USGS Monthly Groundwater News and Highlights: December 1, 2016

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Featured Product: Ozark Plateaus Groundwater Availability Study

USGS scientists recently completed a multi-year regional groundwater availability study of the Ozark Plateaus Aquifer System to understand current groundwater resources and to evaluate how those resources have changed over time. The Ozark Plateaus aquifer system underlies parts of southern Missouri, southeastern Kansas, northwestern Arkansas, and northeastern Oklahoma. Groundwater in the Ozarks Plateau plays an important part in supporting societal needs and local ecosystems. The USGS study provides the tools needed to simulate groundwater system response to future human and environmental stresses, including climate change. The results of the study are available for use by federal, state and local agencies to inform the evaluation and design of existing and new groundwater monitoring networks and other water-resource management decisions. Learn more:

USGS Groundwater-Related Press Releases

Animation of Groundwater Watch Active Water Level Network, 30 days

The USGS Active Groundwater Level Network includes about 20,000 wells that have been measured by the USGS or USGS cooperators at least once within the past 13 months. The animation shows a daily snapshot of water-level statistics in the network for November 2016. Credit: USGS. The image is in the public domain.

Schmidt is New Deputy Director of USGS Idaho Water Science Center (11/28/16)

SF Bay-Delta Conference: Science for Solutions (11/15/16)

Media Advisory: SF Bay-Delta Conference - Science for Solutions (11/09/16)

Study to Uncover Yellowstone's Subsurface Mysteries (11/03/16)

USGS Groundwater-Related Publications

Climate-induced seasonal changes in smallmouth bass growth rate potential at the southern range extent (11/30/16)

Borehole deviation and correction factor data for selected wells in the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer at and near the Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho (11/30/16)

Groundwater and surface-water interaction, water quality, and processes affecting loads of dissolved solids, selenium, and uranium in Fountain Creek near Pueblo, Colorado, 2012-2014 (11/29/16)

Geologic framework and hydrostratigraphy of the Edwards and Trinity aquifers within northern Bexar and Comal Counties, Texas (11/29/16)

Hydrogeology and hydrologic conditions of the Ozark Plateaus aquifer system (11/29/16)

Water resources of West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana (11/23/16)

Groundwater quality from private domestic water-supply wells in the vicinity of petroleum production in Southwestern Indiana (11/23/16)

Rare earth element behavior during groundwater -- seawater mixing along the Kona Coast of Hawaii (11/21/16)

Spatial and temporal variation of stream chemistry associated with contrasting geology and land-use patterns in the Chesapeake Bay watershed -- Summary of results from Smith Creek, Virginia; Upper Chester River, Maryland; Conewago Creek, Pennsylvania; and Difficult Run, Virginia, 2010-2013 (11/17/16)

Groundwater-surface-water exchange and the geologic setting of northern Minnesota's lakes, wetlands, and streams -- Modern-day relevance of Tom Winter's legacy (11/17/16)

Patterns of diel variation in nitrate concentrations in the Potomac River (11/16/16)

Potash--A vital agricultural nutrient sourced from geologic deposits (11/15/16)

Estimated use of water in the Delaware River Basin in Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, 2010 (11/07/16)

Groundwater quality in the Lake Champlain and Susquehanna River basins, New York, 2014 (11/04/16)

Characterization of sediment and measurement of groundwater levels and temperatures, Camas National Wildlife Refuge, eastern Idaho (11/03/16)

Analyses of infrequent (quasi-decadal) large groundwater recharge events in the northern Great Basin: Their importance for groundwater availability, use, and management (11/01/16)

Bedrock morphology and structure, upper Santa Cruz Basin, south-central Arizona, with transient electromagnetic survey data (11/01/16)

Time-lapse gravity data for monitoring and modeling artificial recharge through a thick unsaturated zone (11/01/16)

Hydrogeologic framework of LaSalle County, Illinois (11/01/16)

USGS Groundwater Flow and Transport Model Data Releases

Note: The following links take you to data.gov

MODFLOW datasets for simulations of groundwater flow with downscaled global climate model data for the Suwannee River Basin, Florida (11/23/2016)

MODFLOW-NWT 2016 groundwater flow model for Dane County, Wisconsin (11/23/2016)

Field Photo:

In these photos, USGS scientist John Lane uses geophysical equipment to study the distribution of fresh groundwater at Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in the central Pacific Ocean. Dr. Lane (Chief, USGS Office of Groundwater, Branch of Geophysics) installed seismometers and operated time-domain electromagnetic induction equipment as part of an ongoing USGS study to better understand fresh groundwater response to long- and short-term climatic patterns (e.g., climate change, El Niño). Surface geophysical measurements were collected next to shallow groundwater wells (white standpipes) installed by John and Marty Briggs in 2013, where ongoing time series of water-quality data are logged. Improved understanding of these systems can be used by NWR resource managers to inform decisions about how to protect and preserve sensitive habitats. The lessons learned on Palmyra can also be applied to other atolls with larger human populations to inform plans to manage important drinking-water supplies and ecological systems.

Photo of scientist operating geophysics equipment in the field

Credit: USGS/Martin Briggs. Photo is in the public domain. Click on photo for larger version.

Archive of Past Highlights:

Past monthly summaries are available online.