USGS Activities in Nevada -- Amargosa Desert Research Site What's New

Recently Released Reports

Kwicklis, E., A. Wolfsberg, P. Stauffer, M. Walvoord, and M. Sully (2006), Multiphase, multicomponent parameter estimation for liquid and vapor fluxes in deep arid systems using hydrologic data and natural environmental tracers: Vadose Zone Journal, vol. 5, p. 934-950, doi:10.2136/vzj2006.0021.

Mayers, C.J., Andraski, B.J., Cooper, C.A., Wheatcraft, S.W., Stonestrom, D.A., and Michel, R.L., 2005, Modeling tritium transport through a deep unsaturated zone in an arid environment, Available at www.vadosezonejournal.org, Vadose Zone Journal, vol. 4: 967-976, doi:10.2136/vzj2004.0179 (abstract)

Andraski, B.J., Stonestrom, D.A., Michel, R.L., Halford, K.J., and Radyk, J.C., 2005, Plant-based plume-scale mapping of tritium contamination in desert soils: Vadose Zone Journal, vol. 4, p. 819-827 (abstract || entire article)

Walvoord, M.A., Striegl, R.G., Prudic, D.E., and Stonestrom, D.A., 2005, CO2 dynamics in the Amargosa Desert--fluxes and isotopic speciation in a deep unsaturated zone: Water Resources Research, v. 41, W02006, doi:10.1029/2004WR003599. (abstract)

Seyfried, M., Schwinning, S., Walvoord, M.A., Pockman, W., Jackson, R., Newman, B., and Phillips, F., 2005, Ecohydrological control of deep drainage in semiarid regions: Ecology, v. 86, p. 277-287.

Walvoord, M.A., and Stonestrom, D.A., 2004, Enhanced gas-phase transport in a deep unsaturated zone, Amargosa Desert (U.S.A), in K. Kovar, Z. Hrkal, and J. Bruthans, eds., Proceedings of International Conference on Finite-Element Models, MODFLOW, and More, 12-16 September 2004, Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic: IAHS, p. 227-230.

Stonestrom, D.A., J.D. Abraham, B.J. Andraski, R.J. Baker, C.J. Mayers, R.L. Michel, D.E. Prudic, R.G. Striegl, and M.A. Walvoord. 2004. Monitoring radionuclide contamination in the unsaturated zone: Lessons learned at the Amargosa Desert Research Site, Nye County, Nevada. In Workshop on long-term performance monitoring of metals and radionuclides in the subsurface, Reston, VA, 21-22 April 2004 (entire report served from Florida State Univ., Tallahassee)

Andraski, B.J., Halford, K.J., and Michel, R.L, 2004, Plume-scale testing of a simplified method for detecting tritium contamination in plants and soil, in Workshop on Long-term Performance Monitoring of Metals and Radionuclides in the Subsurface, Reston, VA, April 21-22, 2004 (entire report served from Florida State Univ., Tallahassee)

Walvoord, M.A., and Scanlon, B.R., 2004, Hydrologic processes in deep vadose zones in interdrainage arid environments, in Hogan, J.F, Phillips, F.M, and Scanlon, B.R., eds., Groundwater recharge in a desert environment---The southwestern United States: Washington, D.C., American Geophysical Union, p. 15-28.

Stonestrom, D.A., Prudic, D.E., Laczniak, R.J., and Akstin, K.C., 2004, Tectonic, climatic, and land-use controls on ground-water recharge in an arid alluvial basin: Amargosa Desert, U.S.A., in Hogan, J.F, Phillips, F.M, and Scanlon, B.R., eds., Groundwater recharge in a desert environment---The southwestern United States: Washington, D.C., American Geophysical Union, p. 29-47.

Phillips, F.M., Walvoord, M.A., and Small, E.E., 2004, Effects of environmental change on groundwater recharge in the Desert Southwest, in Hogan, J.F, Phillips, F.M, and Scanlon, B.R., eds., Groundwater recharge in a desert environment---The southwestern United States: Washington, D.C., American Geophysical Union, p. 273-294.

Dong, Weiquan, 2004, Extraction of paleohydrology and paleoclimate proxies from vadose zones and paleolake records in the southwestern Great Basin: Las Vegas, University of Nevada, Ph.D. Dissertation, 180 p.

Abraham, J.D., and Lucius, J.E., 2004, Direct current resistivity profiling to study distribution of water in the unsaturated zone near the Amargosa Desert Research Site, Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2004-1319, 16 p. (entire Report)

Walvoord, M.A., Phillips, F.M., Stonestrom, D.A., Evans, R.D., Hartsough, P.C., Newman, B.D., and Striegl, R.G., 2004, Response to comment on “A reservoir of nitrate beneath desert soils:” Science, vol. 304, p. 51c, doi: 10.1126/science.1095033.

Walvoord, M.A., D.A. Stonestrom, B.J. Andraski, and R.G. Striegl, 2004, Constraining the inferred paleohydrologic evolution of a deep unsaturated zone in the Amargosa Desert: Vadose Zone Journal, vol. 3, p. 502-512.

McGuire, P.E., Moses, Don, and Andraski, B.J., 2004, An evapotranspiration cover for containment at the U.S. Army Fort Carson landfill site, Proceedings of the 30th Environmental and Energy Symposium & Exhibition, April 5-8, 2004, San Diego, CA: Arlington, VA, National Defense Industrial Association.

Walvoord, M.A., and Phillips, F.M., 2004, Identifying areas of basin-floor recharge in the Trans-Pecos region and the link to vegetation, Journal of Hydrology, doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2003.12.029.

