Spatial and seasonal variability of dissolved methylmercury in two stream basins in the Eastern United States
Paul M. Bradley, Douglas A. Burns, Karen Riva-Murray, Mark E. Brigham, Daniel T. Button, Lia C. Chasar, Mark Marvin-DiPasquale, Mark A. Lowery, Celeste A. Journey
2011, Environmental Science & Technology (45) 2048-2055
We assessed methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations across multiple ecological scales in the Edisto (South Carolina) and Upper Hudson (New York) River basins. Out-of-channel wetland/floodplain environments were primary sources of filtered MeHg (F-MeHg) to the stream habitat in both systems. Shallow, open-water areas in both basins exhibited low F-MeHg concentrations and decreasing...
Documentation of methods and inventory of irrigation data collected for the 2000 and 2005 U.S. Geological Survey Estimated use of water in the United States, comparison of USGS-compiled irrigation data to other sources, and recommendations for future compilations
Jade M. Dickens, Brandon T. Forbes, Dylan S. Cobean, Saeid Tadayon
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5166
Every five years since 1950, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Use Information Program (NWUIP) has compiled water-use information in the United States and published a circular report titled "Estimated use of water in the United States," which includes estimates of water withdrawals by State, sources of water withdrawals...
Groundwater, surface-water, and water-chemistry data, Black Mesa area, northeastern Arizona—2009–10
Jamie P. Macy, Christopher R. Brown
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1198
The Navajo (N) aquifer is an extensive aquifer and the primary source of groundwater in the 5,400-square-mile Black Mesa area in northeastern Arizona. Availability of water is an important issue in northeastern Arizona because of continued water requirements for industrial and municipal use by a growing population and because of...
The role of adsorbed water on the friction of a layer of submicron particles
Charles G. Sammis, David A. Lockner, Ze’ev Reches
2011, Pure and Applied Geophysics (168) 2325-2334
Anomalously low values of friction observed in layers of submicron particles deformed in simple shear at high slip velocities are explained as the consequence of a one nanometer thick layer of water adsorbed on the particles. The observed transition from normal friction with an apparent coefficient near μ = 0.6...
Migration delays caused by anthropogenic barriers: modeling dams, temperature, and success on migrating salmon smolts
Elizabeth A. Marschall, Martha E. Mather, Donna L. Parrish, Gary W. Allison, James R. McMenemy
2011, Ecological Applications (21) 3014-3031
Disruption to migration is a growing problem for conservation and restoration of animal populations. Anthropogenic barriers along migration paths can delay or prolong migrations, which may result in a mismatch with migration-timing adaptations. To understand the interaction of dams (as barriers along a migration path), seasonally changing environmental conditions, timing...
The source, discharge, and chemical characteristics of water from Agua Caliente Spring, Palm Springs, California
Justin Brandt, Rufus D. Catchings, Allen H. Christensen, Alan L. Flint, Gini Gandhok, Mark R. Goldman, Keith J. Halford, Victoria E. Langenheim, Peter Martin, Michael J. Rymer, Roy A. Schroeder, Gregory A. Smith, Michelle Sneed
Peter Martin, editor(s)
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5156
Agua Caliente Spring, in downtown Palm Springs, California, has been used for recreation and medicinal therapy for hundreds of years and currently (2008) is the source of hot water for the Spa Resort owned by the Agua Caliente Band of the Cahuilla Indians. The Agua Caliente Spring is located about...
Adaptive management of bull trout populations in the Lemhi Basin
Andrew J. Tyre, James T. Peterson, Sarah J. Converse, Tiffany L. Bogich, Damien Miller, Max Post van der Burg, Carmen Thomas, Ralph J. Thompson, Jeri Wood, Donna Brewer, Michael C. Runge
2011, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (2) 262-281
The bull trout Salvelinus confluentus, a stream-living salmonid distributed in drainages of the northwestern United States, is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act because of rangewide declines. One proposed recovery action is the reconnection of tributaries in the Lemhi Basin. Past water use policies in this core area disconnected...
Effects of acid deposition on ecosystems: Advances in the state of the science
Douglas A. Burns, Mark E. Fenn, Jill Baron
2011, Report, National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program Report to Congress: An Integrated Assessment
Chapter 2 focused on the environmental results of the ARP, presenting data from national monitoring networks on SO2 and NOx emissions, air quality, atmospheric deposition, surface water chemistry, and visibility. This chapter expands on this information by examining the most recent research into how ecosystems respond to acid deposition, especially...
