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Thomas C. Winter

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas C. Winter.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
USGS1982

Bibliography of U.S. Geological Survey studies of lakes and reservoirs; the first 100 years

For more than 100 years, the U.S. Geological Survey has pursued its mission of assessing and mapping the earth resources of the United States, including assessment of the Nation's water resources. Although the Survey has never been a water-management or development agency, it has assisted agencies that are responsible for such developments, and commonly provides data and information for such purposes. Because reservoirs are an intergral part of most water-development projects, the Survey has been involved in reservoir-related studies since the 1880's. The largest and longest involvement has centered on providing information on streamflows and sediment transport related to existing and proposed reservoirs. During the late 1940's, the Survey greatly expanded its activities in evaporation research. More recently, ground water, including bank storage, has gained increased attention. Most of these studies were related primarily to questions of water quantity, and the Survey continues to be involved in studies of physical hydrology. In addition, in response to the increased concern with environmental quality during the past 20 years, the number of Survey studies of the chemical and biological aspects of lakes and reservoirs have increased considerably. Prompted by the recent Centennial (1879-1979) of the U.S. Geological Survey, it is appropriate to assess the Survey's contributions to the hydrology of lakes and reservoirs. Both natural lakes and manmade reservoirs are included in this report. 1 This report includes studies in which lakes or reservoirs are the principal topics. It does not include reports of general water resources of an area in which lakes are discussed as part of that area. This report also does not include data reports in which the data are merely tabulated. The types of reports listed herein include studies of existing or proposed water bodies and associated fluxes of water to and from these water bodies. This report does not include geological or paleobiological studies of ancient lakes. This report does, however, include geological studies of proposed reservoir sites. This bibliography has three parts. The first part is an alphabetical listing that gives complete references to the given reports. Part 2 is a listing by topics, and only the authors, date of publication, and cross-reference to the State are given. Six general categories are considered: Lake hydrology; interaction of lakes and streamflow, including geological studies of reservoir sites; interaction of lakes and atmospheric water; interaction of lakes. and ground water; chemical and biological limnology; and sediment studies. The first four consist of studies of physical characteristics of lakes, and the last two of water-quality characteristics. The category of lake hydrology includes general studies of lakes that are not easily grouped into one of the more specific categories of physical characteristics. For example, it includes water-budget studies where all aspects of hydrology are discussed. It also includes studies of hydrodynamics of lakes as well as studies of lake-level fluctuations. The category of interaction of lakes and streamflow includes preimpoundment studies of streamflow discharge for reservoir design, and studies of the effects of existing reservoirs on streamflow and channel characteristics. Also included in this category are geological studies of river valleys for proposed reservoir sites. The category of interaction of lakes and atmospheric water includes primarily studies of evaporation. The interaction of lakes and ground water includes studies of bank storage. The category of chemical and biological studies was not subdivided into more specific types because of the virtually inseparable relation between chemistry and biology in most studies. This bibliography provided much of the information for two papers that discuss the history of U.S. Geological Survey studies of lakes and reservoirs. (See Winter, 1981b; and Hadley, 1981).

Circular↗
USGS1981

Limnological and geochemical survey of Williams Lake, Hubbard County, Minnesota

A limnological and geochemical survey of Williams Lake, Minnesota, was made in 1979 to provide an initial interpretive description of the lake and the contiguous ground-water system. This survey was made as part of a continuing research program related to the investigation of the interaction of lakes and their contiguous ground-water systems at Williams Lake, Minnesota, as well as other sites within the continental United States. During 1979, Williams Lake was dimictic, and the lake had high optical transparency; light penetrated to the lakebed throughout most of the lake. Aquatic macrophytes were present along the western shore and in the southern bay of the lake. Although the lake had clinograde-oxygen distributions during part of this survey, anaerobic conditions were not observed. The lake is moderately fertile with respect to its total phosphorus content. Nutrient data indicate phosphorus limits phytoplankton biomass levels in Williams Lake. Blue-green algae were the dominant group of the phytoplankton community and copepods were the dominant group of the zooplankton community when the lake was thermally stratified during the open-water season. Diatoms and rotifers were dominant when the lake was isothermal in the autumn. Calcium and bicarbonate represent more than 90 percent of the dissolved constituents in Williams Lake and the contiguous ground-water system. Major mineralogical constituents of the lake sediments are quartz, dolomite, and calcite. Marl is present only in the littoral zone of the lake. Organic sediments in the lake consist of loose organic floe and gyttja.

