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ARS Home » Northeast Area » University Park, Pennsylvania » Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #235298
Title: Long-term Watershed Database for the Ridge and Valley Physiographic Province: Mahantango Creek Watershed, Pennsylvania, USA

Author
item Feyereisen, Gary
item Bryant, Ray
item Kleinman, Peter
item Schmidt, John
item Buda, Anthony
item Folmar, Gordon
item Saporito, Louis - Lou

Submitted to: Soil and Water Conservation Society Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/3/2009
Publication Date: 7/11/2009
Citation: Feyereisen, G.W., Bryant, R.B., Kleinman, P.J., Veith, T. L., Schmidt, J.P., Buda, A. R., Folmar, G.J., Saporito, L.S. 2009. Long-term Watershed Database for the Ridge and Valley Physiographic Province: Mahantango Creek Watershed, Pennsylvania, USA [abstract}. Soil and Water Conservation Society Proceedings. p. 86.

Interpretive Summary: An interpretive summary is not required.

Technical Abstract: Understanding agricultural effects on water quality in rivers and estuaries requires understanding of hydrometeorology and geochemical cycling at various scales over time. The USDA-ARS initiated a hydrologic research program at the Mahantango Creek Watershed (MCW) in 1968, a research watershed at the headwaters of a tributary to the Susquehanna River, to characterize watershed geohydrology and to evaluate the effects of agricultural land use on ground water and stream water quality in the Ridge and Valley Physiographic Province of east-central Pennsylvania. Databases from the 7.3 km**2 watershed WE-38 in the MCW are being made available for cooperative, interdisciplinary research based on historic and on-going monitoring. Long-term streamflow data (40 years) and supporting precipitation and meteorological data have been collected for this mixed land use watershed. Streamwater quality has been monitored over the past 20+ years. Depth to ground water and selected water quality data are available for ten wells within WE-38. Geospatial data layers including watershed boundaries, elevation, hydrography, and land use have been developed and are also available. Opportunities for publishing these data will be described. The requirements and options for making the databases publically available are identified and evaluated.