Groundwater quality in the South Coast Range Coastal groundwater basins, California
Carmen A. Burton, Kenneth Belitz
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3015
Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project (PBP) of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s untreated groundwater quality and increases public...
The U.S. Geological Survey Bird Banding Laboratory: an integrated scientific program supporting research and conservation of North American birds
Gregory J. Smith
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1238
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) was established in 1920 after ratification of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act with the United Kingdom in 1918. During World War II, the BBL was moved from Washington, D.C., to what is now the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (PWRC). The...
Effects of stock use and backpackers on water quality in wilderness in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, USA
David W. Clow, Harrison Forrester, Benjamin Miller, Heidi Roop, James O. Sickman, Hodon Ryu, Jorge Santo Domingo
2013, Environmental Management (52) 1400-1414
During 2010-2011, a study was conducted in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (SEKI) to evaluate the influence of pack animals (stock) and backpackers on water quality in wilderness lakes and streams. The study had three main components: (1) a synoptic survey of water quality in wilderness areas of...
Is a salinity monitoring network "Worth its salt"?
Scott T. Prinos
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3079
Saltwater intrusion threatens the water supplies of many coastal communities. Management of these water supplies requires well-designed and properly maintained and operated salinity monitoring networks. Long-standing deficiencies identified in a salinity monitoring network in southwest Florida during a 2013 study (Prinos, 2013) help to illustrate the types of problems that...
Sediment source analysis in the Linganore Creek watershed, Maryland, USA, using the sediment fingerprinting approach: 2008 to 2010
Allen C. Gellis, Gregory B. Noe
2013, Journal of Soils and Sediments (13) 1735-1753
Purpose: Fine-grained sediment is an important pollutant in streams and estuaries, including the Chesapeake Bay in the USA. The objective of this study was to determine the sources of fine-grained sediment using the sediment fingerprinting approach in the Linganore Creek watershed, a tributary to the Chesapeake Bay. Materials and methods: The sediment fingerprinting approach was used in...
Laboratory evaluation of the Level TROLL 100 manufactured by In-Situ Inc.: results of pressure and temperature tests
Mark V. Carnley, Janice M. Fulford, Myron H. Brooks
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1173
The Level TROLL 100 manufactured by In-Situ Inc. was evaluated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF) for conformance to the manufacturer’s accuracy specifications for measuring pressure throughout the device’s operating temperature range. The Level TROLL 100 is a submersible, sealed, water-level sensing device with an operating...
Simulating stream transport of nutrients in the eastern United States, 2002, using a spatially-referenced regression model and 1:100,000-scale hydrography
Anne B. Hoos, Richard B. Moore, Ana Maria Garcia, Gregory B. Noe, Silvia E. Terziotti, Craig M. Johnston, Robin L. Dennis
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5102
Existing Spatially Referenced Regression on Watershed attributes (SPARROW) nutrient models for the northeastern and southeastern regions of the United States were recalibrated to achieve a hydrographically consistent model with which to assess nutrient sources and stream transport and investigate specific management questions about the effects of wetlands and atmospheric deposition...
Enhancements to the Mississippi Embayment Regional Aquifer Study (MERAS) groundwater-flow model and simulations of sustainable water-level scenarios
Brian R. Clark, Drew A. Westerman, D. Todd Fugitt
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5161
Arkansas continues to be one of the largest users of groundwater in the Nation. As such, long-term planning and management are essential to ensure continued availability of groundwater and surface water for years to come. The Mississippi Embayment Regional Aquifer Study (MERAS) model was developed previously as a tool to...
Use of multi-node wells in the Groundwater-Management Process of MODFLOW-2005 (GWM-2005)
David P. Ahlfeld, Paul M. Barlow
2013, Techniques and Methods 6-A47
Many groundwater wells are open to multiple aquifers or to multiple intervals within a single aquifer. These types of wells can be represented in numerical simulations of groundwater flow by use of the Multi-Node Well (MNW) Packages developed for the U.S. Geological Survey’s MODFLOW model. However, previous versions of the...
