Simulation of streamflow and the effects of brush management on water yields in the upper Guadalupe River watershed, south-central Texas, 1995-2010
Johnathan R. Bumgarner, Florence E. Thompson
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5051
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, developed and calibrated a Soil and Water Assessment Tool watershed model of the upper Guadalupe River watershed in south-central Texas to simulate streamflow and the effects of brush management...
Time scales of change in chemical and biological parameters after engineered levee breaches adjacent to Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes, Oregon
James S. Kuwabara, Brent R. Topping, James L. Carter, Tamara M. Wood, Francis Parcheso, Jason M. Cameron, Jessica R. Asbill, Rick A. Carlson, Steven V. Fend
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1057
Eight sampling trips were coordinated after engineered levee breaches hydrologically reconnected both Upper Klamath Lake and Agency Lake, Oregon, to adjacent wetlands. The reconnection, by a series of explosive blasts, was coordinated by The Nature Conservancy to reclaim wetlands that had for approximately seven decades been leveed for crop production....
Famous building stones of our Nation's capital
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3044
The buildings of our Nation's Capital are constructed with rocks from quarries located throughout the United States and many distant lands. The earliest Government buildings, however, were constructed with stones from nearby sources because it was too difficult and expensive to move heavy materials such as stone any great distance...
Dependence of flow and transport through the Williamson River Delta, Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, on wind, river inflow, and lake elevation
Tamara M. Wood
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5004
The hydrodynamic model of Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes, Oregon, was used to run 384 realizations of a numerical tracer experiment in order to understand the relative effects of wind, lake elevation, and Williamson River inflow on flow and transport (the movement of water and passively transported constituents) through the...
Summary and evaluation of the quality of stormwater in Denver, Colorado, 2006-2010
Michael R. Stevens, Cecil B. Slaughter
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1052
Stormwater in the Denver area was sampled by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District, in a network of 5 monitoring stations - 3 on the South Platte River and 2 on streams tributary to the South Platte River, Sand Creek, and Toll...
Thermal profiles for selected river reaches of the Methow and Chewuch Rivers, Washington, August 2011
Andrew S. Gendaszek
2012, Data Series 682
Longitudinal profiles of near-streambed and near-surface temperatures were collected for selected reaches of the Methow and Chewuch Rivers, Washington, during August 2011 to facilitate development of a stream temperature model near the confluence of the Methow and Chewuch Rivers. Temperature was measured using a probe with an internal datalogger towed...
Primer for identifying cold-water refuges to protect and restore thermal diversity in riverine landscapes
Christian E. Torgersen, Joseph L. Ebersole, D.M. Keenan
2012, Report
In 2003, EPA issued Region 10 guidance for Pacific Northwest state and tribal temperature water quality standards. This document was the culmination of a multi-agency, multi-disciplinary effort to develop a temperature standard for the protection of salmon, steelhead, bull trout, and redband and Lahontan cutthroat trout (collectively termed coldwater salmonids)....
Hydrologic, vegetation, and soil data collected in selected wetlands of the Big River Management area, Rhode Island, from 2008 through 2010
Meredith S. Borenstein, Francis C. Golet, David S. Armstrong, Robert F. Breault, Timothy D. McCobb, Peter K. Weiskel
2012, Data Series 666
The Rhode Island Water Resources Board planned to develop public water-supply wells in the Big River Management Area in Kent County, Rhode Island. Research in the United States and abroad indicates that groundwater withdrawal has the potential to affect wetland hydrology and related processes. In May 2008, the Rhode Island...
Comparison of two methods for estimating base flow in selected reaches of the South Platte River, Colorado
Joseph P. Capesius, L. Rick Arnold
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5034
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Colorado Water Conservation Board, compared two methods for estimating base flow in three reaches of the South Platte River between Denver and Kersey, Colorado. The two methods compared in this study are the Mass Balance and the Pilot Point methods. Base-flow estimates...