Stonestrom, D.A., and Blasch, K.W., 2003, Determining temperature and thermal properties for heat-based studies of surface-water ground-water interactions, in Stonestrom, D.A. and Constantz, Jim, ed., Heat as a Tool for Studying the Movement of Ground Water Near Streams: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1260, p. 73-80.

Other ADRS Related Activites

Previous activities

ADRS POSTER WINS FIRST PLACE AT NEVADA WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE
Amanda Garcia took first place in the student poster competition with her presentation titled “Estimating Tritium Fluxes from the Shallow Unsaturated Zone to the Atmosphere in an Arid Environment Dominated by Creosote Bush (USGS-ADRS).”
February 20-22, 2007, Sparks, NV

AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION FALL MEETING
-- Amanda Garcia presented a talk “Estimating Tritium Fluxes from the Shallow Unsaturated Zone to the Atmosphere in an Arid Environment Dominated by Creosote Bush USGS-ADRS),” by C. Garcia, B. Andraski, S. Wheatcraft, M. Johnson, R. Michel, and D. Stonestrom (Univ. NV-Reno; USGS-NV, -NRP)
-- Dave Stonestrom presented a talk “A Reservoir of natural perchlorate in unsaturated zones of arid and semi-arid regions, southwestern USA,” by Rao, B.A., Stonestrom, D.A., Anderson, T.A., Orris, G.J., Rajagopalan, S., Sandvig, R.M., Scanlon, B.R., Walvoord, M.A., and Jackson, W.A.
-- December 11–15, 2006, San Francisco, CA

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA MEETING
-- Michelle Walvoord and Dave Stonestrom (USGS-NRP) convened a Special Session: “Gradients at Hydrologic Interfaces as Indicators of Key Earth-Surface (‘Critical-Zone’) Processes.”
-- Michelle Walvoord (USGS-NRP) made an invited presentation titled “Discontinuities in recharge through arid and semiarid basin floors: evidence from the unsaturated zone and linkages to environmental change.”
-- “Use of Resistivity Sounding Data in a Hydrogeologic Conceptual Site Model” by V. Price, D. Watkins (Advanced Environmental Solutions, LLC), and T. Nicholson (U.S. Nuclear Reg. Comm.). The presentation described an approach to ground-water monitoring, parts of which were tested with field data from the ADRS.
-- October 22-25, 2006, Philadelphia, PA

ADRS RESEARCH PRESENTED TO ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON NUCLEAR WASTE
Brian Andraski discussed ADRS findings in a presentation titled “Monitoring and Modeling to Improve Understanding of Contaminant-Transport Processes in an Arid Environment,” by B. Andraski, D. Stonestrom, C. Mayers, M. Walvoord, R. Michel, R. Baker, R. Striegl, and D. Krabbenhoft (USGS-NV, NRP, NJ, WI) at a meeting held at U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Headquarters, September 19-20, 2006, Rockville, MD. http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/acnw/agenda/2006/

USGS NATIONAL RESEARCH PROGRAM / WATER SCIENCE CENTER LECTURE SERIES
Michelle Walvoord, (USGS-NRP) presented a talk titled, “Unsaturated-zone forensics provides insight to soil and water resources” at six USGS Water Science Centers in the eastern, central, and western regions, May-Sept 2006.

MERCURY 2006--INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MERCURY AS A GLOBAL POLLUTANT
Rob Striegl presented a poster titled “Elemental mercury transport in the deep unsaturated zone from an arid waste disposal site,” by M. Walvoord, D. Krabbenhoft, R. Striegl, B. Andraski (USGS-NRP, WI, NV). August 6-11, 2006, Madison, WI. http://www.mercury2006.org/

18th WORLD CONGRESS OF SOIL SCIENCE (WCSS)
- Brian Andraski presented “Plant-based plume-scale mapping reveals tritium-transport extent and processes in desert soils,” by B. Andraski, D. Stonestrom, C. Garcia, R. Michel, M. Johnson, and D. Decker (USGS-NV, NRP; Univ. NV-Reno; Desert Research Inst.) in the symposium “Measurement, Occurrence, and Transport of Radionuclides in Soils and Sediments, and Their Transfer to Biota.”
- Glendon Gee presented a poster titled “Fluxmeters for monitoring recharge in desert settings,” by G. Gee, J. Keller, F. Zhang, A. Ward and B. Andraski (Pacific NW Natl. Lab; USGS-NV) in the symposium “Emerging Topics in Soil Use and Management.” Results included those from the ADRS test-trench site. July 9-15, 2006, Philadelphia, PA. http://www.colostate.edu/programs/IUSS/18wcss/

SPECIAL SESSION AT 2005 GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA ANNUAL MEETING
Dave Stonestrom (USGS-NRP), Andrew Jackson (Texas Tech Univ.), and Scott Tyler (Univ. of Nevada, Reno) convened a Special Session “Naturally Occurring Perchlorate (and other Oxyanions) in the Hydrologic Cycle--Origins, Accumulation, Transformations, and Transport,” October 16-19, 2005, Salt Lake City, UT.
http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2005AM/finalprogram/session_16067.htm

Presentations included:
- “Source and Occurrence of Non-Anthropogenic Perchlorate” by A. Jackson (Texas Tech Univ.) and D. Stonestrom (USGS-NRP).
- “Plants as Bioaccumulators of Perchlorate” by G. Harvey (USAF), G. Orris (USGS-GD), A. Jackson (Texas Tech Univ.), and B. Andraski (USGS-NV).
- “Perchlorate Accumulation Beneath Native Vegetation in Arid and Semi-Arid Environments” by D. Stonestrom, M. Walvoord (USGS-NRP), V. Heilweil (USGS-UT), A. Jackson, and S. Rajagopalan (Texas Tech Univ.)