Estimating streamflow and base flow within the nontidal Chesapeake Bay riverine system
Patrick C. Buffington, Paul D. Capel
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5055
Daily mean streamflow was estimated for all the nontidal parts of the Chesapeake Bay riverine system with the Unit Flows in Networks of Channels computer application using measured streamflow at the most downstream gage of selected rivers. The streamflows estimated by the Unit Flows in Networks of Channels computer application...
Legacy effects of hydrologic alteration in playa wetland responses to droughts
Micah T. Russell, Jennifer M. Cartwright, Gail H. Collins, Ryan A. Long, Jan H. Eitel
2020, Wetlands (40) 2011-2024
Wetland conservation increasingly must account for climate change and legacies of previous land-use practices. Playa wetlands provide critical wildlife habitat, but may be impacted by intensifying droughts and previous hydrologic modifications. To inform playa restoration planning, we asked: (1) what are the trends in playa inundation? (2) what are the...
A guidebook to spatial datasets for conservation planning under climate change in the Pacific Northwest
Jennifer M. Cartwright, Travis Belote, Kyle W. Blasch, Steve Campbell, Jeanne C. Chambers, Raymond J. Davis, Solomon Dobrowski, Jason B. Dunham, Diana Gergel, Daniel Isaak, Kristin Jaeger, Meade Krosby, Jesse Langdon, Joshua J. Lawler, Caitlin E. Littlefield, Charles H. Luce, Jeremy D Maestas, Anthony Martinez, Arjan J.H. Meddens, Julia Michalak, Sean A. Parks, Wendy Peterman, Ken Popper, Chris Ringo, Roy Sando, Michael Schindel, Diana Stralberg, David M. Theobald, Nathan Walker, Chad Wilsey, Zhiqiang Yang, Andrew Yost
Jennifer M. Cartwright, editor(s)
2020, Report
This guidebook provides user-friendly overviews of a variety of spatial datasets relevant to conservation and management of natural resources in the face of climate change in the Pacific Northwest, United States. Each guidebook chapter was created using a standardized template to summarize a spatial dataset or a group of closely...
Comparison of storm runoff models for a small watershed in an urban metropolitan area, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Zachary M. Shephard, Kyle R. Douglas-Mankin
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5058
In order to comply with a current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency watershed-based National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, the City of Albuquerque required a better understanding of the rainfall-runoff processes in its small urban watersheds. That requirement prompted the initiation of the assessment of three existing watershed models that were...
Brianna postcard
U.S. Geological Survey
2020, General Information Product 205
Brianna is a hydrologist in the Hydrologic Investigations (Studies) Unit. She received a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering and a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Kansas....
Brad postcard
U.S. Geological Survey
2020, General Information Product 204
Brad is a hydrologist in the Surface Water Investigation Unit. He received his bachelor of science degree in natural sciences from Concordia University in Wisconsin and his master’s degree in freshwater sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee....
Hydrologic technician postcard
U.S. Geological Survey
2020, General Information Product 203
Hydrologic technicians collect water data related to water quantity, quality, availability, and movement in surface-water and groundwater environments.For more information, visit https://www.usajobs.gov....
Chantelle postcard
U.S. Geological Survey
2020, General Information Product 202
Chantelle is a hydrologist in the Surface Water Investigation Unit. She received her bachelor of science degree in environmental geology from the University of Kansas....
Hydrologist postcard
U.S. Geological Survey
2020, General Information Product 201
Hydrologists study the properties, distribution, and effects of water on the Earth’s surface, in the soil and underlying rocks, and in the atmosphere.For more information, visit https://www.usajobs.gov....
Observations of an extreme atmospheric river storm with a diverse sensor network
Benjamin J. Hatchett, Q. Cao, Phillip B. Dawson, C. J. Ellis, C. W. Hecht, B. Kawzenuk, J. T. Lancaster, T. C. Osborne, A. M. Wilson, M. L. Anderson, M. D. Dettinger, J. F. Kalansky, M. L. Kaplan, D. P. Lettenmaier, N. S. Oakley, R. M. Ralph, D. W. Reynolds, A. B. White, M. Sierks, E. Sumargo
2020, Earth and Space Science (7)
Observational networks enhance real‐time situational awareness for emergency and water resource management during extreme weather events. We present examples of how a diverse, multitiered observational network in California provided insights into hydrometeorological processes and impacts during a 3‐day atmospheric river storm centered on 14 February 2019. This network, which has...
