Nitrate Trends in Minnesota Rivers
Dave Wall, Dave Christopherson, Dave Lorenz, Gary Martin
2013, Book chapter, Nitrogen in Minnesota surface waters:
The objective of this study was to assess long-term trends (30 to 35 years) of flow-adjusted concentrations of nitrite+nitrate-N (hereinafter referred to as nitrate) in a way that would allow us to discern changing trends. Recognizing that these trends are commonly different from one river to another river and from...
Creating potentiometric surfaces from combined water well and oil well data in the midcontinent of the United States
Nicholas J. Gianoutsos, Philip H. Nelson
2013, Book, 125th Anniversary Annual Meeting & Expo: The Geological Society of America
For years, hydrologists have defined potentiometric surfaces using measured hydraulic-head values in water wells from aquifers. Down-dip, the oil and gas industry is also interested in the formation pressures of many of the same geologic formations for the purpose of hydrocarbon recovery. In oil and gas exploration, drillstem tests (DSTs)...
Characterization of cyanophyte biomass in a Bureau of Reclamation reservoir
Nancy S. Simon, Ahmad Abdul Ali, Kyle Michael Samperton, Charles S. Korson, Kris Fischer, Michael L. Hughes
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1156
The purpose of this study was to characterize the cyanophyte Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA) from Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, (UKL) and, based on this description, explore uses for AFA, which would have commercial value. AFA collected from UKL in 2010 from eight sites during a period of approximately 2 weeks were...
Improving regression-model-based streamwater constituent load estimates derived from serially correlated data
Brent T. Aulenbach
2013, Journal of Hydrology (503) 55-66
A regression-model based approach is a commonly used, efficient method for estimating streamwater constituent load when there is a relationship between streamwater constituent concentration and continuous variables such as streamwater discharge, season and time. A subsetting experiment using a 30-year dataset of daily suspended sediment observations from the Mississippi River...
Gastric evacuation rate, index of fullness, and daily ration of Lake Michigan slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus) and deepwater sculpin (Myoxocephalus thompsonii)
Justin G. Mychek-Londer, David B. Bunnell
2013, Journal of Great Lakes Research (39) 327-335
Accurate estimates of fish consumption are required to understand trophic interactions and facilitate ecosystem-based fishery management. Despite their importance within the food-web, no method currently exists to estimate daily consumption for Great Lakes slimy (Cottus cognatus) and deepwater sculpin (Myoxocephalus thompsonii). We conducted experiments to estimate gastric evacuation (GEVAC) and...
Emergency assessment of post-fire debris-flow hazards for the 2013 Rim Fire, Stanislaus National Forest and Yosemite National Park, California
Dennis M. Staley
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1260
Wildfire can significantly alter the hydrologic response of a watershed to the extent that even modest rainstorms can produce dangerous flash floods and debris flows. In this report, empirical models are used to predict the probability and magnitude of debris-flow occurrence in response to a 10-year rainstorm for the 2013...
Nitrate in the Mississippi River and its tributaries, 1980-2010: an update
Jennifer C. Murphy, Robert M. Hirsch, Lori A. Sprague
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5169
Nitrate concentration and flux were estimated from 1980 through 2010 at eight sites in the Mississippi River Basin as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). These estimates extend the results from a previous investigation that provided nitrate estimates from 1980 through 2008...
Groundwater contributions of flow, nitrate, and dissolved organic carbon to the lower San Joaquin River, California, 2006-08
Celia Zamora, Randy A. Dahlgren, Charles R. Kratzer, Bryan D. Downing, Ann D. Russell, Peter D. Dileanis, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Steven P. Phillips
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5151
The influence of groundwater on surface-water quality in the San Joaquin River, California, was examined for a 59-mile reach from the confluence with Salt Slough to Vernalis. The primary objective of this study was to quantify the rate of groundwater discharged to the lower San Joaquin River and the contribution...
