Effects of brush management on the hydrologic budget and water quality in and adjacent to Honey Creek State Natural Area, Comal County, Texas, 2001-10
J. Ryan Banta, Richard N. Slattery
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5226
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Edwards Region Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative, the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, the San Antonio River Authority, the Edwards Aquifer Authority, Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority, and...
Tidal Boundary Conditions in SEAWAT
Ann E. Mulligan, Christian Langevin, Vincent Post
2011, Ground Water (49) 866-879
SEAWAT, a U.S. Geological Survey groundwater flow and transport code, is increasingly used to model the effects of tidal motion on coastal aquifers. Different options are available to simulate tidal boundaries but no guidelines exist nor have comparisons been made to identify the most effective approach. We test seven methods...
The relation of harvesting intensity to changes in soil, soil water, and stream chemistry in a northern hardwood forest, Catskill Mountains, USA
Jason Siemion, Douglas A. Burns, Peter S. Murdoch, Rene H. Germain
2011, Forest Ecology and Management (261) 1510-1519
Previous studies have shown that clearcutting of northern hardwood forests mobilizes base cations, inorganic monomeric aluminum (Alim), and nitrate (NO3--N) from soils to surface waters, but the effects of partial harvests on NO3--N have been less frequently studied. In this study we describe the effects of a series of partial...
Nest survival of American Coots relative to grazing, burning, and water depths
Jane E. Austin, Deborah A. Buhl
2011, Avian Conservation and Ecology (6) 1-14
Water and emergent vegetation are key features influencing nest site selection and success for many marsh-nesting waterbirds. Wetland management practices such as grazing, burning, and water-level manipulations directly affect these features and can influence nest survival. We used model selection and before-after-control-impact approaches to evaluate the effects of water depth...
Hyperspectral remote sensing of vegetation and agricultural crops: Knowledge gain and knowledge gap after 40 years of research
Prasad S. Thenkabail, John G. Lyon, Alfredo Huete
Prasad S. Thenkabail, John G. Lyon, Alfredo Huete, editor(s)
2011, Book chapter, Hyperspectral remote sensing of vegetation
The focus of this chapter was to summarize the advances made over last 40+ years, as reported in various chapters of this book, in understanding, modeling, and mapping terrestrial vegetation using hyperspectral remote sensing (or imaging spectroscopy) using sensors that are ground-based, truck-mounted, airborne, and spaceborne. As we have seen...
Advances in hyperspectral remote sensing of vegetation and agricultural croplands
Prasad S. Thenkabail, John G. Lyon, Alfredo Huete
Prasad S. Thenkabail, John G. Lyon, Alfredo Huete, editor(s)
2011, Book, Hyperspectral remote sensing of vegetation
Recent advances in hyperspectral remote sensing (or imaging spectroscopy) demonstrate a great utility for a variety of land monitoring applications. It is now possible to be diagnostic in sensing species and plant communities using remotely sensed data and to do so in a direct and informed manner using modern tools...
Hydrostratigraphic interpretation of test-hole and geophysical data, Upper Loup River Basin, Nebraska, 2008-10
Christopher M. Hobza, Theodore H. Asch, Paul A. Bedrosian
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1289
Nebraska's Upper Loup Natural Resources District is currently (2011) participating in the Elkhorn-Loup Model to understand the effect of various groundwater-management scenarios on surface-water resources. During Phase 1 of the Elkhorn-Loup Model, a lack of subsurface geological information in the Upper Loup Natural Resources District, hereafter referred to as the...
Trends in lake chemistry in response to atmospheric deposition and climate in selected Class I wilderness areas in Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming, 1993-2009
M. Alisa Mast, George P. Ingersoll
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5123
In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Air Resource Management, began a study to evaluate long-term trends in lake-water chemistry for 64 high-elevation lakes in selected Class I wilderness areas in Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming during 1993 to 2009. The...