Minnesota↗
USGS1980

An annotated bibliography of devices developed for direct measurement of seepage

The need for information on the interrelationship of groundwater and surface water is causing a growing interest in methods used for direct measurement of seepage to and from surface-water bodies. Instruments developed for measurement of seepage date from about the mid 1940 's largely in response to the need for knowing the quantity of seepage loss from canals. This bibliography includes abstracts, summaries, or conclusions from papers describing seepage measurement devices. Illustrations of the instruments are included. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS1980

Hydrologic setting of Williams Lake, Hubbard County, Minnesota

The hydrology and geology of Williams Lake watershed was studied to evaluate the accuracy of various methods used to determine precipitation and evaporation in lake water-balance studies and to define a lake and ground-water system according to approaches suggested by theoretical modeling studies. Regression analysis between estimated and measured precipitation at the lake showed that the accuracy of regionalization techniques is dependent on the closeness of the data network to the lake. For individual storms, the average-value method was found to be better than either the weighted average or isohyetal methods of determining precipitation, but it was least accurate in estimating 14-day average precipitation. The amount of evaporation calculated by the mass-transfer method ranged from 2 to 7 inches per month from July to October 1978, depending on the method used to determine the mass-transfer coefficient. Test drilling indicated that 30 to 150 feet of sand and gravel overlies till in the Williams Lake watershed. A sand lens about 50 feet thick occurs within the till. The configuration of the water table and vertical-head gradients measured from July to December 1978 indicate that ground water moves into the lake from the south and east and moves from the lake into the ground-water reservoir to the west. Preliminary numerical models indicate that the sand lens within the till is effectively isolated from the flow system interacting with the lake and that both inseepage and outseepage were about 1.4 inches from mid-July to mid-October 1978. When estimated as a residual in a water balance, ground water showed a net outseepage only of 1.47 inches.

Minnesota↗
USGS1980

Hydrologic setting of wetlands in the Cottonwood Lake area, Stutsman County, North Dakota

Because of growing interest in the role of lakes and wetlands in the hydrology of the prairie environment, a group of wetlands in the Cottonwood Lake area, Stutsman County, are being instrumented for long-term hydrologic studies. The study site is on a regional topographic high near the eastern edge of the Missouri Coteau and is underlain by more than 400 feet of glacial drift, largely clayey, silty till. Long-term climatic data indicate the study area is in a water deficient area mean annual evaporation exceeds mean annual precipitation by about 18 inches. Different methods are being used for comparison of measurements and estimates of each hydrologic component interacting with the lakes and wetlands. For example, for 3 months during 1979, estimates of precipitation for the study site using data collected at National Weather Service stations differed from that measured by a recording gage at the study site by several tenths of an inch for 14-day totals and differed by more than 0.5 inch for individual storms. Numerical-simulation analysis of regional ground-water flow systems show the study site is situated in a regional recharge area, but local groundwater flow systems can discharge to lakes and wetlands within the recharge area. Instrumentation at the study site shows a complex interrelationship of wetlands and ground water. Based on data for 1979 only, some wetlands appear to recharge ground water, some wetlands are flow-through types where ground water enters one side and surface water seeps into the ground on the other side, and some wetlands are discharge points for ground water. Further, these interrelationships vary throughout the year.

North Dakota↗
USGS1976

The hydrologic setting of lakes in Minnesota and adjacent states; with emphasis on the interaction of lakes and ground water

The hydrologic settings of 150 randomly-selected lakes in the north-central United States were investigated by principal component analysis as a first attempt to develop a general classification of the hydrologic setting of lakes. Precipitation-evaporation balance and the water quality parameters have high factor loadings on the first principal component. Highest loadings on component 2 are for streamflow in and out of the lakes. Components 3 and 4 are characterized by geology and ground-water flow parameters. The drainage basin area/lake area ratio, the overland runoff parameter, has the highest loading on component 5.

Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dak↗
USGS1976

Numerical simulation analysis of the interaction of lakes and ground water

Because the interrelationship of lakes and ground water is perhaps the least understood aspect of lake hydrology, vertical-section, steadystate, numerical-model simulations were run to evaluate the factors that control the interaction of lakes and ground water. The study is concerned only with lakes encircled by water-table mounds that are at a higher altitude than lake level. Simulations of one-lake and multiple-lake systems in vertical sections show that for many hydrogeologic settings, the line (divide) separating local from regional ground-water flow systems is continuous beneath individual lakes. If the divide is continuous, there exists a point along it at which the head is a minimum compared to all other points along the divide. This point of minimum head is always greater than the head represented by lake level, therefore in such a setting there can be no movement of lake water through the lake bed to the ground-water system. In a setting where the divide is not continuous, the lake loses water through part of its bed, but rarely in the littoral zone of the lake. Factors that strongly influence the position, shape, and continuity of the flow-system divide beneath lakes are height of the water table on the downslope side of the lake relative to lake level, position and hydraulic conductivity of aquifers within the ground-water reservoir, ratio of horizontal to vertical hydraulic conductivity of the groundwater system, and lake depth.

Professional Paper↗
USGS1975

Delineation of buried glacial drift aquifers

Locating and delineating buried glacial-drift aquifers poses one of the major problems to hydrogeologists working in glacial terrain. To show the vertical and horizontal boundaries of aquifers, most techniques require a multiple set of maps, a fence diagram, or a combination of maps and sections. Calculations of the first two moments, mean and standard deviation, of a discontinuous distribution result in values that represent the center of gravity (mean position) and spread (standard deviation) of all the sand units in a drill hole. Data for the moment method consist of depth to center point and thickness of each sand unit. A 2.600 mi 2 (6,730 km 2 ) area in northwestern Minnesota that, contained 71 test holes drilled to bedrock was used to test the usefulness of the moment method in glacial terrain. Plots of relative position of center of gravity and relative spread (calculated as percentage of total drift thickness) showed three groupings for relative center of gravity (shallow, 0-26 percent, medium, 30-55. and deep 58-72) and three for spread of sand units (narrow, 1-5 percent, medium, 8-19, and wide, 22-38). The resulting vertical-variability pattern map shows the areas of each of the nine combinations of these two factors. Because the vertical-variability map does not show quantity of sand, the map is most informative if the total thickness of sand, 01- percent sand of total drift thickness, is recorded by each hole location on the map. The center of gravity is useful for describing the vertical position of the principal sand in a drill hole because it lies within the principal sand unit in 34 of the 63 holes that contained sand, and it is within 15 percent (based on total drift, thickness) of the principal sand unit in 22 of the remaining 29 holes.

Michigan, Minnesota↗
USGS1973

Petrography and stratigraphy of glacial drift, Mesabi-Vermilion Iron Range area, northeastern Minnesota

Glacial deposits in the Mesabi-Vermilion Iron Range area consist of four major till units and associated glaciofluvial sediments. Particle-size data and pebble, heavy-mineral, clay-mineral, and percentage-soluble content were used in addition to field description of color and texture to describe and correlate the drift units. The lowermost till unit, basal till, occurs in only a small number of mines, but the mines are scattered across the entire Iron Range. The till is dark gray to dark greenish gray and brownish gray, sandy, silty, and calcareous. Pebbles are largely granitic and metamorphic rocks of local origin, but include limestone, dolomite, shale, basalt, felsite, agate, and gabbro. Clay-mineral content is largely illite. The age of the till is probably middle or early Wisconsin but could be pre-Wisconsin. The middle till unit, bouldery till, is the thickest and most widespread of the four tills. It is gray, yellow, red, orange, or brown, sandy, silty, noncalcareous and contains abundant cobbles and boulders. Pebbles are largely granitic and metamorphic rocks of local origin, but also include gabbro, basalt, and felsite in minor amounts. Montmorillonite is the most common clay mineral. Colored bouldery till below gray bouldery till may be a separate subunit distinguished largely on particle-size differences, but the overall characteristics are similar to the other bouldery till. The till was deposited by the Rainy lobe, which has a minimum age of 14,000 to 16,000 years before present. The uppermost, or surficial, tills were deposited contemporaneously by two minor sublobes of the Des Moines lobe about 12,000 years ago. Brown silty till occurs in the western and north-central part of the study area. It is light to medium brown, sandy, silty, and calcareous. Pebbles are largely granitic and metamorphic rocks of local origin, but include limestone, dolomite, shale, basalt, felsite, and gabbro. Clay-mineral content is largely mixed-layered montmorillonite and illite. Red clayey till occurs in the south-central part of the area. It is red to reddish brown, clayey, silty, and calcareous. Pebbles are similar to those in the brown silty till, but contain less limestone than the brown till. Glaciofluvial sediments are common between the various till units throughout the area, but are thickest near the east and near the west ends of the Iron Range.

