Environmental characterization of Blue Mesa Reservoir and potential causes of and management strategies for harmful algal blooms, 1970 through 2023, Curecanti National Recreation Area, Colorado
Katherine Walton-Day, Natalie K. Day, M. Alisa Mast, Rachel G. Gidley, Evan J. Gohring, Tyler V. King, Warren C. Day, Nicole D. Gibney, Nancy J. Bauch
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5109
Blue Mesa Reservoir, in the Curecanti National Recreation Area, is the largest storage reservoir in Colorado and consists of three distinct basins: Iola (the shallowest), Cebolla, and Sapinero. After algal toxins were first documented in Iola basin in 2018, the U.S. Geological Survey began a study in cooperation with the...
Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Haynesville Formation within the onshore United States and State waters of the Gulf Coast Basin, 2024
Rand Gardner, Jason A. Flaum, Justin E. Birdwell, Scott A. Kinney, Janet K. Pitman, Stanley T. Paxton, Katherine L. French, Tracey J. Mercier, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Christopher J. Schenk
2025, Fact Sheet 2025-3054
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 152 million barrels of oil and 47.9 trillion cubic feet of gas in reservoirs of the Haynesville Formation within the onshore United States and State waters of the Gulf Coast Basin....
Quantifying leachable phosphorus from the leaves of common midwest urban street trees and implications for stormwater management
Collin Klaubauf, Anita Thompson, William R. Selbig, Laxmir Prasad
2025, Water, Air, & Soil Pollution (237)
Urban runoff containing high amounts of nutrients like phosphorus (P) is a well-established driver of surface water eutrophication. In residential areas, a primary source of nutrients is derived from leaf litter. P contained in leaves is leached and transported by stormwater from source to stream. The majority of P leached...
Assessing streams in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed to guide conservation and restoration activities
Kelly O. Maloney, Rosemary M. Fanelli, Matthew J. Cashman, Lindsey J. Boyle, Stephanie E. Gordon, Benjamin P. Gressler, Michelle P. Katoski, Alexander H. Kiser, Marina J. Metes, Gregory E. Noe, Andrew J. Sekellick, Allison Sussman, John A. Young
2025, Fact Sheet 2025-3056
Freshwater streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are home to numerous aquatic organisms (like fish, amphibians, mussels, and insects) and provide drinking water and recreational opportunities to people living in or visiting the watershed. Land-use changes, such as urban development and increased activities in certain agricultural sectors, have degraded water...
Sediment accumulation rates and volume in Pahranagat Wash above Arrow Canyon Dam in northern Moapa Valley, Nevada
Jon W. Wilson, Boris Poff, Christopher C. Fuller
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5106
An evaluation of sediment deposition rates and volume of impounded sediments in Pahranagat Wash behind Arrow Canyon dam in southeastern Nevada was done between 2016 and 2022. Data were collected and interpreted to address concerns by the Moapa Band of Paiutes and local historical preservation groups regarding the burial of...
U.S. Geological Survey—Department of the Interior, Region 11, Alaska—2023–24 biennial science report
Elizabeth M. Powers, Dee M. Williams, editor(s)
2025, Circular 1554
IntroductionU.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mission—The USGS national mission is to monitor, analyze, and predict the current and evolving dynamics of complex human and natural Earth-system interactions and to deliver actionable information at scales and timeframes relevant to decision makers. Consistent with the national mission, the USGS in Alaska provides timely...
Bacterial community diversity and potential eco-physiological roles in toxigenic blooms composed of Microcystis, Aphanizomenon or Planktothrix
Joanna Mankiewicz-Boczek, Arnoldo Font Nájera, Karina Yew_Hoong Gin, Jennifer L. Graham, Dominik Strapagiel, Rebecca Michelle Gorney, Jerome Wai Kok, Shu Harn Te, Magdalena Kluska, Milena Skóra, Michał Seweryn, Francisco Josue Hun
2025, Frontiers in Microbiology (16)
Cyanobacterial toxicity, cyanotoxins, and their impact on aquatic ecosystems and human health are well documented. In comparison, less is known about bloom-associated bacterial communities. Co-occurring bacteria can influence bloom development, physiology and collapse, and may also provide a niche for pathogenic bacteria. Existing research focuses on the cyanosphere of Microcystis-dominated blooms,...
The US EPA’s National Nutrient Inventory: Critical shifts in US nutrient pollution sources from 1987 to 2017
Meredith Brehob, Michael Pennino, Jana E. Compton, Qian Zhang, Marc H. Weber, Ryan A. Hill, Selia Markley, Brian Pickard, Maddie Keefer, Sarah M. Stackpoole, Lauren A Knose, Gerardo J. Ruiz-Mercado, Christopher M. Clark, Anne W. Rea, James N. Carleton, Jiajia Lin, Jesse O. Bash, Kristen M. Foley, Christian Hogrefe, Robert D. Sabo
2025, Environmental Science and Technology (59) 27836-27852
Efforts to constrain the negative environmental impacts of excess nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are costly and challenging, due in part to inconsistent reporting of nutrient sources at temporal and spatial scales relevant for local decision making. To meet this challenge, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Nutrient Inventory provides...