Monitoring change in Great Salt Lake
David L. Naftz, Cory E. Angeroth, Michael L. Freeman, Ryan C. Rowland, Gregory Carling
2013, Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union (94) 289-296
Despite the ecological and economic importance of Great Salt Lake, only limited water quality monitoring has occurred historically. To change this, new monitoring stations and networks—gauges of lake level height and rate of inflow, moored buoys, and multiple lake-bottom sensors—will provide important information that can be used to make informed...
Migration and wintering areas of American Bitterns (Botaurus lentiginosus) that summer in central North America as determined by satellite and radio telemetry, 1998-2003
Guy Huschle, John E. Toepfer, David C. Douglas
2013, Waterbirds (36) 300-309
Twenty adult male American Bitterns (Botaurus lentiginosus) were marked on summer range in central North America with satellite tracking Platform Transmitter Terminals (PTTs) to document migration routes and wintering range. Nineteen complete fall migration routes were documented for 17 individuals. Of the successful migrations, 63% (n = 12) went to...
The effects of elevated water temperature on native juvenile mussels: implications for climate change
Alissa M. Ganser, Teresa J. Newton, Roger J. Haro
2013, Freshwater Science (32) 1168-1177
Native freshwater mussels are a diverse but imperiled fauna and may be especially sensitive to increasing water temperatures because many species already may be living near their upper thermal limits. We tested the hypothesis that elevated water temperatures (20, 25, 30, and 35°C) adversely affected the survival and physiology of...
Genetic structure, diversity and subspecies status of Gull-billed Terns (Gelochelidon nilotica) from the United States
Mark P. Miller, Thomas D. Mullins, Susan M. Haig
2013, Waterbirds (36) 310-318
Gull-billed Terns (Gelochelidon nilotica) are among the most widespread, yet scarce, Charadriiformes in the world. Two subspecies are recognized in the United States: G. n. aranea breeds along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts and G. n. vanrossemi breeds in the Salton Sea and San Diego Bay of California. Conservation...
Seepage investigations of the Rio Grande from below Leasburg Dam, Leasburg, New Mexico, to above American Dam, El Paso, Texas, 2006-13
D.M. Crilley, A.M. Matherne, Nicole Thomas, S.E. Falk
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1233
Seepage investigations were conducted annually by the U.S. Geological Survey from 1988 to 1998 and from 2004 to 2013 along a 64-mile reach of the Rio Grande from below Leasburg Dam, Leasburg, New Mexico, to above American Dam, El Paso, Texas, as part of the Mesilla Basin monitoring program. Results...
Qualilty, isotopes, and radiochemistry of water sampled from the Upper Moenkopi Village water-supply wells, Coconino County, Arizona
Rob Carruth, Kimberly Beisner, Greg Smith
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1162
The Hopi Tribe Water Resources Program has granted contracts for studies to evaluate water supply conditions for the Moenkopi villages in Coconino County, Arizona. The Moenkopi villages include Upper Moenkopi Village and the village of Lower Moencopi, both on the Hopi Indian Reservation south of the Navajo community of Tuba...
Postwildfire debris-flow hazard assessment of the area burned by the 2013 West Fork Fire Complex, southwestern Colorado
Kristine L. Verdin, Jean A. Dupree, Michael R. Stevens
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1259
This report presents a preliminary emergency assessment of the debris-flow hazards from drainage basins burned by the 2013 West Fork Fire Complex near South Fork in southwestern Colorado. Empirical models derived from statistical evaluation of data collected from recently burned basins throughout the intermountain western United States were used to...
Phreatophytes under stress: transpiration and stomatal conductance of saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) in a high-salinity environment
Edward P. Glenn, Pamela L. Nagler, Kiyomi Morino, Kevin Hultine
2013, Plant and Soil (371) 655-672
Background and aims: We sought to understand the environmental constraints on an arid-zone riparian phreatophtye, saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima and related species and hybrids), growing over a brackish aquifer along the Colorado River in the western U.S. Depth to groundwater, meteorological factors, salinity and soil hydraulic properties were compared at stress...
