Hydrologic Benchmark Network is a network of 50 sites in small drainage basins around the country whose purpose is to provide consistent data on the hydrology, including water quality, and related factors in representative undeveloped watersheds nationwide, and to provide analyses on a continuing basis to compare and contrast conditions observed in basins more obviously affected by human activities.
National Stream-Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN) monitors the water quality of large rivers within four of the Nation's largest river basins--the Mississippi, Columbia, Colorado, and Rio Grande. The network consists of 39 stations. Samples are collected with sufficient frequency that the flux of a wide range of constituents can be estimated. The objective of NASQAN is to characterize the water quality of these large rivers by measuring concentration and mass transport of a wide range of dissolved and suspended constituents, including nutrients, major ions, dissolved and sediment-bound heavy metals, common pesticides, and inorganic and organic forms of carbon. This information will be used (1) to describe the long-term trends and changes in concentration and transport of these constituents; (2) to test findings of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA); (3) to characterize processes unique to large-river systems such as storage and re-mobilization of sediments and associated contaminants; and (4) to refine existing estimates of off-continent transport of water, sediment, and chemicals for assessing human effects on the world's oceans and for determining global cycles of carbon, nutrients, and other chemicals.
The National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network (NADP/NTN) provides continuous measurement and assessment of the chemical climate of precipitation throughout the United States. As the lead federal agency, the USGS works together with over 100 organizations to accomplish the following objectives; (1) Provide a long-term, spatial and temporal record of atmospheric deposition generated from a network of 191 precipitation chemistry monitoring sites. (2) Provide the mechanism to evaluate the effectiveness of the significant reduction in SO2 emissions that began in 1995 as implementation of the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) occurred. (3) Provide the scientific basis and nationwide evaluation mechanism for implementation of the Phase II CAAA emission reductions for SO2 and NOx scheduled to begin in 2000.
Data from the network, as well as information about individual sites, are available through the world wide web at:
The National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey is a long-term program with goals to describe the status and trends of water-quality conditions for a large, representative part of the Nation's ground- and surface-water resources; provide an improved understanding of the primary natural and human factors affecting these observed conditions and trends; and provide information that supports development and evaluation of management, regulatory, and monitoring decisions by other agencies.
Assessment activities are being conducted in 53 study units (major watersheds and aquifer systems) that represent a wide range of environmental settings nationwide and that account for a large percentage of the Nation's water use. A wide array of chemical constituents will be measured in ground water, surface water, streambed sediments, and fish tissues. The coordinated application of comparative hydrologic studies at a wide range of spatial and temporal scales will provide information for decision making by water-resources managers and a foundation for aggregation and comparison of findings to address water-quality issues of regional and national interest.
Communication and coordination between USGS personnel and other local, State, and federal interests are critical components of the NAWQA Program. Each study unit has a local liaison committee consisting of representatives from key federal, State, and local water resources agencies, Indian nations, and universities in the study unit. Liaison committees typically meet semiannually to discuss their information needs, monitoring plans and progress, desired information products, and opportunities to collaborate efforts among the agencies.
Additional information about the NAWQA Program is available through the world wide web at:
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