Multi-temporal surface water mapping with high-resolution elevation and image data through weakly supervised deep learning
Larry Stanislawski, Rongjun Qin, Jung-Kuan Liu, Ethan J. Shavers, Shaowen Wang, Nattapon Jaroenchai, Philip T. Thiem
2025, Conference Paper, Abstracts of the International Cartographic Association
Monitoring the extent of surface water features (hydrography), accurately storing them in databases, and representing them on topographic maps are essential for various applications such as navigation and policy-making for legislative boundaries and permitting. In this context, hydrographic data includes features that generally have water present or image data showing...
Efficacy of oblique bubble screen deterrents on redirecting live eggs and larvae of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) at different developmental stages
Vindhyawasini Prasad, Juan Martin Andrade Ramos, Cory Suski, P. Ryan Jackson, Amy E. George, Duane C. Chapman, Jesse Robert Fischer, Benjamin H. Stahlschmidt, Rafael O. Tinoco
2025, Water Resources Research (61)
Invasive carp have severely damaged aquatic ecosystems in the USA, particularly in the Mississippi River Basin. Behavioral deterrents have been developed in the last few decades to control population expansion into new ecosystems. However, none of these deterrents are capable of controlling early-life stage carp, which have limited or no...
Post-wildfire sediment fluxes and turbidity plumes in a coastal-draining watershed
Amanda M. Lopez, Tesfa W. Meshesha, Christine M. Lee, Ibrahim N. Mohammed, Erin L. Hestir, Thomas C. Harmon, Dulcinea Marie Avouris
2025, Earth and Space Science (12)
Coastal watersheds impacted by wildfires experience higher erosion resulting in increased sediment delivery to the ocean that alters limiting factors (i.e., light) for marine organisms. With increasing wildfire magnitude and severity, it is critical to explore changes in riverine discharges to the ocean to assess cascading hazards associated with wildfires....
Assessment of dragonfly and damselfly (Odonata) occupancy and habitat suitability at −12 Mile Slough, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona
Anya Metcalfe, Morgan Ford, Lawrence E. Stevens, Theodore Kennedy
2025, Open-File Report 2025-1042
Management practices that enhance habitat complexity in dam tailwaters often aim to increase biodiversity and improve ecosystem health. However, in other instances, management practices may simplify habitat features to help minimize the establishment of invasive species. These tradeoffs are complex, particularly in the face of drought and warming water temperatures....
Advancements in satellite observations of inland and coastal waters: Building towards a global validation network
Dulcinea Marie Avouris, Fernanda Maciel, Samantha L. Sharp, Susanne E. Craig, Arnold G. Dekker, Courtney A. Di Vittorio, John R. Gardner, Emma C. Goldsmith, Juan I. Gossn, Steven R. Greb, Brice K. Grunert, Daniela Gurlin, Mahesh Jampani, Rabia M. Khan, Ben Lowin, Lachlan McKinna, Colleen B. Mouw, Igor Ogashawara, Sara Rivero Calle, Wilson B. Salls, Joan-Albert Sanchez-Cabeza, Blake Schaeffer, Bridget N. Seegers, Jari Silander, Emily A. Smail, Menghua Wang, P. Jeremy Werdell
2025, Remote Sensing (17)
The use of satellite-based remote sensing imagery for water quality monitoring of inland and coastal waters has become widespread over the last few decades, with the expansion of, and investment in, operational Earth-observing missions. Satellite-based sensors are uniquely suited to provide synoptic, system-wide water quality parameter estimates that supplement traditional...
Streamflow as a stressor: Disentangling hydrology and water quality impacts to characterize flow-ecology relationships for two stream assemblages across two southeastern landscapes
Joshua Paul Hubbell
2025, Ecohydrology (18)
Disassociating the independent effects of flow and water quality on the ecology of flowing waters is an overarching goal in water resource science needed to improve the efficacy of watershed management. However, the interrelatedness of these gradients and their subsequent alteration due to land use change has constrained progress made...
Achieving interpretable machine learning by functional decomposition of black-box models into explainable predictor effects
David Kohler, David Rügamer, Lindsey J. Boyle, Kelly O. Maloney, Matthias Schmid
2025, npj Artificial Intelligence (1)
Machine learning (ML) models are often based on complex black-box architectures that are difficult to interpret. This interpretability problem can hinder the use of ML in fields like medicine, ecology, and insurance, and has boosted research in interpretable machine learning (IML). Here, we propose a novel approach for the functional...
