Publications
This list of Water Resources Mission Area publications includes both official USGS publications and journal articles authored by our scientists. A searchable database of all USGS publications can be accessed at the USGS Publications Warehouse.
Filter Total Items: 18964
Field trials of an autonomous eDNA sampler in lotic waters Field trials of an autonomous eDNA sampler in lotic waters
Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis has become a transformative technology, but sample collection methods lack standardization and sampling at effective frequencies requires considerable field effort. Autonomous eDNA samplers that can sample water at high frequencies offer potential solutions to these problems. We present results from four case studies using a prototype autonomous eDNA...
Authors
Scott D. George, Adam Sepulveda, Patrick Ross Hutchins, David S. Pilliod, Katy E. Klymus, Austen Thomas, Ben Augustine, Chany C Huddleston Adrianza, Devin Nicole Jones, Jacob R. Williams, Eric Leinonen
Water-quality comparisons in the Greater Mooses Tooth unit of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, 2010 and 2023 Water-quality comparisons in the Greater Mooses Tooth unit of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, 2010 and 2023
The United States has long held oil reserves in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR–A), but oil production did not begin until 2015. The waters of the NPR–A are generally considered “pristine,” but water quality has not been characterized temporally or spatially in a rigorous manner. In 2010 and 2023, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management...
Authors
Brent M. Hall
Post Carr Fire bioassessment data report, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Shasta County, California Post Carr Fire bioassessment data report, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Shasta County, California
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Park Service, analyzed water and sediment chemistry, benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages, fish and amphibian assemblages, fish and invertebrate tissues, instream habitat characteristics, and sediment heterogeneity at 10 stream sites within Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Shasta County, California, during August 2020, 2...
Authors
Marissa L. Wulff, Larry R. Brown, Veronica L. Violette
Phytoplankton assemblage structure, drivers, and thresholds with a focus on harmful algal bloom ecology in the Lake Okeechobee system, Florida, USA Phytoplankton assemblage structure, drivers, and thresholds with a focus on harmful algal bloom ecology in the Lake Okeechobee system, Florida, USA
Untangling the complexities of harmful algal bloom (HAB) dynamics is an ongoing effort that requires a fundamental understanding of spatiotemporal phytoplankton patterns and the environmental filters through which assemblages are structured. To this aim, monthly field surveys were conducted from 2019 to 2021 at 21 sites in Lake Okeechobee, Florida – a large, shallow, eutrophic, and...
Authors
Viviana Mazzei, Kristy Lee Sullivan, Keith Loftin
Inset groundwater-flow models for the Cache and Grand Prairie Critical Groundwater Areas, northeastern Arkansas Inset groundwater-flow models for the Cache and Grand Prairie Critical Groundwater Areas, northeastern Arkansas
The water resources in the Mississippi alluvial plain, located in parts of Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas, supports a multibillion-dollar agricultural industry that relies heavily on pumping of groundwater for irrigation of crops and aquaculture. The primary source of groundwater for agricultural-related pumping is the Mississippi River Valley...
Authors
Jonathan P. Traylor, Leslie L. Duncan, Andrew T. Leaf, Alec Rolland Weisser, Benjamin J. Dietsch, Moussa Guira
Peak streamflow trends in South Dakota and their relation to changes in climate, water years 1921–2020 Peak streamflow trends in South Dakota and their relation to changes in climate, water years 1921–2020
Peak-flow (flood) frequency analysis is essential to water-resources management applications, including the design of critical infrastructure such as bridges and culverts, and floodplain mapping. Federal guidelines for performing peak-flow flood frequency analyses are presented in a U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods Report known as Bulletin 17C. A basic assumption within...
Authors
Nancy A. Barth, Steven K. Sando
Riparian methylmercury production increases riverine mercury flux and food web concentrations Riparian methylmercury production increases riverine mercury flux and food web concentrations
The production and uptake of toxic methylmercury (MeHg) impacts aquatic ecosystems globally. Rivers can be dynamic and difficult systems to study for MeHg production and bioaccumulation, hence identifying sources of MeHg to these systems is both challenging and important for resource management within rivers and main-stem reservoirs. Riparian zones, which are known biogeochemical...
Authors
Virginia Krause, Austin K. Baldwin, Benjamin D. Peterson, David P. Krabbenhoft, Sarah E. Janssen, James Willacker, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Brett A. Poulin
Near-term ecological forecasting for climate change action Near-term ecological forecasting for climate change action
A substantial increase in predictive capacity is needed to anticipate and mitigate the widespread change in ecosystems and their services in the face of climate and biodiversity crises. In this era of accelerating change, we cannot rely on historical patterns or focus primarily on long-term projections that extend decades into the future. In this Perspective, we discuss the potential of...
Authors
Michael Dietze, Ethan P. White, Antoinette Abeyta, Carl Boettiger, Nievita Bueno Watts, Cayelan C. Carey, Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer, Ryan E. Emanuel, S.K. Morgan Ernest, Renato Figueiredo, Michael Gerst, Leah R. Johnson, Melissa A. Kenney, Jason S. McLachlan, Ioannis Ch. Paschalidis, Jody Peters, Christine R. Rollinson, Juniper Simonis, Kira Sullivan-Wiley, R. Quinn Thomas, Glenda M Wardle, Alyssa Willson, Jacob Aaron Zwart
Real-time pier scour monitoring and observations at three scour-critical sites in Idaho, water years 2020–22 Real-time pier scour monitoring and observations at three scour-critical sites in Idaho, water years 2020–22
To observe real-time pier scour at three scour-critical sites in Idaho, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Idaho Transportation Department, installed and operated fixed real-time (15-minute interval) bed elevation scour sonar sensors at three bridge locations associated with U.S. Geological Survey streamflow gaging stations for water years 2020 through 2022. Daily mean and...
Authors
Ryan L. Fosness, Paul V. Schauer
Groundwater quality and groundwater levels in Dougherty County, Georgia, April 2020 through January 2023 Groundwater quality and groundwater levels in Dougherty County, Georgia, April 2020 through January 2023
The Upper Floridan aquifer is the uppermost reliable groundwater source in southwest Georgia. The aquifer lies on top of the Claiborne, Clayton, and Cretaceous aquifers, all of which exhibited water-level declines in the 1960s and 1970s. The U.S. Geological Survey has been working cooperatively with Albany Utilities to monitor groundwater quality and availability in these aquifers since...
Authors
Debbie W. Gordon
An evaluation of cyanobacterial occurrence and bloom development in Adirondack lakes An evaluation of cyanobacterial occurrence and bloom development in Adirondack lakes
Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) have occurred in many low nutrient (oligotrophic) lakes in the northeastern United States. The Adirondack Park in New York is a large, mountainous region with many low nutrient lakes. There is a gap in understanding regarding whether cyanoHAB reporting data are truly reflective of the susceptibility of lakes to develop bloom conditions. We...
Authors
Rebecca M. Gorney, Elizabeth A. Nystrom, Michael D.W. Stouder, Ann E. St. Amand, Cory Suave, Denise Clark, Erin A. Stelzer, Carrie E. Givens, Jennifer L. Graham
Quality of groundwater used for domestic supply in the eastern Sacramento Valley and adjacent foothills, California Quality of groundwater used for domestic supply in the eastern Sacramento Valley and adjacent foothills, California
SummaryMore than 2 million Californians rely on groundwater from privately owned domestic wells for drinking-water supply. This report summarizes a water-quality survey of domestic and small-system drinking-water supply wells in the eastern Sacramento Valley and adjacent foothills where more than 25,000 residents are estimated to use privately owned domestic wells. Study results show...
Authors
George L. Bennett