Modification of selected South Carolina bridge-scour envelope curves
Stephen T. Benedict, Andral W. Caldwell
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5029
Historic scour was investigated at 231 bridges in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain physiographic provinces of South Carolina by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Transportation. These investigations led to the development of field-derived envelope curves that provided supplementary tools to assess the potential...
Flooded area and plant zonation in isolated wetlands in well fields in the Northern Tampa Bay Region, Florida, following reductions in groundwater-withdrawal rates
Kim H. Haag, William R. Pfeiffer
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5039
The extent and duration of the flooded area were compared in two reference wetlands and nine wetlands in well fields in the northern Tampa Bay region, Florida, to determine whether reductions in well-field groundwater-withdrawal rates resulted in increases in wetland flooded area. Flooded area, expressed as a percentage of the...
Optimum swimming pathways of fish spawning migrations in rivers
Brandon McElroy, Aaron DeLonay, Robert Jacobson
2012, Ecology (93) 29-34
Fishes that swim upstream in rivers to spawn must navigate complex fluvial velocity fields to arrive at their ultimate locations. One hypothesis with substantial implications is that fish traverse pathways that minimize their energy expenditure during migration. Here we present the methodological and theoretical developments necessary to test this and...
Estimated trichloroethene transformation rates due to naturally occurring biodegradation in a fractured-rock aquifer
Francis H. Chapelle, Pierre J. Lacombe, Paul M. Bradley
2012, Remediation Journal (22) 7-20
Rates of trichloroethene (TCE) mass transformed by naturally occurring biodegradation processes in a fractured rock aquifer underlying a former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) site in West Trenton, New Jersey, were estimated. The methodology included (1) dividing the site into eight elements of equal size and vertically integrating observed concentrations...
Characterizing mercury concentrations and fluxes in a Coastal Plain watershed: Insights from dynamic modeling and data
H.E. Golden, C.D. Knightes, P.A. Conrads, G. M. Davis, T.D. Feaster, C.A. Journey, S.T. Benedict, M. E. Brigham, P. M. Bradley
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research (117)
Mercury (Hg) is one of the leading water quality concerns in surface waters of the United States. Although watershed-scale Hg cycling research has increased in the past two decades, advances in modeling watershed Hg processes in diverse physiographic regions, spatial scales, and land cover types are needed. The goal of...
Bibliography of groundwater resources of the glacial aquifer systems in Washington, Idaho, and northwestern Montana, 1905-2011
Sue C. Kahle, Zoe O. Futornick
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1053
The U.S. Geological Survey Groundwater Resources Program is undertaking a series of regional groundwater availability studies to improve our understanding of groundwater availability in major aquifers across the Nation. One of the objectives of the Glacial Principal Aquifers study (proposed) is to provide information on the occurrence of groundwater in...
Heterogeneous detection probabilities for imperiled Missouri River fishes: implications for large-river monitoring programs
J.T. Schloesser, Craig P. Paukert, W.J. Doyle, Tracy D. Hill, K.D. Steffensen, Vincent H. Travnichek
2012, Endangered Species Research (16) 211-224
Occupancy modeling was used to determine (1) if detection probabilities (p) for 7 regionally imperiled Missouri River fishes (Scaphirhynchus albus, Scaphirhynchus platorynchus, Cycleptus elongatus, Sander canadensis, Macrhybopsis aestivalis, Macrhybopsis gelida, and Macrhybopsis meeki) differed among gear types (i.e. stationary gill nets, drifted trammel nets, and otter trawls), and (2) how...
Status of groundwater quality in the San Fernando--San Gabriel study unit, 2005--California GAMA Priority Basin Project
Michael Land, Justin T. Kulongoski, Kenneth Belitz
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5206
Groundwater quality in the approximately 460-square-mile San Fernando--San Gabriel (FG) study unit was investigated as part of the Priority Basin Project of the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The study area is in Los Angeles County and includes Tertiary-Quaternary sedimentary basins situated within the Transverse Ranges of southern...
