Concentration, flux, and the analysis of trends of total and dissolved phosphorus, total nitrogen, and chloride in 18 tributaries to Lake Champlain, Vermont and New York, 1990–2011
Laura Medalie
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5021
Annual concentration, flux, and yield for total phosphorus, dissolved phosphorus, total nitrogen, and chloride for 18 tributaries to Lake Champlain were estimated for 1990 through 2011 using a weighted regression method based on time, tributary streamflows (discharges), and seasonal factors. The weighted regression method generated two series of daily estimates...
Field trial of a pulsed limestone diversion well
Philip L. Sibrell, C. Denholm, Margaret Dunn
2013, Conference Paper, 2nd Wyoming reclamation and restoration symposium and 30th annual meeting of the American society of mining and reclamation: Reclamation across industries
The use of limestone diversion wells to treat acid mine drainage (AMD) is well-known, but in many cases, acid neutralization is not as complete as would be desired. Reasons for this include channeling of the water through the limestone bed, and the slow reaction rate of the limestone gravel. A...
Improving predictive power of physically based rainfall-induced shallow landslide models: a probablistic approach
S. Raia, M. Alvioli, M. Rossi, R.L. Baum, J. W. Godt, F. Guzzetti
2013, Geoscientific Model Development and Discussions (6) 1367-1426
Distributed models to forecast the spatial and temporal occurrence of rainfall-induced shallow landslides are deterministic. These models extend spatially the static stability models adopted in geotechnical engineering and adopt an infinite-slope geometry to balance the resisting and the driving forces acting on the sliding mass. An infiltration model is used...
Hydrogeology of the West Branch Delaware River basin, Delaware County, New York
Richard J. Reynolds
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5025
In 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, began a study of the hydrogeology of the West Branch Delaware River (Cannonsville Reservoir) watershed. There has been recent interest by energy companies in developing the natural gas reserves that are trapped within...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Wisconsin
William J. Carswell Jr.
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3032
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of Wisconsin, elevation data are critical for agriculture and precision farming, natural resources conservation, flood risk management, infrastructure and construction management, water supply...
Groundwater well inventory and assessment in the area of the proposed Normally Pressured Lance natural gas development project, Green River Basin, Wyoming, 2012
Michael J. Sweat
2013, Data Series 770
During May through September 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, inventoried and assessed existing water wells in southwestern Wyoming for inclusion in a possible groundwater-monitor network. Records were located for 3,282 wells in the upper Green River Basin, which includes the U.S. Geological...
Properties of basin-fill deposits, a 1971–2000 water budget, and surface-water-groundwater interactions in the upper Humboldt River basin, northeastern Nevada
Russell W. Plume, J. LaRue Smith
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5077
This study was done in cooperation with Elko County, Nevada in response to concerns over growing demand for water within the county and increasing external demands that are occurring statewide. The upper Humboldt River basin encompasses 4,360 square miles in northeastern Nevada and includes the headwaters area of the Humboldt...
Development of a numerical model to simulate groundwater flow in the shallow aquifer system of Assateague Island, Maryland and Virginia
John P. Masterson, Michael N. Fienen, Dean B. Gesch, Carl S. Carlson
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1111
A three-dimensional groundwater-flow model was developed for Assateague Island in eastern Maryland and Virginia to simulate both groundwater flow and solute (salt) transport to evaluate the groundwater system response to sea-level rise. The model was constructed using geologic and spatial information to represent the island geometry, boundaries, and physical properties...
Landscape consequences of natural gas extraction in Fayette and Lycoming Counties, Pennsylvania, 2004–2010
E.T. Slonecker, L.E. Milheim, C.M. Roig-Silva, A.R. Malizia, B.H. Gillenwater
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1119
Increased demands for cleaner burning energy, coupled with the relatively recent technological advances in accessing unconventional hydrocarbon-rich geologic formations, have led to an intense effort to find and extract natural gas from various underground sources around the country. One of these sources, the Marcellus Shale, located in the Allegheny Plateau,...