Longer exposure to warm water increases subsequent thermal tolerance of brook trout in cold water: Acclimation timing and physiology
Amy M. Regish, Matthew O’Donnell, Benjamin Letcher, Timothy Lambert, Daniel J. Hall, Stephen D. McCormick
2025, Conservation Physiology (13)
Climate change has resulted in increased incidence and variability of warming episodes in cold-water streams that support salmonids. The capacity to acclimate to warm temperatures may allow cold-water fish to persist in spite of changing thermal regimes, but accurately predicting fish performance under fluctuating stream temperatures also requires understanding re-acclimation...
Rapid structured decision making for Hypomesus transpacificus (delta smelt) summer–fall freshwater outflow management
Brian D. Healy, Corey C. Phillis, Brian Mahardja, Cameron Koizumi, Catarina Pien, Nancy Parker, J. Louise Conrad, Julie Ekstrom, Julie Leimbach, Rafael Silberblatt, Tom Fischer, Chase Ehlo
2025, Open-File Report 2025-1055
Managers of the Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Projects (SWP) in California are confronted with difficult tradeoffs between water uses and associated values affected by water management decisions. These decisions involve altering the timing and magnitude of water releases from dams and reservoirs, which can affect habitats for...
USGS—An Unparalleled Scientific Asset
Shonte Jenkins, Emily Pindilli, David Applegate, Rachel E. Reagan
2025, General Information Product 263
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) delivers information critical to powering our economy, managing our natural resources, and keeping Americans safe and healthy.1Mapping the Nation$21B Geologic maps save users an estimated 15% in annual costs: a value of between $14B and $21B.$25.6B in annual value to users of imagery from Landsat...
Spatial connections between the timing of hydroclimatic extremes
Stacey Archfield
2025, Nature Water (3) 1352-1353
No abstract available....
Conceptual and numerical groundwater flow model of the Iowa River alluvial aquifer near Tama County, Iowa, 1980 through 2022
Kendall M.F. Goldstein, Kyle W. Davis
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5086
The Iowa River alluvial aquifer is an important source of water on the Meskwaki Settlement in Tama County, Iowa, which is land owned by the Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa (commonly known as the Meskwaki Nation). The U.S. Geological Survey constructed a groundwater flow model, including...
Approximate inland extent of saltwater intrusion at the base of the Biscayne aquifer, Miami-Dade County, Florida, 2022
Jade Ziqiu Zhang, Corinne Renshaw
2025, Scientific Investigations Map 3541
Miami-Dade County is part of a densely populated urban corridor in southeastern Florida. The Biscayne aquifer serves as Miami-Dade County’s primary drinking water source and is characterized by highly permeable karstic limestone and carbonate sand. The aquifer’s coastal location and permeable nature make it susceptible to saltwater intrusion. Monitoring the...
Harmonization of a water withdrawal dataset for the conterminous United States
Carol L. Luukkonen, Ayman H. Alzraiee, Deidre M. Herbert, Richard G. Niswonger, Joshua Larsen, Cheryl A. Buchwald, Natalie Houston, Cheryl A. Dieter, Lisa D. Miller, Jana S. Stewart
2025, JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association (61)
The U.S. Geological Survey is developing nationally consistent water-use modeling approaches to replace previous methods relying on locally specific reported and estimated data. These national assessments require datasets that incorporate water withdrawal variability across the United States and over long periods. However, source data often have unclear definitions, missing or...
Rice cultivation supports growth and survival of a threatened semi-aquatic reptile
Jonathan P. Rose, Allison M. Nguyen, Anna Jordan, Daniel Antonio Macias, Elliot James Schoenig, Giancarlo Ray Napolitano, Richard Kim, Julia S.M. Ersan, Alexandria M. Fulton, Brian J. Halstead
2025, Ecological Applications (35)
Integration of agroecosystems and other working landscapes with protected lands and waters is critical to the conservation of Earth's biodiversity. Rice agroecosystems support many species by providing aquatic habitat where natural wetlands have been altered or drained. In regions with long dry seasons, rice fields and associated irrigation canals provide...
Seasonal movements of nonnative White Catfish in the Penobscot River estuary
Andrea N. Casey, Matthew A. Mensinger, Joseph D. Zydlewski
2025, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (45) 1211-1219
ObjectiveWhite Catfish Ameiurus catus has been introduced to coastal watersheds across the United States. In the Penobscot River, Maine, this species has become increasingly common in upstream habitats that have been made accessible by recent dam removals. We characterized the movements of White Catfish to understand the temporal...
Predicting sediment bulk density for San Francisco Estuary
Samantha C. McGill, Jessica R. Lacy
2025, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science (23)
Sediment bulk density (ρ-dry) and particle size are two important parameters for predicting sediment bed erosion. ρ-dry, however, is difficult to measure accurately. The units of ρdry have not been consistently reported in the literature, leading to confusion, particularly in the calculation of sediment budgets that typically require integrating mass-based...
