USGS Science Central Midwest

11/19/2025

We’re back and ready to share!

Follow along for the latest from the USGS Central Midwest Water Science Center, including research updates, new publications, data highlights and fieldwork features!

10/01/2025

Due to the federal government shutdown, this account is not being actively updated.

For more information, please visit:

Operations in the Absence of Appropriations

05/30/2025

It's !

USGS Central Midwest Water Science Center scientists Emilia Bristow and Logan Stewart were on site this week conducting geophysical surveys of the Cedar River alluvial aquifer.

The City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa gets its municipal water from this aquifer, and city officials are exploring areas along the river as they design their future water supply.

The USGS surveys will assist in finding the best locations for new wells that will provide high-quality water to support the city’s population growth and economic development. Using a seismic technique called Horizontal-to-Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR), the scientists measured the ambient seismic field at points along the river with a small, portable seismometer.

Seismic data were processed to calculate the thickness of the alluvial aquifer in the area, which is important information for finding the best spots for new wells. HVSR is a non-invasive and inexpensive survey method that can help the City efficiently target their next steps, such as drilling test wells.

Alluvial aquifers are sand and gravel deposits along rivers that are an important source of water for many cities. Groundwater in an alluvial aquifer is replenished quickly from the river, and the sand and gravel provide some natural filtration of the sediment and contaminants often found in river water.

It was perfect weather for field work along the beautiful Cedar River – the mosquitos enjoyed it too!

Photo 1: Hydrologist Emilia Bristow and Student Trainee Logan Stewart conduct field work on the shores of the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Photo 2: Student Trainee Logan Stewart conducts field work on the shores of the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, while hiding from the mosquitoes!
Photo 3: Hydrologist Emilia Bristow covers her face in a hoodie to protect from the mosquitoes while conducting field work on the shores of the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Photos by Shannon Meppelink and Emilia Bristow.

03/13/2025

https://www.facebook.com/USGeologicalSurvey/posts/pfbid02SUNgg9B9kPRExGoxqYP18LDBvyS9iKdvmro8i3GQjoFnkqu9w1WBkwZ8GxG7wc7Pl

11/21/2024

Job alert! The USGS Central Midwest Water Science Center is hiring!

We are hiring a GS-13 Supervisory Hydrologist.

The job posting is LIVE for our Surface Water Hydraulics and Hydrology (SWHM) and Statistical Hydrology and Water Availability (SHWA) science units in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri.

Apply via USAJOBs, application period closes December 13, 2024.

https://www.usajobs.gov/job/819572000

11/21/2024

During the week of Sept. 9-13, 2024, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Central Midwest Water Science Center staff responded to reports of algal blooms at multiple locations in the Starved Rock pool of the Illinois River, near Deer Park Township, Illinois. Field crews collected water samples for evaluation of harmful algal blooms.

Photo 1: Fox River at Ottawa, Illinois showing green algal bloom (credit: Carolyn Soderstrom).
Photo 2: Lisa Madsen, USGS Central Midwest Water Science Center surveying bloom conditions on the Illinois River near Starved Rock (credit: Carolyn Soderstrom).
Photo 3: Carolyn Soderstrom and Ian Halteman collect a water sample from the Fox River at Ottawa, Illinois (credit: Carolyn Soderstrom).
4. Satellite imagery showing a stretch of the Illinois River near Starved Rock. The image was generated by the USGS Remote Sensing Water Quality (RSWQ) Web Tool and was used to guide field crews sampling the Illinois River algal bloom conditions during the week of September 9-13, 2024 (credit: screen capture by Jim Duncker).

11/07/2024

USGS Central Midwest Water Science Center's Shannon Meppelink and Kendra Markland attended the biannual Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) meeting on Thursday, October 24th, 2024 to provide an update on the USGS-NPS Partnership project at Effigy Mounds National Monument (EFMO).

Both scientists updated attendees on the status of the partnership project, met with tribal partners, and did reconnaissance for later sampling activities. Through funding received by the Technical training in Support of Native American Relations (TESNAR) program, USGS scientists Meppelink, Markland, and Tre Kinney met with five tribal partners (Brett Ramey, Zack Towey, and Kate Kyser - Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, and John Lee and Celina Hall - Ho-Chunk Nation) and National Park Service (NPS) staff (Alex Cote’, Brian Gibbs, Jeremy Parker, Alexandra Ogdahl, and Devan Matthew) on October 28th to review the partnership program.

Discussions were held on sampling procedures, site planning, sampling constituents, and environmental medium considerations, as well as the long-term plan for project results and how they will be practically applied at EFMO and beyond. Additionally, 20 eighth grade science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) students and their teachers from the local middle school (MFL MarMac Community School District) joined in a discussion of the landscape, its history, and the importance of partnering with tribes led by tribal partners and NPS staff.

The students then worked with USGS scientists and Alicia Mullarkey, of the Driftless Area Wetlands Centre on basic field parameter collection and sampling. After the student departure, tribal partners and USGS staff harvested native Broadleaf Arrowhead tubers (wapato) from a pond for chemical analysis of a range of constituents, including PFAS and pesticides. Prior to sample collection, a discussion was held on how to merge USGS sample collection protocols with traditional tribal harvesting protocols and ethics.