Hydrologic conditions and terrestrial laser scanning of post-firedebris flows in the San Gabriel Mountains, CA, U.S.A
K. M. Schmidt, M. N. Hanshaw, J. F. Howle, J. W. Kean, Dennis M. Staley, J. D. Stock, W. Bawdeng
2011, Italian Journal of Engineering Geology and Environment 583-593
To investigate rainfall-runoff conditions that generate post-wildfire debris flows, we instrumented and surveyed steep, small watersheds along the tectonically active front of the San Gabriel Mountains, California. Fortuitously, we recorded runoff-generated debris-flows triggered by one spatially restricted convective event with 28 mm of rainfall falling over 62 minutes. Our rain...
Simulation of the effects of groundwater withdrawals on water-level altitudes in the Sparta aquifer in the Bayou Meto-Grand Prairie area of eastern Arkansas, 2007-37
Brian R. Clark, Drew A. Westerman, D. Todd Fugitt
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5215
A groundwater-flow model of the Mississippi embayment was used to evaluate changes in water-level altitudes before (scenario 1) and after (scenario 2) the addition of wells that simulate potential future pumping from the Sparta aquifer in the Bayou Meto-Grand Prairie area of eastern Arkansas for the 30-year period from 2007...
Groundwater availability of the Mississippi embayment
Brian R. Clark, Rheannon M. Hart, Jason J. Gurdak
2011, Professional Paper 1785
Groundwater is an important resource for agricultural and municipal uses in the Mississippi embayment. Arkansas ranks first in the Nation for rice and third for cotton production, with both crops dependent on groundwater as a major source of irrigation requirements. Multiple municipalities rely on the groundwater resources to provide water...
Reinterpreting the importance of oxygen-based biodegradation in chloroethene-contaminated groundwater
Paul M. Bradley
2011, Ground Water Monitoring and Remediation (31) 50-55
Chlororespiration is common in shallow aquifer systems under conditions nominally identified as anoxic. Consequently, chlororespiration is a key component of remediation at many chloroethene-contaminated sites. In some instances, limited accumulation of reductive dechlorination daughter products is interpreted as evidence that natural attenuation is not adequate for site remediation. This conclusion...
A new tool to assess groundwater resources in the Mississippi embayment
Brian R. Clark, David A. Freiwald
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3115
What is the Mississippi Embayment? The Mississippi embayment study area encompasses approximately 78,000 square miles in eight States and includes large parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee, and smaller areas of Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri (fig. 1). The Mississippi embayment is essentially a basin that slopes toward the...
Salinity tolerance of non-native suckermouth armoured catfish (Loricariidae: Pterygoplichthys) in south-eastern Mexico: Implications for invasion and dispersal
Krista A. Capps, Leo G. Nico, Manuel Mendoza-Carranza, Wendi Arevalo-Frias, Andrew J. Ropicki, Sebastian A. Heilpern, Rocio Rodiles-Hernandez
2011, Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (21) 528-540
1. Salinity tolerance is one of several important physiological attributes that determine invasion success and the pattern of dispersal of introduced aquatic organisms. Introduced freshwater fishes able to tolerate elevated salinities have the potential to invade and exploit brackish-water (mixohaline) environments and use estuaries and coastal waters as 'bridges' for...
Microbial mineralization of dichloroethene and vinyl chloride under hypoxic conditions
Paul M. Bradley, Francis H. Chapelle
2011, Ground Water Monitoring and Remediation (31) 39-49
Mineralization of 14C-radiolabled vinyl chloride ([1,2-14C] VC) and cis-dichloroethene ([1,2-14C] cis-DCE) under hypoxic (initial dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations about 0.1 mg/L) and nominally anoxic (DO minimum detection limit = 0.01 mg/L) was examined in chloroethene-exposed sediments from two groundwater and two surface water sites. The results show significant VC and...
Hydraulic characteristics of low-impact development practices in northeastern Ohio, 2008–2010
Robert A. Darner, Denise H. Dumouchelle
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5165
Low-impact development (LID) is an approach to managing stormwater as near to its source as possible; this is accomplished by minimizing impervious surfaces and promoting more natural infiltration and evapotranspiration than is typically associated with developed areas. Two newly constructed LID sites in northeastern Ohio were studied to document their...