Transient calibration of a groundwater-flow model of Chimacum Creek Basin and vicinity, Jefferson County, Washington: a supplement to Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5160
Joseph L. Jones, Kenneth H. Johnson
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1258
A steady-state groundwater-flow model described in Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5160, ”Numerical Simulation of the Groundwater-Flow System in Chimacum Creek Basin and Vicinity, Jefferson County, Washington” was developed to evaluate potential future impacts of growth and of water-management strategies on water resources in the Chimacum Creek Basin. This supplement to that...
Revised shallow and deep water-level and storage-volume changes in the Equus Beds Aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, predevelopment to 1993
Cristi V. Hansen, Jennifer L. Lanning-Rush, Andrew C. Ziegler
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5170
Beginning in the 1940s, the Wichita well field was developed in the Equus Beds aquifer in southwestern Harvey County and northwestern Sedgwick County to supply water to the city of Wichita. The decline of water levels in the aquifer was noted soon after the development of the Wichita well field...
Maturation characteristics and life history strategies of the Pacific Lamprey, Entosphenus tridentatus
Benjamin J. Clemens, Stan van de Wetering, Stacia A. Sower, Carl B. Schreck
2013, Canadian Journal of Zoology (91) 775-788
Lampreys (Petromyzontiformes) have persisted over millennia and now suffer a recent decline in abundance. Complex life histories may have factored in their persistence; anthropogenic perturbations in their demise. The complexity of life histories of lampreys is not understood, particularly for the anadromous Pacific lamprey, Entosphenus tridentatus Gairdner, 1836. Our goals...
Estimating riparian and agricultural evapotranspiration by reference crop evapotranspiration and MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index
Pamela L. Nagler, Edward P. Glenn, Uyen Nguyen, Russell Scott, Tania Doody
2013, Remote Sensing (5) 3849-3871
Dryland river basins frequently support both irrigated agriculture and riparian vegetation and remote sensing methods are needed to monitor water use by both crops and natural vegetation in irrigation districts. We developed an algorithm for estimating actual evapotranspiration (ETa) based on the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) from the Moderate Resolution...
Irrigation trends in Kansas, 1991-2011
Joan F. Kenny, Kyle E. Juracek
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3094
This fact sheet examines trends in total reported irrigation water use and acres irrigated as well as irrigation water use by crop type and system type in Kansas for the years 1991 through 2011. During the 21-year period, total reported irrigation water diversions varied substantially from year to year as...
Chuckwalla Valley multiple-well monitoring site, Chuckwalla Valley, Riverside County
Rhett R. Everett
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1221
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, is evaluating the geohydrology and water availability of the Chuckwalla Valley, California. As part of this evaluation, the USGS installed the Chuckwalla Valley multiple-well monitoring site (CWV1) in the southeastern portion of the Chuckwalla Basin. Data collected...
Deriving Chesapeake Bay Water Quality Standards
Peter J. Tango, Richard A. Batiuk
2013, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (49) 1007-1024
Achieving and maintaining the water quality conditions necessary to protect the aquatic living resources of the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries has required a foundation of quantifiable water quality criteria. Quantitative criteria serve as a critical basis for assessing the attainment of designated uses and measuring progress toward meeting...
Evaluation of Pleistocene groundwater flow through fractured tuffs using a U-series disequilibrium approach, Pahute Mesa, Nevada, USA
James B. Paces, Paul J. Nichols, Leonid A. Neymark, Harihar Rajaram
2013, Chemical Geology (358) 101-118
Groundwater flow through fractured felsic tuffs and lavas at the Nevada National Security Site represents the most likely mechanism for transport of radionuclides away from underground nuclear tests at Pahute Mesa. To help evaluate fracture flow and matrix–water exchange, we have determined U-series isotopic compositions on more than 40...
Recreational water quality response to a filtering barrier at a Great Lakes beach
Kasia Przybyla-Kelly, Meredith Nevers, Cathy Breitenbach, Richard L. Whitman
2013, Journal of Environmental Management (129) 635-641
Recent research has sought to determine the off- or onshore origin of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) in order to improve local recreational water quality. In an effort to reduce offshore contamination, a filtering barrier (FB) was installed at Calumet Beach, Lake Michigan, Chicago, IL. A horseshoe-shaped curtain (146 m long,...
