Institution
United States Geological Survey
Government•Reston, Virginia, United States•
About: United States Geological Survey is a government organization based out in Reston, Virginia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Groundwater. The organization has 17899 authors who have published 51097 publications receiving 2479125 citations. The organization is also known as: USGS & US Geological Survey.
Topics: Population, Groundwater, Volcano, Aquifer, Sediment
Papers published on a yearly basis
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors proposed a multi-attribute method for vulnerability mapping which takes into consideration the specific hydrogeological behaviour of karst aquifers, such as Epikarst, Protective cover, Infiltration conditions and Karst network development.
Abstract: Groundwater resources from karst aquifers play a major role in the water supply in karst areas in the world, such as in Switzerland. Defining groundwater protection zones in karst environment is frequently not founded on a solid hydrogeological basis. Protection zones are often inadequate and as a result they may be ineffective. In order to improve this situation, the Federal Office for Environment, Forests and Landscape with the Swiss National Hydrological and Geological Survey contracted the Centre of Hydrogeology of the Neuchâtel University to develop a new groundwater protection-zones strategy in karst environment. This approach is based on the vulnerability mapping of the catchment areas of water supplies provided by springs or boreholes. Vulnerability is here defined as the intrinsic geological and hydrogeological characteristics which determine the sensitivity of groundwater to contamination by human activities. The EPIK method is a multi-attribute method for vulnerability mapping which takes into consideration the specific hydrogeological behaviour of karst aquifers. EPIK is based on a conceptual model of karst hydrological systems, which suggests considering four karst aquifer attributes: (1) Epikarst, (2) Protective cover, (3) Infiltration conditions and (4) Karst network development. Each of these four attributes is subdivided into classes which are mapped over the whole water catchment. The attributes and their classes are then weighted. Attribute maps are overlain in order to obtain a final vulnerability map. From the vulnerability map, the groundwater protection zones are defined precisely. This method was applied at several sites in Switzerland where agriculture contamination problems have frequently occurred. These applications resulted in recommend new boundaries for the karst water supplies protection-zones.
430 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the effects of ash on the burned ecosystem, especially when transported by wind or water, and investigated its control on water and soil losses at slope and catchment scales, and examined its role in the C cycle.
430 citations
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TL;DR: Of 55 volatile organic compounds analyzed in groundwater samples, solvents were among the most frequently detected and ranked high in terms of the frequencies of concentrations greater than or near Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs).
Abstract: Four chlorinated solvents-methylene chloride, perchloroethene (PCE), 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and trichloroethene (TCE)-were analyzed in samples of groundwater taken throughout the conterminous United States by the U.S. Geological Survey. The samples were collected between 1985 and 2002 from more than 5,000 wells. Of 55 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) analyzed in groundwater samples, solvents were among the most frequently detected. Mixtures of solvents in groundwater were common and may be the result of common usage of solvents or degradation of one solvent to another. Relative to other VOCs with Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs), PCE and TCE ranked high in terms of the frequencies of concentrations greater than or near MCLs. The probability of occurrence of solvents in groundwater was associated with dissolved oxygen content of groundwater, sources such as urban land use and population density, and hydraulic properties of the aquifer. The results reinforce the importance of understanding the redox conditions of aquifers and the hydraulic properties of the saturated and vadose zones in determining the intrinsic susceptibility of groundwater to contamination by solvents. The results also reinforce the importance of controlling sources of solvents to groundwater.
429 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors used two models, PnET-BGC and WATERSN, to evaluate management strategies for reducing anthropogenic nitrogen inputs to forests and estuaries, respectively.
Abstract: The northeastern United States receives elevated inputs of anthropogenic nitrogen (N) largely from net imports of food and atmospheric deposition, with lesser inputs from fertilizer, net feed imports, and N fixation associated with leguminous crops. Ecological consequences of elevated N inputs to the Northeast include tropospheric ozone formation, ozone damage to plants, the alteration of forest N cycles, acidification of surface waters, and eutrophication in coastal waters. We used two models, PnET-BGC and WATERSN, to evaluate management strategies for reducing N inputs to forests and estuaries, respectively. Calculations with PnET-BGC suggest that aggressive reductions in N emissions alone will not result in marked improvements in the acid–base status of forest streams. WATERSN calculations showed that management scenarios targeting removal of N by wastewater treatment produce larger reductions in estuarine N loading than scenarios involving reductions in agricultural inputs or atmospheric emis...
428 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, a technique is developed whereby stream water can be predicted as a mixture of the observed soilwater classes or end-members, provided that a sufficient set of endmembers has been identified, a least squares technique can be used to estimate the contribution to the stream from each end-member, whenever streamwater samples have been taken.
428 citations
Authors
Showing all 18026 results
Name | H-index | Papers | Citations |
---|---|---|---|
Derek R. Lovley | 168 | 582 | 95315 |
Steven Williams | 144 | 1375 | 86712 |
Thomas J. Smith | 140 | 1775 | 113919 |
Jillian F. Banfield | 127 | 562 | 60687 |
Kurunthachalam Kannan | 126 | 820 | 59886 |
J. D. Hansen | 122 | 975 | 76198 |
John P. Giesy | 114 | 1162 | 62790 |
David Pollard | 108 | 438 | 39550 |
Alan Cooper | 108 | 746 | 45772 |
Gordon E. Brown | 100 | 454 | 32152 |
Gerald Schubert | 98 | 614 | 34505 |
Peng Li | 95 | 1548 | 45198 |
Vipin Kumar | 95 | 614 | 59034 |
Susan E. Trumbore | 95 | 337 | 34844 |
Alfred S. McEwen | 92 | 624 | 28730 |