Groundwater quality in the San Fernando--San Gabriel groundwater basins, California
Justin T. Kulongoski, Kenneth Belitz
2012, Fact Sheet 2011-3139
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 of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State's groundwater quality and increases public access to...
The regional abundance and size distribution of lakes and reservoirs in the United States and implication for estimates of global lake extent
Cory P. McDonald, Jennifer Rover, Edward G. Stets, Robert G. Striegl
2012, Limnology and Oceanography (57) 597-606
We analyzed complete geospatial data for the 3.5 million lakes and reservoirs larger than 0.001 km2, with a combined surface area of 131,000 km2, in the contiguous United States (excluding the Laurentian Great Lakes) and identified their regional distribution characteristics. For Alaska, we also analyzed (1) incomplete data that suggest...
Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge: Lake Lowell water based recreation data summary
Rudy M. Schuster
2012, Report
Introduction: Established in 1909, Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge is one of the oldest refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System. The Refuge has two units, Lake Lowell and the Snake River Islands. The Lake Lowell Unit is 10,636 acres and includes the almost 9,000-acre Lake Lowell and surrounding lands....
Data collection and compilation for a geodatabase of groundwater, surface-water, water-quality, geophysical, and geologic data, Pecos County Region, Texas, 1930-2011
Daniel K. Pearson, Johnathan R. Bumgarner, Natalie A. Houston, Gregory P. Stanton, Andrew Teeple, Jonathan V. Thomas
2012, Data Series 678
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Middle Pecos Groundwater Conservation District, Pecos County, City of Fort Stockton, Brewster County, and Pecos County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1, compiled groundwater, surface-water, water-quality, geophysical, and geologic data for site locations in the Pecos County region, Texas, and developed a...
Algal community characteristics and response to nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in streams in the Ozark Plateaus, Southern Missouri, 1993-95 and 2006-07
Suzanne R. Femmer
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5209
Nutrient and algae data were collected in the 1990s and 2000s by the U.S. Geological Survey for the National Water- Quality Assessment program in the Ozark Highlands, southern Missouri. These data were collected at sites of differing drainage area, land use, nutrient concentrations, and physiography. All samples were collected at...
Dissolved oxygen as an indicator of bioavailable dissolved organic carbon in groundwater
Francis H. Chapelle, Paul M. Bradley, Peter B. McMahon, Karl Kaiser, Ron Benner
2012, Ground Water (50) 230-241
Concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO) plotted vs. dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in groundwater samples taken from a coastal plain aquifer of South Carolina (SC) showed a statistically significant hyperbolic relationship. In contrast, DO-DOC plots of groundwater samples taken from the eastern San Joaquin Valley of California (CA) showed a random...
Bathymetry of Totten Reservoir, Montezuma County, Colorado, 2011
Michael S. Kohn
2012, Scientific Investigations Map 3203
In order to better characterize the water supply capacity of Totten Reservoir, Montezuma County, Colorado, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Dolores Water Conservancy District, conducted a bathymetric survey of Totten Reservoir. The study was performed in June 2011 using a man-operated boat-mounted multibeam echo sounder integrated with...
Life histories, salinity zones, and sublethal contributions of contaminants to pelagic fish declines illustrated with a case study of San Francisco Estuary, California, USA
Marjorie L. Brooks, Erica Fleishman, Larry R. Brown, Peggy W. Lehman, Inge Werner, Nathaniel Scholz, Carys Michelmore, James R. Loworn, Michael L. Johnson, Daniel Schlenk
2012, Estuaries and Coasts (35) 603-621
Human effects on estuaries are often associated with major decreases in abundance of aquatic species. However, remediation priorities are difficult to identify when declines result from multiple stressors with interacting sublethal effects. The San Francisco Estuary offers a useful case study of the potential role of contaminants in declines of...