Water-quality and related aquatic biological characterization of Fish Creek, Teton County, Wyoming, 2007-2011
Cheryl A. Eddy-Miller, Jerrod D. Wheeler, David A. Peterson, Daniel J. Leemon
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3036
Fish Creek, in western Wyoming near the town of Wilson, is a key feature in the area because it is used for irrigation, fishing, and other recreation, and adds scenic value to properties it runs through. Public concern about nuisance growths of aquatic plants in Fish Creek has been increasing...
Characterization of water quality and biological communities, Fish Creek, Teton County, Wyoming, 2007-2011
Cheryl A. Eddy-Miller, David A. Peterson, Jerrod D. Wheeler, C. Scott Edmiston, Michelle L. Taylor, Daniel J. Leemon
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5117
Fish Creek, an approximately 25-kilometer-long tributary to Snake River, is located in Teton County in western Wyoming near the town of Wilson. Fish Creek is an important water body because it is used for irrigation, fishing, and recreation and adds scenic value to the Jackson Hole properties it runs through....
Plant responses, climate pivot points, and trade-offs in water-limited ecosystems
Seth M. Munson
2013, Ecosphere (4)
Plant species in dryland ecosystems are limited by water availability and may be vulnerable to increases in aridity. Methods are needed to monitor and assess the rate of change in plant abundance and composition in relation to climate, understand the potential for degradation in dryland ecosystems, and forecast future changes...
Estimation of sediment inflows to Lake Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 2009-11
K.G. Lee
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5152
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Tuscaloosa, evaluated the concentrations, loads, and yields of suspended sediment in the tributaries to Lake Tuscaloosa in west-central Alabama, from October 1, 2008, to January 31, 2012. The collection and analysis of these data will facilitate the comparison with historical...
Geospatial compilation of historical water-level altitudes in the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers 1977-2013 and Jasper aquifer 2000-13 in the Gulf Coast aquifer system, Houston-Galveston Region, Texas
Michaela R. Johnson, Robert H.H. Ellis
2013, Data Series 793
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District, City of Houston, Fort Bend Subsidence District, Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District, and Brazoria County Groundwater Conservation District has produced a series of annual reports depicting groundwater-level altitudes in the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifers of the Gulf...
Evaluating changes to reservoir rule curves using historical water-level data
Ethan Mower, Leandro E. Miranda
2013, International Journal of River Basin Management (11) 323-328
Flood control reservoirs are typically managed through rule curves (i.e. target water levels) which control the storage and release timing of flood waters. Changes to rule curves are often contemplated and requested by various user groups and management agencies with no information available about the actual flood risk of such...
Chemistry and age of groundwater in bedrock aquifers of the Piceance and Yellow Creek watersheds, Rio Blanco County, Colorado, 2010-12
P.B. McMahon, J.C. Thomas, A.G. Hunt
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5132
Fourteen monitoring wells completed in the Uinta and Green River Formations in the Piceance Creek and Yellow Creek watersheds in Rio Blanco County, Colorado, were sampled for chemical, isotopic, and groundwater-age tracers to provide information on the overall groundwater quality, the occurrence and distribution of chemicals that could be related...
Chemistry and age of groundwater in the Piceance structural basin, Rio Blanco county, Colorado, 2010-12
Peter B. McMahon, Judith C. Thomas, Andrew G. Hunt
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3047
Fourteen monitoring wells were sampled by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, to better understand the chemistry and age of groundwater in the Piceance structural basin in Rio Blanco County, Colorado, and how they may relate to the development of underlying natural-gas reservoirs. Natural...