Selected approaches to estimate water-budget components of the High Plains, 1940 through 1949 and 2000 through 2009
Jennifer S. Stanton, Sharon L. Qi, Derek W. Ryter, Sarah E. Falk, Natalie A. Houston, Steven M. Peterson, Stephen M. Westenbroek, Scott C. Christenson
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5183
The High Plains aquifer, underlying almost 112 million acres in the central United States, is one of the largest aquifers in the Nation. It is the primary water supply for drinking water, irrigation, animal production, and industry in the region. Expansion of irrigated agriculture throughout the past 60 years has...
Hydrogeologic settings and groundwater-flow simulations for regional investigations of the transport of anthropogenic and natural contaminants to public-supply wells—Investigations begun in 2004
Sandra M. Eberts
2011, Professional Paper 1737-B
A study of the Transport of Anthropogenic and Natural Contaminants to public-supply wells (TANC study) was begun in 2001 as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The study was designed to shed light on factors that affect the vulnerability of groundwater and, more specifically, water...
Popular myths about flooding in Western Washington
Joseph L. Jones
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3146
Floods are the most destructive natural hazard in the Nation, causing more deaths and financial loss in the 20th century than any other natural disaster. The most significant 20 riverine floods of the 20th century for which data are available have killed more than 1,843 people and caused more than...
Migratory movements of waterfowl in Central Asia and avian influenza emergence: Sporadic transmission of H5N1 from east to west
Samuel A. Iverson, Andrei Gavrilov, Todd E. Katzner, John Y. Takekawa, Tricia A. Miller, Ward Hagemeijer, Taej Mundkur, Balachandran Sivananinthaperumal, Carlos C. DeMattos, Lu’ay S. Ahmed, Scott H. Newman
2011, Ibis (153) 279-292
Waterfowl in the genera Anas and Tadorna are suspected as vectors in the long‐distance transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1. The former Soviet Republics of Central Asia are situated at an important migratory crossroads for these and other species of birds that bridges regions where the disease is prevalent. However, waterfowl movements through...
National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center project accomplishments: highlights
Sally Holl
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3135
The National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center (NCCWSC) has invested more than $20M since 2008 to put cutting-edge climate science research in the hands of resource managers across the Nation. With NCCWSC support, more than 25 cooperative research initiatives led by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researchers and technical staff...
Seepage investigations of the Clackamas River, Oregon
Karl K. Lee
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5191
Analysis of streamflow measurements and continuous records of streamflow provided insight into interaction of the groundwater system with the Clackamas River in northwestern Oregon. This report assesses gains and losses of the Clackamas River based on streamflow measurements made during previous hydrologic studies, decades of continuous streamflow data, and a...
Role of back diffusion and biodegradation reactions in sustaining an MTBE/TBA plume in alluvial media
Ehsan Rasa, Steven W. Chapman, Barbara A. Bekins, Graham E. Fogg, Kate M. Scow, Douglas M. Mackay
2011, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology (126) 235-247
A methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) / tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) plume originating from a gasoline spill in late 1994 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) persisted for over 15 years within 200 feet of the original spill source. The plume persisted until 2010 despite excavation of the tanks and piping within...
Occurrence of antibiotic resistance and characterization of resistant genes and integrons in Enterobacteriaceae isolated from integrated fish farms south China
Hao-Chang Su, Guang-Guo Ying, Ran Tao, Rui-Quan Zhang, Lisa R. Fogarty, Dana W. Kolpin
2011, Journal of Environmental Monitoring (13) 3229-3236
Antibiotics are still widely applied in animal husbandry to prevent diseases and used as feed additives to promote animal growth. This could result in antibiotic resistance to bacteria and antibiotic residues in animals. In this paper, Enterobacteriaceae isolated from four integrated fish farms in Zhongshan, South China were tested for antibiotic resistance, tetracycline resistance genes, sulfonamide resistance genes, and class...
On the need for a national (US) research program to elucidate the potential risks to human health and the environment posed by contaminants of emerging concern
P.J. Novak, William A. Arnold, V. S. Blazer, R.U. Halden, R.D. Klaper, D.W. Kolpin, D. Kriebel, N.G. Love, D. Martinovic-Weigelt, H.B. Patisaul, S.A. Snyder, F. S. vom Saal, A.V. Weisbrod
2011, Environmental Science & Technology (45) 3829-3830
No abstract available....