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This chapter examines the uncertainties inherent in the water and chemical budgets of the lake in relation to the differences between chemical mass change in storage and to the balance between solute inputs and solute outputs associated with water fluxes. It begins by discussing uncertainty in the water budgets used...

In April 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (prior to 1994, the Soil Conservation Service) created the Reservoir Sedimentation Survey Database (RESSED) and Web site, the most comprehensive compilation of data from reservoir bathymetric and dry basin surveys in the United States. RESSED data can...

This book opens a new pathway for global mapping that is focused on a specific land use theme, such as irrigated or rain-fed croplands and classes within these themes. Since croplands use most of the water consumed by humans, specific knowledge of irrigated and rain-fed croplands will be critical for...

Increases in populations have created an increasing demand for food crops while increases in demand for biofuels have created an increase in demand for fuel crops. What has not increased is the amount of croplands and their productivity. These and many other factors such as decreasing water resources in a...

We review twentieth century and projected twenty-first century changes in climatic and hydrologic conditions in the northeastern United States and the implications of these changes for forest ecosystems. Climate warming and increases in precipitation and associated changes in snow and hydrologic regimes have been observed over the last century, with...

The article offers information on mineral resource ferrous slag. Ferrous slag is produced through the addition of materials such as limestone and dolomite to blast and steel furnaces to remove impurities from iron ore and to lower the heat requirements for processes in iron and steel making. It is stated...

The article presents facts about lime, which is said to be a caustic chemical manufactured from limestone or other calcium carbonates in a kiln at temperatures ranging from 935 to 1,350 degrees Celsius. It states that lime is widely used in industries such as steelmaking, paper production and chemical manufacturing....

This article provides information on thorium. Thorium is a natural radioactive element that can be found with other minerals. It can be used to generate power, produce light and transmit energy. Thorium has a potential to be used as a nuclear fuel. This element was discovered by Swedish chemist and...

The article offers information on pumice, an important commodity for the construction, horticulture and abrasives industries. The commodity is described as an extremely light, highly porous extrusive volcanic rock which was formed due to the rapid cooling of air-pocketed lava. It is noted that the characteristics of pumice make it...

The article offers information on bromine, a natural element considered as a dissolved species in seawater, saltwater lakes and underground brines linked with petroleum deposits. Bromine belongs to the halogen group of elements and is characterized with brownish-red color and beach-like odor. It is commonly used in flame retardants, agriculture...

Water resources data are published annually for use by engineers, scientists, managers, educators, and the general public. These archival products supplement direct access to current and historical water data provided by NWISWeb. Beginning with Water Year 2006, annual water data reports are available as individual electronic Site Data Sheets for...

Channel water balances of contiguous reaches along streams represent a poorly understood scale of stream-subsurface interaction. We measured reach water balances along a headwater stream in Montana, United States, during summer base flow recessions. Reach water balances were estimated from series of tracer tests in 13 consecutive reaches delineated evenly...

In arid regions of the southwestern United States, municipal wastewater treatment plants commonly discharge treated effluent directly into streams that would otherwise be dry most of the year. A better understanding is needed of how effluent-dependent waters (EDWs) differ from more natural aquatic ecosystems and the ecological effect of low...

Paleoclimate records play a key role in our understanding of Earth's past and present climate system and in our confidence in predicting future climate changes. Paleoclimate data help to elucidate past and present active mechanisms of climate change by placing the short instrumental record into a longer term context and...

In 1996 a group led by the late Kerry Kelts (University of Minnesota) and Robert Thompson (U.S. Geological Survey) acquired three piston cores (BL96-1, -2, and -3) from Bear Lake. The coring arose from their recognition of Bear Lake as a potential repository of long records of paleoenvironmental change. They...

Surrogate technologies to continuously monitor suspended sediment show promise toward supplanting traditional data collection methods requiring routine collection and analysis of water samples. Commercially available instruments operating on bulk optic (turbidity), laser optic, pressure difference, and acoustic backscatter principles are evaluated based on cost, reliability, robustness, accuracy, sample volume, susceptibility...

This article is a follow-up on a previous piece in the National Wetlands Newsletter in which we outlined problems associated with a static, local approach to wetland management versus an alternative that proposes a temporal and geomorphic approach (Euliss et al. 2009). We extend that concept by drawing on companion...

Turquoise Lake is a water-supply reservoir located north of the historic Sugarloaf Mining district near Leadville, Colorado, USA. Elevated water levels in the reservoir may increase flow of low-quality water from abandoned mine tunnels in the Sugarloaf District and degrade water quality downstream. The objective of this study was to...

The maps and graphs appearing in this summary describe streamflow conditions for water-year 2008 (October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008) in the context of the 79-year period 1930-2008, unless otherwise noted. The illustrations are based on observed data from the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Streamflow Information Program. The...

This report documents results of pilot tests of a protocol for monitoring estuarine nutrient enrichment for the Vital Signs Monitoring Program of the National Park Service Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network. Data collected from four parks during protocol development in 2003-06 are presented: Gateway National Recreation Area, Colonial National Historic...

Volusia County is in a unique and beautiful setting. This Florida landscape is characterized by low coastal plains bordered by upland areas of sandy ridges and many lakes. Beautiful streams and springs abound within the vicinity. Underneath the land surface is a deep layer of limestone rocks that stores fresh,...

Water budget studies of Mirror Lake aim to measure hydrologic components interacting with the lake as accurately as possible. However, measurements of water budget components are subject to some degree of uncertainty. This chapter describes the methods used to quantify water budget components of Mirror Lake in detail. It examines...

This chapter focuses on the hydrological setting of Mirror Lake and its water budget. It first describes the glacial deposits and bedrock topography in the Mirror Lake area. It then provides an overview of the hydrologic processes associated with Mirror Lake and examines the field and analytical methods used to...

A phosphorus budget was constructed for Delavan Lake Inlet, a perennial riverine wetland with submersed and floating aquatic vegetation in southeastern Wisconsin, to better understand the phosphorus dynamics in natural wetlands and the role of wetlands in lake-rehabilitation efforts. During the growing season, the...

The presence of 28 antibiotics in three hospital effluents, five wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), six rivers and a drinking water storage catchment were investigated within watersheds of South–East Queensland, Australia. All antibiotics were detected at least once, with the exception of the polypeptide bacitracin which was not detected at all....