbicide and the second most heavily used herbicide in the United States. Effects along the hypothalamus–pituitary–gonad axis in a number of vertebrate taxa have been demonstrated. Seasonally elevated concentrations of atrazine in surface waters may adversely affect fishes, but only a few studies have examined...
Modeling regeneration responses of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) to abiotic conditions
Daniel R. Schlaepfer, William K. Lauenroth, John B. Bradford
2014, Ecological Modelling (286) 66-77
Ecosystems dominated by big sagebrush, Artemisia tridentata Nuttall (Asteraceae), which are the most widespread ecosystems in semiarid western North America, have been affected by land use practices and invasive species. Loss of big sagebrush and the decline of associated species, such as greater sage-grouse, are a concern to land managers...
Dissolved-solids sources, loads, yields, and concentrations in streams of the conterminous United States
David W. Anning, Marilyn E. Flynn
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5012
Recent studies have shown that excessive dissolved-solids concentrations in water can have adverse effects on the environment and on agricultural, domestic, municipal, and industrial water users. Such effects motivated the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Quality Assessment Program to develop a SPAtially-Referenced Regression on Watershed Attributes (SPARROW) model that has...
Arsenic, iron, lead, manganese, and uranium concentrations in private bedrock wells in southeastern New Hampshire, 2012-2013
Sarah M. Flanagan, Marcel Belaval, Joseph D. Ayotte
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3042
Trace metals, such as arsenic, iron, lead, manganese, and uranium, in groundwater used for drinking have long been a concern because of the potential adverse effects on human health and the aesthetic or nuisance problems that some present. Moderate to high concentrations of the trace metal arsenic have been identified...
Differentiating transpiration from evaporation in seasonal agricultural wetlands and the link to advective fluxes in the root zone
P.A.M. Bachand, S. Bachand, Jacob A. Fleck, Frank E. Anderson, Lisamarie Windham-Myers
2014, Science of the Total Environment (484) 232-248
The current state of science and engineering related to analyzing wetlands overlooks the importance of transpiration and risks data misinterpretation. In response, we developed hydrologic and mass budgets for agricultural wetlands using electrical conductivity (EC) as a natural conservative tracer. We developed simple differential equations that quantify evaporation and transpiration...
Concurrent photolytic degradation of aqueous methylmercury and dissolved organic matter
Jacob A. Fleck, Gary W. Gill, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Tamara E.C. Kraus, Bryan D. Downing, Charles N. Alpers
2014, Science of the Total Environment (484) 263-275
Monomethyl mercury (MeHg) is a potent neurotoxin that threatens ecosystem viability and human health. In aquatic systems, the photolytic degradation of MeHg (photodemethylation) is an important component of the MeHg cycle. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is also affected by exposure to solar radiation (light exposure) leading to changes in DOM...