Hydrogeologic and geochemical characterization of groundwater resources in Pine and Wah Wah Valleys, Iron, Beaver, and Millard Counties, Utah
Philip M. Gardner, Thomas M. Marston, Susan G. Buto, Lynette E. Brooks
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5139
Pine and Wah Wah Valleys are neighboring structural basins that encompass about 1,330 square miles in Beaver, Iron, and Millard Counties in Utah, approximately 50 miles northwest of Cedar City, Utah, and 50 miles southeast of Baker, Nevada. Perennial streamflow is limited and only exists in higher-altitude reaches of small...
Hydrologic conditions in Kansas, water year 2019
Chantelle Davis
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3029
The U.S. Geological Survey Kansas Water Science Center, in cooperation with Federal, State, and local agencies, maintains a long-term network of hydrologic monitoring stations in the State of Kansas. These include a network of 217 real-time streamgages and 12 real-time reservoir-level monitoring stations in water year 2019. The data and associated analyses...
Hydrologic signals and surprises in U.S. streamflow records during urbanization
Aditi S. Bhaskar, Kristina G. Hopkins, Brianne K Smith, Tim A Stephens, Andy J Miller
2020, Water Resources Research (56)
Urban development has been observed to lead to variable magnitudes of change for stormflow volume and directions of baseflow change across cities. This work examines temporal streamflow trends across the flow duration curve in 53 watersheds during periods of peak urban development, which ranged from 1939 to...
An international code comparison study on coupled thermal, hydrologic and geomechanical processes of natural gas hydrate-bearing sediments
M.D. White, T.J. Kneafsey, Y. Seol, William F. Waite, S. Uchida, J.S. Lin, E.M. Myshakin, X Gai, S. Gupta, M.T. Reagan, A.F. Queiruga, S. Kim
2020, Journal of Marine and Petroleum Geology (120)
Geologic reservoirs containing gas hydrate occur beneath permafrost environments and within marine continental slope sediments, representing a potentially vast natural gas source. Numerical simulators provide scientists and engineers with tools for understanding how production efficiency depends on the numerous, interdependent (coupled) processes associated with potential production strategies for these gas...
Parameter estimation for multiple post-wildfire hydrologic models
Brian A. Ebel, John A. Moody
2020, Hydrological Processes (34) 4049-4066
Predictions of post‐wildfire flooding and debris flows are needed, typically with short lead times. Measurements of soil‐hydraulic properties necessary for model parameterization are, however, seldom available. This study quantified soil‐hydraulic properties, soil‐water retention, and selected soil physical properties within the perimeter of the 2017 Thomas Fire...
Effects of stormwater runoff from selected bridge decks on conditions of water, sediment, and biological quality in receiving waters in South Carolina, 2013 to 2018
Celeste A. Journey, Matthew D. Petkewich, Kevin J. Conlon, Andral W. Caldwell, Jimmy M. Clark, Jeffrey W. Riley, Paul M. Bradley
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5046
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Transportation, investigated the effects of stormwater runoff from bridge decks on stream water quality conditions in South Carolina. The investigation assessed 5 bridges in 3 physiographic provinces in South Carolina (Piedmont, Upper Coastal Plain, and Lower Coast Plain)...
Calibrated simulation of the long-term average surficial groundwater system and derived spatial distributions of its characteristics for the contiguous United States
Wesley O. Zell, Ward E. Sanford
2020, Water Resources Research (56)
While the physical processes governing groundwater flow are well understood, and the computational resources now exist for solving the governing equations in three dimensions over continental-scale domains, there remains substantial uncertainty about the subsurface distribution of the properties that control groundwater flow and transport for much of the contiguous United...