Diel horizontal migration in streams: juvenile fish exploit spatial heterogeneity in thermal and trophic resources
Jonathan B. Armstrong, Daniel E. Schindler, Casey P. Ruff, Gabriel T. Brooks, Kale E. Bentley, Christian E. Torgersen
2013, Ecology (94) 2066-2075
Vertical heterogeneity in the physical characteristics of lakes and oceans is ecologically salient and exploited by a wide range of taxa through diel vertical migration to enhance their growth and survival. Whether analogous behaviors exploit horizontal habitat heterogeneity in streams is largely unknown. We investigated fish movement behavior at daily...
Response of cackling geese (Branta hutchinsii taverneri to spatial and temporal variation in production of crowberries on the Alaska Peninsula
Jerry W. Hupp, David E. Safine, Ryan M. Nielson
2013, Polar Biology (36) 1243-1255
Arctic geese often feed on berries during premigratory fattening. We hypothesized that during autumn staging on the Alaska Peninsula, the distribution of Taverne's cackling geese (Branta hutchinsii taverneri) would be correlated with spatial variation in crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) abundance. We also predicted that daily rates of fat increase among cackling...
Response of diatoms and silicoflagellates to climate change in the Santa Barbara Basin during the past 250 years and the rise of the toxic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia australis
John A. Barron, David Bukry, David B. Field, Bruce Finney
2013, Quaternary International (310) 140-154
Diatoms and silicoflagellate assemblages were examined in two year-increments of varved samples spanning the interval from 1748 through 2007 in Santa Barbara Basin (SBB) box core SBBC0806 to determine the timing and impact of possible 20th century warming on several different components of the plankton. Diatoms (Thalassionema nitzschioides =TN) and...
Ranking contributing areas of salt and selenium in the Lower Gunnison River Basin, Colorado, using multiple linear regression models
Joshua I. Linard
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5075
Mitigating the effects of salt and selenium on water quality in the Grand Valley and lower Gunnison River Basin in western Colorado is a major concern for land managers. Previous modeling indicated means to improve the models by including more detailed geospatial data and a more rigorous method for developing...
Baseline monitoring of the western Arctic Ocean estimates 20% of the Canadian Basin surface waters are undersaturated with respect to aragonite
Lisa L. Robbins, Jonathan G. Wynn, John T. Lisle, Kimberly K. Yates, Paul O. Knorr, Robert H. Byrne, Xuewu Liu, Mark C. Patsavas, Kumiko Azetsu-Scott, Taro Takahashi
2013, PLoS ONE (8)
Marine surface waters are being acidified due to uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide, resulting in surface ocean areas of undersaturation with respect to carbonate minerals, including aragonite. In the Arctic Ocean, acidification is expected to occur at an accelerated rate with respect to the global oceans, but a paucity of...
Recent (circa 1998 to 2011) channel-migration rates of selected streams in Indiana
Bret A. Robinson
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5168
An investigation was completed to document recent (circa 1998 to 2011) channel-migration rates at 970 meander bends along 38 of the largest streams in Indiana. Data collection was completed by using the Google Earth™ platform and, for each selected site, identifying two images with capture dates separated by multiple years....
Quality of groundwater and surface water, Wood River Valley, south-central Idaho, July and August 2012
Candice B. Hopkins, James R. Bartolino
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5163
Residents and resource managers of the Wood River Valley of south-central Idaho are concerned about the effects that population growth might have on the quality of groundwater and surface water. As part of a multi-phase assessment of the groundwater resources in the study area, the U.S. Geological Survey evaluated the...
Geohydrology, geochemistry, and groundwater simulation (1992-2011) and analysis of potential water-supply management options, 2010-60, of the Langford Basin, California
Lois M. Voronin, Jill N. Densmore, Peter Martin, Charles F. Brush, Carl S. Carlson, David M. Miller
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5101
Groundwater withdrawals began in 1992 from the Langford Basin within the Fort Irwin National Training Center (NTC), California. From April 1992 to December 2010, approximately 12,300 acre-feet of water (averaging about 650 acre-feet per year) has been withdrawn from the basin and transported to the adjacent Irwin Basin. Since withdrawals...
