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At least 1,765 records · Page 98Linked to original sources
USGS2011

Rainfall and evapotranspiration data for southwest Medina County, Texas, August 2006-December 2009

During August 2006-December 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, collected rainfall and evapotranspiration data to help characterize the hydrology of the Nueces River Basin, Texas. The USGS installed and operated a station to collect continuous (30-minute interval) rainfall and evapotranspiration data in southwest Medina County approximately 14 miles southwest of D'Hanis, Texas, and 23 miles northwest of Pearsall, Texas. Rainfall data were collected by using an 8-inch tipping bucket raingage. Meteorological and surface-energy flux data used to calculate evapotranspiration were collected by using an extended Open Path Eddy Covariance system from Campbell Scientific, Inc. Data recorded by the system were used to calculate evapotranspiration by using the eddy covariance and Bowen ratio closure methods and to analyze the surface energy budget closure. During August 2006-December 2009 (excluding days of missing record), measured rainfall totaled 86.85 inches. In 2007, 2008, and 2009, annual rainfall totaled 40.98, 12.35, and 27.15 inches, respectively. The largest monthly rainfall total, 12.30 inches, occurred in July 2007. During August 2006-December 2009, evapotranspiration calculated by using the eddy covariance method totaled 69.91 inches. Annual evapotranspiration calculated by using the eddy covariance method totaled 34.62 inches in 2007, 15.24 inches in 2008, and 15.57 inches in 2009. During August 2006-December 2009, evapotranspiration calculated by using the Bowen ratio closure method (the more refined of the two datasets) totaled 68.33 inches. Annual evapotranspiration calculated by using the Bowen ratio closure method totaled 32.49, 15.54, and 15.80 inches in 2007, 2008, and 2009, respectively (excluding days of missing record).

Texas↗
USGS1966

Extent and frequency of inundation of Schuylkill River flood plain from Conshohocken to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Information on flood conditions plays an important part in the development and use of river valleys. This report presents maps, profiles, and flood-frequency relations developed from past flood experience on the Schuylkill River from Conshohocken to Philadelphia, Pa. The maps and profiles are used to define the areal extent and depth of flooding of the August 24, 1933, and August 19, 1955, floods. The flood of October 4, 1869, which is the greatest flood known on the lower Schuylkill River, is presented on the flood profile and on the ten cross sections. The area inundated by the 1869 flood is not defined because insufficient data are available and because hydrologic and hydraulic conditions have undoubtedly changed to such an extent that such a definition would have little present significance. The basic flood data were prepared to aid individuals, organizations, and governmental agencies in making sound decisions for the safe and economical development of the lower Schuylkill River valley. Recommendations for land use, or suggestions for limitations of land use, are not made in this report. The responsibility for planning for the optimum land use in the flood plain and the implementation of flood-plain regulations to achieve such optimum use rests with the State and local interests. The preparation of this report was undertaken after consultation with representatives of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission and the Montgomery County Planning Commission who expressed the need for flood-plain information and their willingness to consider floodplain regulations. The area covered by this report extends downstream along the Schuylkill River from Plymouth Dam in Conshohocken to the mouth of Wissahickon Creek in Philadelphia. Flooding along Wissahickon Creek is not included in the report. The reach studied extends from 13.0 miles to 21.0 miles upstream from the river mouth. All river distances used in the report are river miles upstream from the mouth of the Schuylkill River as used by the Corps of Engineer, U.S. Army and by the U.S. Geological Survey (Bogart, 1960, p. 194). For the convenience of users a tabulation of river miles of selected points upstream from the mouth of the Schuylkill River is included at the end of this report (table 1).

