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T. L. Schertz

Publications and source records attributed to T. L. Schertz.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1996

Data from selected U.S. Geological Survey National Stream Water-Quality Networks (WQN)

This CD-ROM set contains data from two USGS national stream water-quality networks, the Hydrologic Benchmark Network (HBN) and the National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN), operated during the past 30 years. These networks were established to provide national and regional descriptions of stream water-quality conditions and trends, based on uniform monitoring of selected watersheds throughout the United States, and to improve our understanding of the effects of the natural environment and human activities on water quality. The HBN, consisting of 63 relatively small, minimally disturbed watersheds, provides data for investigating naturally induced changes in streamflow and water quality and the effects of airborne substances on water quality. NASQAN, consisting of 618 larger, more culturally influenced watersheds, provides information for tracking water-quality conditions in major U.S. rivers and streams.

Data Series↗
USGS1996

Data from selected U.S. Geological Survey national stream water-quality monitoring networks (WQN) on CD-ROM

Data from two U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) national stream water-quality monitoring networks, the National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN) and the Hydrologic Benchmark Network (HBN), are now available in a two CD-ROM set. These data on CD-ROM are collectively referred to as WQN, water-quality networks. Data from these networks have been used at the national, regional, and local levels to estimate the rates of chemical flux from watersheds, quantify changes in stream water quality for periods during the past 30 years, and investigate relations between water quality and streamflow as well as the relations of water quality to pollution sources and various physical characteristics of watersheds. The networks include 679 monitoring stations in watersheds that represent diverse climatic, physiographic, and cultural characteristics. The HBN includes 63 stations in relatively small, minimally disturbed basins ranging in size from 2 to 2,000 square miles with a median drainage basin size of 57 square miles. NASQAN includes 618 stations in larger, more culturally-influenced drainage basins ranging in size from one square mile to 1.2 million square miles with a median drainage basin size of about 4,000 square miles. The CD-ROMs contain data for 63 physical, chemical, and biological properties of water (122 total constituents including analyses of dissolved and water suspended-sediment samples) collected during more than 60,000 site visits. These data approximately span the periods 1962-95 for HBN and 1973-95 for NASQAN. The data reflect sampling over a wide range of streamflow conditions and the use of relatively consistent sampling and analytical methods. The CD-ROMs provide ancillary information and data-retrieval tools to allow the national network data to be properly and efficiently used. Ancillary information includes the following: descriptions of the network objectives and history, characteristics of the network stations and water-quality data, historical records of important changes in network sample collection and laboratory analytical methods, water reference sample data for estimating laboratory measurement bias and variability for 34 dissolved constituents for the period 1985-95, discussions of statistical methods for using water reference sample data to evaluate the accuracy of network stream water-quality data, and a bibliography of scientific investigations using national network data and other publications relevant to the networks. The data structure of the CD-ROMs is designed to allow users to efficiently enter the water-quality data to user-supplied software packages including statistical analysis, modeling, or geographic information systems. On one disc, all data are stored in ASCII form accessible from any computer system with a CD-ROM driver. The data also can be accessed using DOS-based retrieval software supplied on a second disc. This software supports logical queries of the water-quality data based on constituent concentrations, sample- collection date, river name, station name, county, state, hydrologic unit number, and 1990 population and 1987 land-cover characteristics for station watersheds. User-selected data may be output in a variety of formats including dBASE, flat ASCII, delimited ASCII, or fixed-field for subsequent use in other software packages.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1994

Sources of trends in water-quality data for selected streams in Texas, 1975-89 water years

Sources of trends in water-quality data for selected streams in Texas for the 1975-89 water years were investigated in this study. The investigation of sources was confined to distinct geographic patterns in the trend indicators for one constituent or for a group of related constituents. The probable source of trend patterns in nutrients and measures of oxygen in the Trinity River Basin was changes in the wastewater treatment facilities in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. A pattern of increased concentrations of inorganic constituents in the upper Colorado River Basin resulted from emergency releases of water from the Natural Darn Lake, a salinity control structure. Trend patterns in inorganic constituents in the Rio Grande Basin were a result of increasing concentrations in the Pecos River and, to a lesser extent, the Rio Grande above the Amistad Reservoir, combined with the effects of reservoir regulation. A pattern of increasing concentrations of organic plus ammonia nitrogen and ammonia nitrogen was detected for the 1975-86 water years for stations with low concentrations (generally less than 5 milligrams per liter) of these nitrogen species. The trends were no longer evident when the period of trend analysis was extended to the 1989 water year. A positive bias in the data caused by the addition of mercuric chloride tablets to preserve nutrient samples during 1980-86 was the probable source of this trend pattern. A pattern of increasing concentrations in dissolved sulfate in the eastern part of the State was a result of a positive bias in the analytical results of a turbidimetric method of sulfate analysis. The source of a statewide pattern of increased pH in streams could not be identified.

Texas↗
USGS1987

Patterns of acid deposition variability in the Eastern United States, 1981-84

An increase in pH and a decrease in sulfate concentration of precipitation were recorded at National Atmospheric Deposition Program and National Trends Network (NADP/NTN) monitoring sites in the Eastern United States between 1981 and 1984. The decline in acidity, however, was not spatially or temporally uniform. The range in acidity and sulfate concentrations decreased during the four-yr period. Variations in the area of constant pH surfaces take the general form of area reductions in both the lower (pH 4.01-4.40) and upper (pH 4.91-5.40) range of values with concomitant area increases in the middle (pH 4.41-4.90) range. The pattern for sulfate is simpler, with area increases occurring in the lower (1.0-1.9 mg/L) range, decreases in the upper (2.5-4.4 mg/L) range, with approximate stability in the middle (2.0-2.4 mg/L) range of values. (Author 's abstract)

Open-File Report↗
USGS1983

Statistical summary of daily values data and trend analysis of dissolved-solids data at National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN) stations

A statistical summary is provided of the available continuous and once-daily discharge, specific-conductance, dissolved oxygen , water temperature, and pH data collected at NASQAN stations during the 1973-81 water years and documents the period of record on which the statistical calculations were based. In addition, dissolved-solids data are examined by regression analyses to determine the relation between dissolved solids and specific conductance and to determine if long-term trends can be detected in dissolved-solids concentrations. Statistical summaries, regression equations expressing the relation between dissolved solids and specific conductance, and graphical presentations of trend analyses of dissolved solids are presented for 515 NASQAN stations in the United States, Canada, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