Pathogenic bacteria and microbial-source tracking markers in Brandywine Creek Basin, Pennsylvania and Delaware, 2009-10
Joseph W. Duris, Andrew G. Reif, Leif E. Olson, Heather E. Johnson
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5164
The City of Wilmington, Delaware, is in the downstream part of the Brandywine Creek Basin, on the main stem of Brandywine Creek. Wilmington uses this stream, which drains a mixed-land-use area upstream, for its main drinking-water supply. Because the stream is used for drinking water, Wilmington is in need of...
Response of lake chemistry to atmospheric deposition and climate in selected Class I wilderness areas in the western United States, 1993-2009
M. Alisa Mast
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3084
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Air Resource Management, conducted a study to evaluate long-term trends in lake-water chemistry for 64 high-elevation lakes in selected Class I wilderness areas in Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming during 1993 to 2009. Understanding how and...
Analysis of trends in climate, streamflow, and stream temperature in north coastal California
Mary Ann Madej
C. Nicholas Medley, Glenn Patterson, Melanie J. Parker, editor(s)
2011, Conference Paper, Observing, studying, and managing for change - Proceedings of the Fourth Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2011–5169
As part of a broader project analyzing trends in climate, streamflow, vegetation, salmon, and ocean conditions in northern California national park units, we compiled average monthly air temperature and precipitation data from 73 climate stations, streamflow data from 21 river gaging stations, and limited stream temperature data from salmon-bearing rivers...
Potential climate change effects on water tables and pyrite oxidation in headwater catchments in Colorado
Richard M. Webb, M. Alisa Mast, Andrew H. Manning, David W. Clow, Donald H. Campbell
C. Nicholas Medley, Glenn Patterson, Melanie J. Parker, editor(s)
2011, Conference Paper, Observing, studying, and managing for change - Proceedings of the Fourth Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2011–5169
A water, energy, and biogeochemical model (WEBMOD) was constructed to simulate hydrology and pyrite oxidation for the period October 1992 through September 1997. The hydrologic model simulates processes in Loch Vale, a 6.6-km² granitic watershed that drains the east side of the Continental Divide. Parameters describing pyrite oxidation were derived...
Quality of our groundwater resources: Arsenic and fluoride
D. Kirk Nordstrom
2011, Geosciences (13) 82-87
Groundwater often contains arsenic or fluoride concentrations too high for drinking or cooking. These constituents, often naturally occurring, are not easy to remove. The right combination of natural or manmade conditions can lead to elevated arsenic or fluoride which includes continental source rocks, high alkalinity and pH, reducing conditions for...
Evaluating the potential for remote bathymetric mapping of a turbid, sand-bed river: 2. application to hyperspectral image data from the Platte River
Carl J. Legleiter, Paul J. Kinzel, Brandon T. Overstreet
2011, Water Resources Research (47)
This study examined the possibility of mapping depth from optical image data in turbid, sediment-laden channels. Analysis of hyperspectral images from the Platte River indicated that depth retrieval in these environments is feasible, but might not be highly accurate. Four methods of calibrating image-derived depth estimates were evaluated. The first...
Evaluating the potential for remote bathymetric mapping of a turbid, sand-bed river: 1. Field spectroscopy and radiative transfer modeling
Carl J. Legleiter, Paul J. Kinzel, Brandon T. Overstreet
2011, Water Resources Research (47)
Remote sensing offers an efficient means of mapping bathymetry in river systems, but this approach has been applied primarily to clear-flowing, gravel bed streams. This study used field spectroscopy and radiative transfer modeling to assess the feasibility of spectrally based depth retrieval in a sand-bed river with a higher suspended...
Differences in macroinvertebrate community structure in streams and rivers with different hydrologic regimes in the semi-arid Colorado Plateau
Matthew P. Miller, Anne M.D. Brasher
2011, River Systems (19) 225-238
Aquatic macroinvertebrates are sensitive to changes in their chemical and physical environment, and as such, serve as excellent indicators of overall ecosystem health. Moreover, temporal and spatial differences in macroinvertebrate community structure can be used to investigate broad issues in aquatic science, such as the hypothesis that changes in climate...