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1996

Evaluation of the Surface-Water Quantity, Surface-Water Quality, and Rainfall Data-Collection Programs in Hawaii, 1994

This report documents the results of an evaluation of the surface-water quantity, surface-water quality, and rainfall data-collection programs in Hawaii. Fourteen specific issues and related goals were identified for the surface-water quantity program and a geographic information systems (GIS) data base was developed summarizing information for all surface-water stream gages that have been operated in Hawaii by the U.S. Geological Survey. Changes in status, which for some gages includes discontinuing operation, need to be considered at 42 sites where data are currently collected. The current surface-water quantity data base was determined to be adequate to address only two of the 14 specific issues and related goals. Alternatives were identified to address the areas where future issues and goals could not be adequately addressed. Options include new and expanded data collection, use of regional regression analyses, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, and analysis and publication of existing data. A total of 47 streams were identified where additional stream-gaging stations are needed. Evaluation of the surface-water quality program was limited to a description of the U.S. Geological Survey's historical and existing programs and available analyses of data. Limitations of the program are described which primarily included lack of data regarding suspended sediment, land-use effects, quality of stream discharge to oceans, background water quality and nonpoint sources of contamination. Evaluation of the rainfall data program indicated that identified future goals could be discussed as either regional, systems related, current needs, forecasting, water quality, or trend analysis related. To address these goals, data from about 2,000 rain gages, 528 of which are active, are available. Data were found to only partially meet identified goals. Alternatives discussed to address the limitations include the need for more recording gages, primarily in areas of high rainfall. Another area of concern was the potential that many plantations will close and the effect these closings would have on continued operation of the important long-term gages they operate. Evaluation of data-collection programs in Hawaii needs to be an ongoing process. Equally important, data being collected need to be summarized and made available through data bases and published reports.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1998

Continuous hydrologic simulation of runoff for the Middle Fork and South Fork of the Beargrass Creek basin in Jefferson County, Kentucky

The Hydrological Simulation Pro-gram-FORTRAN (HSPF) was applied to an urban drainage basin in Jefferson County, Ky to integrate the large amounts of information being collected on water quantity and quality into an analytical framework that could be used as a management and planning tool. Hydrologic response units were developed using geographic data and a K-means analysis to characterize important hydrologic and physical factors in the basin. The Hydrological Simulation Program FORTRAN Expert System (HSPEXP) was used to calibrate the model parameters for the Middle Fork Beargrass Creek Basin for 3 years (June 1, 1991, to May 31, 1994) of 5-minute streamflow and precipitation time series, and 3 years of hourly pan-evaporation time series. The calibrated model parameters were applied to the South Fork Beargrass Creek Basin for confirmation. The model confirmation results indicated that the model simulated the system within acceptable tolerances. The coefficient of determination and coefficient of model-fit efficiency between simulated and observed daily flows were 0.91 and 0.82, respectively, for model calibration and 0.88 and 0.77, respectively, for model confirmation. The model is most sensitive to estimates of the area of effective impervious land in the basin; the spatial distribution of rain-fall; and the lower-zone evapotranspiration, lower-zone nominal storage, and infiltration-capacity parameters during recession and low-flow periods. The error contribution from these sources varies with season and antecedent conditions.