Minnesota↗
USGS1973

Hydrogeology of glacial drift, Mesabi Iron Range, northeastern Minnesota

Stratified fluvial sediments occur within the glacial drift at many places in the Mesabi Iron Range area. These sediments, which are important aquifers, occur extensively between the three main till units. The thickest and most extensive aquifer consists of glaciofluvial sediments that lie between the surficial till and the middle till unit, the bouldery till. Thickness of the glaciofluvial sediments at this stratigraphic interval is greater than 50 feet in much of the area, and transmissivity is greater than 100,000 gallons per day per foot in some places. Glaciofluvial sediments underlying the bouldery till occur largely in the western half of the area. These sediments are generally less than 50 feet thick, and transmissivity is generally less than 50,000 gallons per day per foot. Surficial glaciofluvial sediments are a source of ground water for high-yield wells only in the eastern part of the area in the vicinity of the Biwabik bedrock valley. Thickness of these sediments is greater than 100 feet in some places, but transmissivity is generally less than 50,000 gallons per day per foot. Practical sustained yield of aquifers in glacial drift is estimated to be as much as 40 million gallons per day from known aquifers. Assuming that the ratio of area underlain by aquifer to total area is constant for the study area (about 20 percent where mapped in detail), as much as 80 million gallons per day could be developed from glacial-drift aquifers.

Minnesota↗
USGS1970

Water resources of the Wild Rice River watershed, northwestern Minnesota

The Wild Rice watershed includes two general physiographic areas- the glacial Lake Agassiz Plain and a glacial moraine. The lake plain is extremely flat in the western part, sloping only a few feet per mile, but in the eastern part the plain is traversed in a north-south direction by long, narrow beach ridges up to 20 feet high. The moraine is an area of hills and depressions. The local relief is low in the western part of the moraine but increases to more than 200 feet in the east. Altitude of the land surface ranges from 800 feet above mean sea level where the Red River flows north out of the area to 2,040 feet near the southeastern edge of the watershed (one of the highest points in Minnesota). The area of the watershed is about 2,600 square miles and includes most of Mahnomen and Norman Counties and parts of Becker, Clay, Clearwater, and Polk Counties. The population of the area is about 37,000 people of which about 70 percent live on farms. The economy is based principally on farming. The area of lake clay and silt is used mostly for raising sugar beets and wheat; and potatoes are grown largely on the sandy soils. In the western part of the morainal area small grain, dairy, and cattle farming is the most common. The eastern part of the morainal area is important for forest products and recreation. Industries in the area are small and are based on agricultural processing and service.

Minnesota↗
USGS1969

Water resources of the Otter Tail River Watershed, West-central Minnesota

The Otter Tail River watershed includes three general physiographic areas- a moraine and ice-contact area, an outwash plain, and the plain of Glacial Lake Agassiz. The moraine and ice-contact area is a fairly rugged complex of hills characterized by local relief of several hundred feet in some areas, particularly in the extreme north and southeastern parts of the watershed. The outwash plain is fairly flat to rolling and the Glacial Lake Agassiz plain is extremely flat. The watershed has an area of about 1,920 square miles and includes parts of Becker, Otter Tail, Wilkin, and Clearwater Counties. The population of the area is about 55,500; 32,600 urban and 22,900 rural. The economy is largely agricultural. Grain farming is dominant, but dairying is important. The extremely large number of lakes in the area provides a basis for a large recreation-based economy.

Minnesota↗
USGS1969

Water resources of the Buffalo River Watershed, West-central Minnesota

The Buffalo River watershed includes two general physiographic areas – a glacial lake plain and an glacial moraine. The lake plain, which was formed by Glacial lake Agassiz more than 9,000 years ago, is extremely flat – sloping only a few feet per mile westward near the Red River of the North. The moraine is largely an area of gently rolling hills, but in the eastern “tail” of the watershed the relief locally is over two hundred feet. The watershed has an area of about 1,690 square miles and includes most of Clay County and parts of Wilkin, Otter Tail, Becker, and Norman Counties. The population of the area is about 45,500 – 31,000 urban and 14,500 rural. The economy is largely agricultural. Sugar beet and wheat farming are dominant in the areas of clay and silt; potato farming is confined mainly to the sandy areas. Dairying and stock raising is important in the morainal area. The larger industries are located in Moorhead and consist of sugar beet, potato, and dairy product processing. Water-based recreation consists mostly of fishing in the larger lakes in the morainal area, and water-fowl hunting in the area of prairie potholes – the western part of the morainal area.