Deep Learning as a tool to forecast hydrologic response for landslide-prone hillslopes
Elijah Orland, Joshua J. Roering, Matthew A. Thomas, Benjamin B. Mirus
2020, Geophysical Research Letters (47)
Empirical thresholds for landslide warning systems have benefitted from the incorporation of soil‐hydrologic monitoring data, but the mechanistic basis for their predictive capabilities is limited. Although physically based hydrologic models can accurately simulate changes in soil moisture and pore pressure that promote landslides, their utility is restricted...
Modeling the surface water and groundwater budgets of the US using MODFLOW-OWHM
Mustafa H Alattar, Tara J Troy, Tess A Russo, Scott E. Boyce
2020, Advances in Water Resources (143)
Assessments of groundwater and surface water budgets at a large scale, such as the contiguous United States, often separately analyze the complex dynamics linking the surface and subsurface categories of water resources. These dynamics include recharge and groundwater contributions to streamflow. The...
Hydrologic export is a major component of coastal wetland carbon budgets
Matthew Bogard, Brian A. Bergamaschi, David Butman, Frank Anderson, Sara Knox, Lisamarie Windham-Myers
2020, Global Biogeochemical Cycles (34)
Coastal wetlands are among the most productive habitats on Earth and sequester globally significant amounts of atmospheric carbon (C). Extreme rates of soil C accumulation are widely assumed to reflect efficient C storage. Yet the fraction of wetland C lost via hydrologic export has not been...
Improved fish counting method accurately quantifies high‐density fish movement in dual‐frequency identification sonar data files from a coastal wetland environment
Michael R. Eggleston, Scott W. Milne, Maxwell Ramsay, Kurt P. Kowalski
2020, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (40) 883-892
There are many ways to quantify fish movement through shallow‐water habitats, but most noninvasive methods (e.g., visual counts) are not effective in turbid coastal wetland waters of the Great Lakes. Dual‐frequency identification sonar (DIDSON) technology (Sound Metrics) offers a noninvasive, hydroacoustic‐based approach to characterize fish movement in wetlands and other...
Hydrologic modeling to examine the influence of the forestry reclamation approach and climate change on mineland hydrology
Tanja N. Williamson, Chris D. Barton
2020, Science of the Total Environment (743)
Forests in the Appalachian region of the U.S. are threatened by a variety of short- and long-term pressures, including climate change, invasive species, and resource extraction. Surface mining for coal is one of the most important drivers of land-use...
Prioritizing river basins for intensive monitoring and assessment by the US Geological Survey
Peter C. Van Metre, Sharon L. Qi, Jeffrey R. Deacon, Cheryl A. Dieter, Jessica M. Driscoll, Michael N. Fienen, Terry A. Kenney, Patrick M. Lambert, David P. Lesmes, Christopher Allen Mason, Anke Mueller-Solger, MaryLynn Musgrove, Jaime A. Painter, Donald O. Rosenberry, Lori A. Sprague, Anthony J. Tesoriero, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, David M. Wolock
2020, Environmental Modeling & Assessment (192)
The US Geological Survey (USGS) is currently (2020) integrating its water science programs to better address the nation’s greatest water resource challenges now and into the future. This integration will rely, in part, on data from 10 or more intensively monitored river basins from across the USA. A team of...
Urban stream syndrome and contaminant uptake in salamanders of Central Texas
Peter H. Diaz, Erik L. Orsak, Floyd W. Weckerly, Mike A. Montagne, David A. Alvarez
2020, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (11) 287-299
We studied the ecological health of springs experiencing varying levels of urban development to assess impacts to rare endemic salamanders (Eurycea spp.) of Central Texas. We evaluated measures of invertebrate species richness, water quality, and contaminant uptake by salamanders to determine how springs and their inhabitants were being affected by urban...
Wildfire-driven changes in hydrology mobilize arsenic and metals from legacy mine waste
Sheila F. Murphy, R. Blaine McCleskey, Deborah A. Martin, JoAnn M. Holloway, Jeffrey H. Writer
2020, Science of the Total Environment (743)
Wildfires burning in watersheds that have been mined and since revegetated pose unique risks to downstream water supplies. A wildfire near Boulder, Colorado that burned a forested watershed recovering from mining disturbance that occurred 80-160 years ago allowed us to 1) assess arsenic and metal contamination in streams draining the...