Kentucky↗
USGS2002

Use of regional climate model output for hydrologic simulations

Daily precipitation and maximum and minimum temperature time series from a regional climate model (RegCM2) configured using the continental United States as a domain and run on a 52-km (approximately) spatial resolution were used as input to a distributed hydrologic model for one rainfall-dominated basin (Alapaha River at Statenville, Georgia) and three snowmelt-dominated basins (Animas River at Durango. Colorado; east fork of the Carson River near Gardnerville, Nevada: and Cle Elum River near Roslyn, Washington). For comparison purposes, spatially averaged daily datasets of precipitation and maximum and minimum temperature were developed from measured data for each basin. These datasets included precipitation and temperature data for all stations (hereafter, All-Sta) located within the area of the RegCM2 output used for each basin, but excluded station data used to calibrate the hydrologic model. Both the RegCM2 output and All-Sta data capture the gross aspects of the seasonal cycles of precipitation and temperature. However, in all four basins, the RegCM2- and All-Sta-based simulations of runoff show little skill on a daily basis [Nash-Sutcliffe (NS) values range from 0.05 to 0.37 for RegCM2 and -0.08 to 0.65 for All-Sta]. When the precipitation and temperature biases are corrected in the RegCM2 output and All-Sta data (Bias-RegCM2 and Bias-All, respectively) the accuracy of the daily runoff simulations improve dramatically for the snowmelt-dominated basins (NS values range from 0.41 to 0.66 for RegCM2 and 0.60 to 0.76 for All-Sta). In the rainfall-dominated basin, runoff simulations based on the Bias-RegCM2 output show no skill (NS value of 0.09) whereas Bias-All simulated runoff improves (NS value improved from - 0.08 to 0.72). These results indicate that measured data at the coarse resolution of the RegCM2 output can be made appropriate for basin-scale modeling through bias correction (essentially a magnitude correction). However, RegCM2 output, even when bias corrected, does not contain the day-to-day variability present in the All-Sta dataset that is necessary for basin-scale modeling. Future work is warranted to identify the causes for systematic biases in RegCM2 simulations, develop methods to remove the biases, and improve RegCM2 simulations of daily variability in local climate.

Journal of Hydrometeorology↗
USGS1951

Pumping test at Levittown, Nassau County, New York, September 16-18, 1949

This report presents and discusses the quantitative and qualitative data obtained during a pumping test at the Levittown housing development in Nassau County, N. Y. One of the ten principal supply wells, screened in the sands of the Magothy (?) formation which is overlain unconformably by the sand and gravel of the upper Pleistocene deposits, was pumped for more than 24 hours at a rate of 790 gallons per minute. During this time the develop ment of the cone of depression extended a distance of more than 1,000 feet from the pumping well. A coefficient of transmissibility of 245,0W gallons per day per foot was computed and a coefficient of storage of 0.13 was de termined at the site of the pumping test. The qualitative results show that the two aquifers at the pumping-test site, that is, the sand and gravel of the upper Pleistocene deposits and the underlying sands of the Magothy (?) formation, function essentially as one hydrologic unit. Such information, together with other data of this kind, assumes importance when it is realized that the New York rater Power and Control Commission by regulation considers every aquifer as a separate and distinct hydrologic unit. It thus requires the return of water pumped for cooling and other similar uses to the same aquifer from which the water taken, unless sufficient evidence is obtained to show that two adjacent aquifers function as a single hydrologic unit. Sufficient data were obtained during the test to suggest that perhaps about 14 feet of the 19.7 feet measured as drawdown in the pumped well is attributable to well and screen losses.

New York↗
USGS1976

Hydrology of lakes in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Metropolitan Area: A summary of available dat

Data were collected and summarized on the hydrology and hydrogeology of 949 lakes, 10 acres (4 hectares) or larger, in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, Minnesota. Eight tables totaling over 100 pages present data on location, depth, area, lake level, ecological and game-management classification, inflowing and outflowing streams, soils, bedrock type, water added to or take from lake, and reported lake-related problems. SYSTEM 2000, a generalized computer data-base management system, was used to organize the data and prepare the tables. SYSTEM 2000 provides powerful capabilities for future retrieval and analyses of the data. The data base is available to potential users so that questions not implicitly anticipated in the preparation of the published tables can be answered readily, and the user can retrieve data in tabular or other forms to meet his particular needs.

Minnesota↗
USGS2004

Digital data to support development of a pesticide management plan for the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, Sioux County, North Dakota, and Corson County, South Dakota

As part of a program to support development of pesticide management plans for Indian Reservations, the U.S. Geological Survey has been working in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to make selected information available to the Tribes or in a format easier for the Tribes to use. As a result of this program, four digital data sets related to the geology or hydrology of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation were produced as part of this report. The digital data sets are based on maps published in 1982 at the 1:250,000 scale in "Geohydrology of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, North and South Dakota," U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologic Investigations Atlas HA-644 by L.W. Howells. The digital data sets were created by 1) scanning the appropriate map to create an image file, 2) registering the image file to real-world coordinates, 3) creating a new image file rectified to real-world coordinates, and 4) digitizing of the features of interest using the rectified image as a guide. As digital data sets, the information can be used in a geographic information system in combination with other information to help develop a pesticide management plan.