If the creeks don't rise: the May 2010 Flood in Nashville
Rodney R. Knight, William J. Wolfe, David E. Ladd
2011, Water Resources Impact (13) 9-12
The aftermath, recovery, and lessons of the future following a major flood that inundated the greater Nashville area one year ago are the subjects of this article. The authors discuss what led up to the event, its impacts, and what, if anything, can be done to prevent or diminish the...
The fate and transport of nitrate in shallow groundwater in northwestern Mississippi, USA
Heather L. Welch, Christopher T. Green, Richard H. Coupe
2011, Hydrogeology Journal (19) 1239-1252
Agricultural contamination of groundwater in northwestern Mississippi, USA, has not been studied extensively, and subsurface fluxes of agricultural chemicals have been presumed minimal. To determine the factors controlling transport of nitrate-N into the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, a study was conducted from 2006 to 2008 to estimate fluxes of...
The evaluation of a rake method to quantify submersed vegetation in the Upper Mississippi River
Yao Yin, Rebecca M. Kreiling
2011, Hydrobiologia (675) 187-195
A long-handled, double-headed garden rake was used to collect submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) and compared to in-boat visual inspection to record species presence at 67 individual sites. Six rake subsamples were taken at each site and a rake density rating was given to each species collected in the subsamples. Presence...
Carbon gas fluxes in re-established wetlands on organic soils differ relative to plant community and hydrology
Robin L. Miller
2011, Wetlands (31) 1055-1066
We measured CO2 and CH4 fluxes for 6 years following permanent flooding of an agriculturally managed organic soil at two water depths (~25 and ~55 cm standing water) in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California, as part of research studying C dynamics in re-established wetlands. Flooding rapidly reduced gaseous C losses,...
Catch of channel catfish with tandem-set hoop nets and gill nets in lentic systems of Nebraska
Lindsey K. Richters, Kevin L. Pope
2011, American Fisheries Society Symposium (77) 573-580
Twenty-six Nebraska water bodies representing two ecosystem types (small standing waters and large standing waters) were surveyed during 2008 and 2009 with tandem-set hoop nets and experimental gill nets to determine if similar trends existed in catch rates and size structures of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus captured with these gears....
Are isolated wetlands isolated?
Loren M. Smith, Ned H. Euliss Jr., David A. Haukos
2011, National Wetlands Newsletter (33) 26-27
While federal regulations during the past 10 years have treated isolated wetlands as unconnected to aquatic resources protected by the Clean Water Act, they provide critical ecosystem services to society that extend well beyond their wetland boundaries. The authors offer well-documented examples from the scientific literature on some of the...
Estimation of volumetric runoff coefficients for Texas watersheds using land-use and rainfall-runoff data
Nirajan Dhakal, Xing Fang, Theodore G. Cleveland, David B. Thompson, William H. Asquith, Luke J. Marzen
2011, Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering (138) 43-54
The rational method for peak discharge (Qp">Qp) estimation was introduced in the 1880s. Although the rational method is considered simplistic, it remains an effective method for estimating peak discharge for...
Book review: World atlas of mangroves
Ken W. Krauss, Daniel A. Friess
2011, Wetlands (31) 1003-1005
Nearly 14 years have passed since the first atlas, World Mangrove Atlas (Spalding et al. 1997), was published. While scientists throughout the world have shared their insights about these ecosystems from a handful of “classic” mangrove ecology treatises, no book since has provided the same platform for...
Large-scale flow experiments for managing river systems
Christopher P. Konrad, Julian D. Olden, David A. Lytle, Theodore S. Melis, John C. Schmidt, Erin N. Bray, Mary Freeman, Keith B. Gido, Nina P. Hemphill, Mark J. Kennard, Laura E. McMullen, Meryl C. Mims, Mark Pyron, Christopher T. Robinson, John G. Williams
2011, BioScience (61) 948-959
Experimental manipulations of streamflow have been used globally in recent decades to mitigate the impacts of dam operations on river systems. Rivers are challenging subjects for experimentation, because they are open systems that cannot be isolated from their social context. We identify principles to address the challenges of conducting effective...