The timing of scour and fill in a gravel-bedded river measured with buried accelerometers
Andrew S. Gendaszek, Christopher S. Magirl, Christiana R. Czuba, Christopher P. Konrad
2013, Journal of Hydrology (495) 186-196
A device that measures the timing of streambed scour and the duration of sediment mobilization at specific depths of a streambed was developed using data-logging accelerometers placed within the gravel substrate of the Cedar River, Washington, USA. Each accelerometer recorded its orientation every 20 min and remained stable until the...
Documenting the stages and streamflows associated with the 2011 activation of the New Madrid Floodway, Missouri
Todd A. Koenig, Robert R. Holmes Jr.
2013, Professional Paper 1798-E
The U.S. Geological Survey initiated a substantial effort in the summer of 2011 to measure and document the record-setting floods of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, including the reach in and near the New Madrid Floodway. The activation of the floodway, which had not occurred since 1937, provided a rare...
Mercury in wetlands at the Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge, northwestern Minnesota, 2007-9
Timothy K. Cowdery, Mark E. Brigham
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5068
The Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge was established in 2004 on land in northwestern Minnesota that had previously undergone extensive wetland and prairie restorations. About 7,000 acres of drained wetlands were restored to their original hydrologic function and aquatic ecosystem. During 2007–9, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the...
Variations in surface water-ground water interactions along a headwater mountain stream : comparisons between transient storage and water balance analyses
Adam S. Ward, Robert A. Payn, Michael N. Gooseff, Brian L. McGlynn, Kenneth E. Bencala, Christa A. Kelleher, Steven M. Wondzell, Thorsten Wagener
2013, Water Resources Research (49) 3359-3374
The accumulation of discharge along a stream valley is frequently assumed to be the primary control on solute transport processes. Relationships of both increasing and decreasing transient storage, and decreased gross losses of stream water have been reported with increasing discharge; however, we have yet to validate these relationships with...
The influence of vegetation on the hydrodynamics and geomorphology of a tree island in Everglades National Park (Florida, United States)
Pamela L. Sullivan, Victor C. Engel, Michael S. Ross, Rene M. Price
2013, Ecohydrology (7) 727-744
Transpiration-driven nutrient accumulation has been identified as a potential mechanism governing the creation and maintenance of wetland vegetation patterning. This process may contribute to the formation of nutrient-rich tree islands within the expansive oligotrophic marshes of the Everglades (Florida, United States). This study presents hydrogeochemical data indicating that tree root...
Hydrologic controls on the transport and cycling of carbon and nitrogen in a boreal catchment underlain by continuous permafrost
Joshua C. Koch, Robert L. Runkel, Robert G. Striegl, Diane M. McKnight
2013, Journal of Geophysical Research G: Biogeosciences (118) 698-712
Boreal ecosystems represent a large carbon (C) reservoir and a substantial source of greenhouse gases. Hydrologic conditions dictate whether C leached from boreal soils is processed in catchments or flushed to less productive environments via the stream. This study quantified hydrologic and biogeochemical C loss from a boreal catchment underlain...
Macroinvertebrate diets reflect tributary inputs and turbidity-driven changes in food availability in the Colorado River downstream of Glen Canyon Dam
Holly A. Wellard Kelly, Emma J. Rosi-Marshall, Theodore A. Kennedy, Robert O. Hall Jr., Wyatt F. Cross, Colden V. Baxter
2013, Freshwater Science (32) 397-410
Physical changes to rivers associated with large dams (e.g., water temperature) directly alter macroinvertebrate assemblages. Large dams also may indirectly alter these assemblages by changing the food resources available to support macroinvertebrate production. We examined the diets of the 4 most common macroinvertebrate taxa in the Colorado River through Glen...
A Unified Flash Flood Database across the United States
Jonathan J. Gourley, Yang Hong, Zachary L. Flamig, Ami Arthur, Robert Clark, Martin Calianno, Isabelle Ruin, Terry W. Ortel, Michael Wieczorek, Pierre-Emmanuel Kirstetter, Edward Clark, Witold F. Krajewski
2013, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (94) 799-805
Despite flash flooding being one of the most deadly and costly weather-related natural hazards worldwide, individual datasets to characterize them in the United States are hampered by limited documentation and can be difficult to access. This study is the first of its kind to assemble, reprocess, describe, and disseminate a...