This preliminary discussion surfaced ways the USGS can work with tribal partners to best honor the plants and environment, while also ensuring samples are not compromised. Briefly, USGS agreed that all plant sample collection with tribal partners on-hand would be led by the tribes with the USGS assisting. Additionally, tribal partners offered examples of protocols that USGS will adhere to during sampling, whether tribal partners are present or not.

Examples included: (1) only harvesting what is needed for analysis, (2) not taking all of any given species, (3) not taking the ‘best’ of any species, and (4) leaving as small a footprint as possible during sample collection. This was the first of such discussions among tribal partners and USGS staff and will be continued as the project and partnership develops further.

On October 29th, USGS, NPS, and tribal partners collected samples from the Yellow River as it enters the EFMO boundary. Samples were collected for water, bed sediment, whole native minnows, and native aquatic plants for a large range of constituents, including PFAS, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, estrogenicity, trace metals, rare earth elements, total and methyl mercury, and microplastics. In addition, river discharge was measured to provide important ancillary information for the environmental samples collected.

The trip ended with final thoughts and discussions on future involvement and collaborations. Appropriately, this ending meeting on the lawn of the Visitor’s Center overlooking Blue Gill Pond and the Mississippi River took place with bald eagles flying overhead.

Photo 1: Arrowhead tuber (wapato) harvesting at Buffalo Pond, Effigy Mounds National Monument
Photo 2: Group selfie during wrap-up discussion at Effigy Mounds National Monument

Learn more about the USGS/National Park Service partnership and this project here: https://webapps.usgs.gov/nps-partnership/projects/2024-efmo-determining

08/01/2024

New publication alert!

"Statewide Assessment of Iowa Streams Links Landscape Characteristics to Antibiotic Resistance Signatures"

Read the publication here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166753

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists conducted the first statewide assessment of antibiotics, antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB), and antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs) in streams (water column and bed sediment samples) across Iowa. Results indicated that ARB and ARGs were prevalent, and a combination of watershed characteristics (such as land use, livestock population, and human population) were related to the antibiotic resistance signatures observed.

Read more about this project on the USGS website: https://www.usgs.gov/programs/environmental-health-program/science/statewide-assessment-iowa-streams-links-landscape

This is a collaboration between the USGS Central Midwest Water Science Center and the USGS Upper Midwest Water Science Center as part of the USGS Food Resources Lifecycle Integrated Science Team (Food IST).

Photo: Scientists collect water samples from a stream in Iowa.

07/31/2024

New geonarrative alert! "Fields & Feedlots" is a collaboration between the USGS Upper Midwest Water Science Center and the USGS Central Midwest Water Science Center.

https://geonarrative.usgs.gov/fields-and-feedlots/

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Food Resources Lifecycle Integrated Science Team (Food IST) under the Environmental Health Program in the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area follows One Health science to address high priority issues related to human and wildlife exposures to environmental contaminants and pathogens that correspond to the production, processing, and manufacturing of plant and animal products.

Goals of the Food IST team's research around contaminants are to understand their sources and fate through the environment, identify if there are adverse effects upon exposure to wildlife and humans, generate information needed for decision makers to help protect ecological, wildlife, and human health, and communicate findings to the scientific community and to the public. This geonarrative reviews the Food IST team's research work, as well as outreach efforts nationwide.

Citation: Kolpin, D.W., Hubbard, L.E., Gordon, S.E., Liu, M.S. 2024. Fields & Feedlots: An overview of the Food Resources Lifecycle Integrated Science Team (Food IST). USGS geonarrative. https://geonarrative.usgs.gov/fields-and-feedlots/

Photos:
1. Research Hydrologist Laura Hubbard samples water near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California.
2. USGS scientist collecting insects in a grassy field.
3. Monarch butterflies perch on a plant in a field full of wildflowers.

07/18/2024

https://www.facebook.com/EffigyMounds/posts/pfbid02xhVwbbydyHbbNzNRqP2m6jRNKFpc7PizPC3PzXTFfknGaLz6gBroyuXK67uE2zbxl

Earlier this week, scientists from the USGS Central Midwest Water Science Center sampled at Effigy Mounds National Monument!

The environmental health of the Yellow River at Effigy Mounds National Monument (EFMO) is largely unknown. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is partnering with the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and University of Iowa to assess the environmental quality of the Yellow River as it enters EFMO.

Scientists collect stream water, bed sediment, and aquatic plant/fish tissue/invertebrate samples at the Yellow River as it enters the Monument. The sampling approach is designed to assess potential human exposure through the uptake of a variety of contaminants. This information is critical in determining the suitability of the Yellow River for harvesting culturally important plant species and informing future management decisions at the park.

Learn more about the USGS/National Park Service partnership and this project here:
https://webapps.usgs.gov/nps-partnership/projects/2024-efmo-determining