Data Series↗
USGS2026

A hybrid approach for revealing headwater hydrology

Coordinated work to compile existing data and apply models pairing physical understanding with machine learning could substantially improve streamflow predictions for little-known headwater basins.

Eos, American Geophysical Union↗
USGS1998

Structure contours of base of upper Arapahoe aquifer in "Structure, outcrop, and subcrop of the bedrock aquifers along the western margin of the Denver Basin, Colorado." Hydrologic Atlas 742

This digital geospatial data set consists of structure contours on the base of the upper member of the Arapahoe aquifer. The U.S. Geological Survey developed this data set as part of a project described in the report,"Structure, Outcrop, and Subcrop of the Bedrock Aquifers Along the Western Margin of the Denver Basin, Colorado" (Robson and others, 1998)

Colorado↗
USGS1987

Selected papers in the hydrologic sciences, 1986

Water-quality data from long-term (24 years), fixed- station monitoring at the Cape Fear River at Lock 1 near Kelly, N.C., and various measures of basin development are correlated. Subbasin population, number of acres of cropland in the subbasin, number of people employed in manufacturing, and tons of fertilizer applied in the basin are considered as measures of basinwide development activity. Linear correlations show statistically significant posi- tive relations between both population and manufacturing activity and most of the dissolved constituents considered. Negative correlations were found between the acres of harvested cropland and most of the water-quality measures. The amount of fertilizer sold in the subbasin was not statistically related to the water-quality measures considered in this report. The statistical analysis was limited to several commonly used measures of water quality including specific conductance, pH, dissolved solids, several major dissolved ions, and a few nutrients. The major dissolved ions included in the analysis were calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, chloride, sulfate, silica, bicarbonate, and fluoride. The nutrients included were dissolved nitrite plus nitrate nitrogen, dissolved ammonia nitrogen, total nitrogen, dissolved phosphates, and total phosphorus. For the chemicals evaluated, manufacturing and population sources are more closely associated with water quality in the Cape Fear River at Lock 1 than are agricultural variables.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1990

Monitoring the hydrologic system for potential effects of geothermal and ground-water development in the Long Valley caldera, Mono County, California, U.S.A

In the early 1980's, renewed interest in the geothermal potential of the Long Valley caldera, California, highlighted the need to balance the benefits of energy development with the established recreational activities of the area. The Long Valley Hydrologic Advisory Committee, formed in 1987, instituted a monitoring program to collect data during the early stages of resource utilization to evaluate potential effects on the hydrologic system. Early data show declines in streamflow, spring flow, and ground-water levels caused by 6 years of below-average precipitation. Springs in the Hot Creek State Fish Hatchery area discharge water that is a mixture of nonthermal and hydrothermal components. Possible sources of nonthermal water have been identified by comparing deuterium concentrations in streams and springs. The equivalent amount of undiluted thermal water discharged from the springs was calculated on the basis of boron and chloride concentrations. Quantifying the thermal and nonthermal fractions of the total flow may allow researchers to assess changes in flow volume or temperature of the springs caused by groundwater or geothermal development.

Conference Paper↗
USGS1990

Monitoring the hydrologic system for potential effects of geothermal and ground-water development in the Long Valley caldera, Mono County, California, U.S.A.