Minnesota↗
USGS1968

Water resources of the Mustinka and Bois de Sioux Rivers watershed, west-central Minnesota

The Mustinka and Bois de Sioux Rivers watershed is mantled by till deposits with scattered sand deposits. The west-central and northwestern part of the watershed was covered by Glacial Lake Agassiz and the resulting land surface is a flat, lake-washed till plain. Patches and ridges of sand scattered throughout the lake plain were formed as beach ridges and offshore bars. Small, isolated areas of lake clay also occur within this area. The remainder of the watershed is glacial moraine characterized by rolling topography in all but the extreme eastern edge which has more local relief and more permanent lakes. Alluvial sand deposits are found in the eastern part of the morainal area. The drainage area of the watershed in Minnesota is 1,429 square miles. The area includes mors of Traverse County and parts of Big Stone, Stevens, Grant, Ottertail, and Wilkin Counties. Population within the watershed unit is about 20,000. The largest community, Wheaton, has a population of 2,102. The agricultural economy of the area is concentrated on grain farming, although some dairying is carried on. The principal grain crops are corn and oats. Flax, soybeans, and barley are also very commonly grown. The natural vegetation in the area was largely prairie. A hardwood deciduous forest grew only on the extreme eastern edge. Today, the area is almost entirely farm land containing numerous local woodlots. Outdoor recreation is concentrated on waterfowl and pheasant hunting. Fishing is done in Lake Traverse and in the larger lakes in the eastern part of the morainal area.

Minnesota↗
USGS1967

Water resources of the Two Rivers Watershed, Northwestern Minnesota

The Two Rivers watershed includes two physiographic areas a lake plain and a till plain – within its 1,232 square miles. It lies in parts of Kittson and Roseau counties and includes the drainage basins of the Two Rivers and Joe River. The flat lake plain which extends 15 to 20 miles east of the Red River of the North is extensively cultivated for small grains and sugar beets. The gently undulating till plain is cultivated largely for small grains and hay. The areas not under cultivation support a forest of poplar with some maple and oak. Oak is the predominate tree on the sandy ridges. The large peat areas are covered with brush and marsh grasslands. Outdoor recreational facilities in the watershed consist principally of the Lake Bronson Park, water-fowl hunting in the extensive marshlands, and deer and small game hunting in the forested areas.

Minnesota↗
USGS1967

Water resources of the Roseau River Watershed, Northwestern Minnesota

The drainage area of the Roseau River consists of 2,060 square miles above its confluence with the Red River of the North. About 1,150 square miles lie in the United States and 910 square miles in Canada. This report deals only with that portion within the United States, except for a detailed analysis of low flow characteristics of tributary streams. Most of the area is within Roseau County, but small portions are in Marshall, Beltrami, Lake of the Woods, and Kittson Counties. Most of the watershed has little relief, and lies entirely within the plain of former Glacial Lake Agassiz. However, the flat topography of this lake washed till plain is broken by beach ridges in its southwestern part and Beltrami Island, a topographic high underlain by sand, in tis southeastern part. Population within the watershed is about 8000. The town of Roseau, the largest community, has a population of 2146 (1960). The watershed has an agricultural economy. Spring wheat, oats, and bluegrass seed are the three most important crops in the area, but many other small grains, legumes, and grasses are also grown. Dairy farming and sheep raising are the most important types of livestock production and for many farms stock is the major sources of income. Large areas of the watershed are peat lands, covered with shrubs, marsh grasslands, and spruce, tamarack, and cedar trees. Forest vegetation in the remainder of the area is largely aspen, but oak is common on the beach ridges and jack pine is common on Beltrami Island. Outdoor recreation in the area is primarily hunting of deer, small game, and waterfowl. This report is a general appraisal of the water resources in the Roseau River watershed unit. Detailed studies of water movement through the ground-water reservoir are needed for more exact determination of the amount of water immediately available and the specific effects of water-management practices.

Minnesota↗