Global climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico: Considerations for integrated coastal management
John W. Day, Alejandro Yáñez-Arancibia, James H. Cowan, Richard H. Day, Robert R. Twilley, John R. Rybczyk
2013, Book chapter, Gulf of Mexico origin, waters, and biota, volume 4: Ecosystem-based management
Global climate change is important in considerations of integrated coastal management in the Gulf of Mexico. This is true for a number of reasons. Climate in the Gulf spans the range from tropical to the lower part of the temperate zone. Thus, as climate warms, the tropical temperate interface, which...
Use of soil-streamwater relationships to assess regional patterns of acidic deposition effects in the northeastern USA
Jason Siemion, Gregory B. Lawrence, Peter S. Murdoch
2013, Hydrological Processes (28) 3615-3626
Declines of acidic deposition levels by as much as 50% since 1990 have led to partial recovery of surface waters in the northeastern USA but continued depletion of soil calcium through this same period suggests a disconnection between soil and surface water chemistry. To investigate the role of soil-surface water...
Redd dewatering effects on hatching and larval survival of the robust redhorse
J. M. Fisk III, Thomas J. Kwak, R. J. Heise, F. W. Sessions
2013, River Research and Applications (29) 574-581
Riverine habitats have been altered and fragmented from hydroelectric dams and change spatially and temporally with hydropower flow releases. Hydropeaking flow regimes for electrical power production inundate areas that create temporary suitable habitat for fish that may be rapidly drained. Robust redhorse Moxostoma robustum, an imperiled, rare fish species, uses...
Operational evapotranspiration mapping using remote sensing and weather datasets: A new parameterization for the SSEB approach
Gabriel B. Senay, Stefanie Bohms, Ramesh K. Singh, Prasanna H. Gowda, Naga Manohar Velpuri, Henok Alemu, James P. Verdin
2013, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (49) 577-591
The increasing availability of multi-scale remotely sensed data and global weather datasets is allowing the estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) at multiple scales. We present a simple but robust method that uses remotely sensed thermal data and model-assimilated weather fields to produce ET for the contiguous United States (CONUS) at monthly...
Integrated coastal management in the Mississippi Delta: System functioning as the basis of sustainable management
John W. Day, John Barras, G. Paul Kemp, Robert R. Lane, William J. Mitsch, P.H. Templet
2013, Book chapter, Gulf of Mexico origin, waters, and biota, volume 4: Ecosystem-based management
No abstract available...
Hyperpycnal plume-derived fans in the Santa Barbara Channel, California
Jonathan A. Warrick, Alexander R. Simms, Andy Ritchie, Elisabeth Steel, Pete Dartnell, James E. Conrad, David P. Finlayson
2013, Geophysical Research Letters (40) 2081-2086
Hyperpycnal gravity currents rapidly transport sediment across shore from rivers to the continental shelf and deep sea. Although these geophysical processes are important sediment dispersal mechanisms, few distinct geomorphic features on the continental shelf can be attributed to hyperpycnal flows. Here we provide evidence of large depositional features derived from...
Invasive zebra mussels (Driessena polymorpha) and Asian clams (Corbicula fluminea) survive gut passage of migratory fish species: implications for dispersal
Michael R. Gatlin, Daniel E. Shoup, James M. Long
2013, Biological Invasions (15) 1195-1200
The introduction and spread of invasive species is of great concern to natural resource managers in the United States. To effectively control the spread of these species, managers must be aware of the multitude of dispersal methods used by the organisms. We investigated the potential for survival through the gut...
The silent threat of low genetic diversity
Margaret E. Hunter
2013, livebetter Magazine
Across the Caribbean, protected coastal waters have served as primary feeding and breeding grounds for the endangered Antillean manatee. Unfortunately, these same coastal waters are also a popular “habitat” for humans. In the past, the overlap between human and manatee habitat allowed for manatee hunting and threatened the survival of...