In the early 1980's, renewed interest in the geothermal potential of the Long Valley caldera, California, highlighted the need to balance the benefits of energy development with the established recreational activities of the area. The Long Valley Hydrologic Advisory Committee, formed in 1987, instituted a monitoring program to collect data during the early stages of resource utilization to evaluate potential effects on the hydrologic system. Early data show declines in streamflow, spring flow, and ground-water levels caused by 6 years of below-average precipitation. Springs in the Hot Creek State Fish Hatchery area discharge water that is a mixture of nonthermal and hydrothermal components. Possible sources of nonthermal water have been identified by comparing deuterium concentrations in streams and springs. The equivalent amount of undiluted thermal water discharged from the springs was calculated on the basis of boron and chloride concentrations. Quantifying the thermal and nonthermal fractions of the total flow may allow researchers to assess changes in flow volume or temperature of the springs caused by groundwater or geothermal development.

California↗
USGS2009

Application of the Hydroecological Integrity Assessment Process for Missouri Streams

Natural flow regime concepts and theories have established the justification for maintaining or restoring the range of natural hydrologic variability so that physiochemical processes, native biodiversity, and the evolutionary potential of aquatic and riparian assemblages can be sustained. A synthesis of recent research advances in hydroecology, coupled with stream classification using hydroecologically relevant indices, has produced the Hydroecological Integrity Assessment Process (HIP). HIP consists of (1) a regional classification of streams into hydrologic stream types based on flow data from long-term gaging-station records for relatively unmodified streams, (2) an identification of stream-type specific indices that address 11 subcomponents of the flow regime, (3) an ability to establish environmental flow standards, (4) an evaluation of hydrologic alteration, and (5) a capacity to conduct alternative analyses. The process starts with the identification of a hydrologic baseline (reference condition) for selected locations, uses flow data from a stream-gage network, and proceeds to classify streams into hydrologic stream types. Concurrently, the analysis identifies a set of non-redundant and ecologically relevant hydrologic indices for 11 subcomponents of flow for each stream type. Furthermore, regional hydrologic models for synthesizing flow conditions across a region and the development of flow-ecology response relations for each stream type can be added to further enhance the process. The application of HIP to Missouri streams identified five stream types ((1) intermittent, (2) perennial runoff-flashy, (3) perennial runoff-moderate baseflow, (4) perennial groundwater-stable, and (5) perennial groundwater-super stable). Two Missouri-specific computer software programs were developed: (1) a Missouri Hydrologic Assessment Tool (MOHAT) which is used to establish a hydrologic baseline, provide options for setting environmental flow standards, and compare past and proposed hydrologic alterations; and (2) a Missouri Stream Classification Tool (MOSCT) designed for placing previously unclassified streams into one of the five pre-defined stream types.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1994

A guide to the design of surface-water-quality studies

Data interpretation is difficult under the simplest of conditions and requires hydrologic studies that are carefully designed. Good research presupposes carefully collected data, as well as data that were obtained at times when the information content was highest. To accomplish the careful design of hydrologic studies and to obtain quality data, the U.S. Geological Survey works through small organizational units. The principles of a well-designed study are: 1) Use the scientific method, 2) define the problem and the approach, 3) state the objectives of the data collection, 4) determine what and how to sample, 5) decide where to sample, 6) begin report preparation early in the study, 7) do the work with little or no rework, and 8) complete the report on schedule.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2024

A probabilistic approach to training machine learning models using noisy data

Machine learning (ML) models are increasingly popular in environmental and hydrologic modeling, but they typically contain uncertainties resulting from noisy data (erroneous or outlier data). This paper presents a novel probabilistic approach that combines ML and Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation to (1) detect and underweight likely noisy data, (2) develop an approach capable of detecting noisy data during model deployment, and (3) interpret the reasons why a data point is deemed noisy to help heuristically distinguish between outliers and erroneous data. The new algorithm recognizes that there is no unique way to split the training data into noisy and clean data, and thus produces an ensemble of plausible splits. The algorithm successfully detected noisy data in synthetic benchmark problems with varying complexity and a real-world public supply water withdrawal dataset. The algorithm is generic and flexible, making it suitable for application across a broad range of hydrologic and environmental disciplines.

Environmental Modelling & Software↗