Publications Catalog

Open-file report; contains unpublished data that has not yet been peer-reviewed.

This report documents work completed as part of a grant from the U.S. Geological Survey's National Groundwater Monitoring Network (NGWMN) program. It provides an overview of the Wisconsin Groundwater-Level Monitoring Network (WGLMN) and provides detailed description of well evaluation and repair activities, and drilling of new monitoring wells across the...

This report documents work completed as part of a grant from the U.S. Geological Survey's National Groundwater Monitoring Network (NGWMN) program. It provides an overview of the Wisconsin Groundwater-Level Monitoring Network (WGLMN) and provides detailed description of well evaluation and repair activities, and drilling of new monitoring wells across the...

The southwest Wisconsin groundwater and geology study (SWIGG) was a cooperative effort between Grant, Iowa, and Lafayette county governments, with scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, and WGNHS. Researchers tested water quality in hundreds of private water wells across the three...

The portable X-Ray Fluorescence (pXRF) instrument provides fast, real-time, non-destructive, multi-element geochemical data (i.e. elemental concentrations) on rocks and minerals at a relatively low cost and with minimal sample preparation. This study quantifies the precision and accuracy of measurements collected by the WGNHS pXRF on reference materials...

This report documents work completed as part of a grant from the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Groundwater Monitoring Network (NGWMN) program. It provides an overview of the Wisconsin Groundwater-Level Monitoring Network (WGLMN) and provides detailed description of well evaluation and repair activities, and drilling of new monitoring wells across the...

Computerized groundwater-flow models provide scientific analysis of water resources. Since its initial development in 2014, the Columbia County groundwater-flow model has been used to respond to requests for information about specific groundwater and land use issues. This companion report to the Hydrogeology and simulation of groundwater flow in Columbia...

If you’re thinking about donating land as a conservation easement but don’t own the subsurface (known as “severed mineral rights”), then you’ll need an assessment of the land’s mineral potential to determine whether the easement will qualify as a charitable tax deduction. Geologists at the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey perform this...

Depth-to-bedrock maps show the thickness of unconsolidated materials overlying bedrock. These maps provide a key link between the underlying geology, groundwater flow, and land use and are important in guiding activities such as permitting, bridge construction, and the land application of waste products in sensitive areas. Given their role in guiding...

Documentation of two studies looking at the Silurian dolomite aquifer in northeastern Wisconsin. Researchers quantified the extent of contamination from coliform bacteria, E. coli, and nitrate in Kewaunee County’s private wells. They also examined how wastewater from septic systems and livestock manure interact with environmental conditions and geology...

Documentation of variations in groundwater levels and selected water-quality parameters in four wells completed in the Silurian dolomite aquifer in northeast Wisconsin (Brown, Calumet, Kewaunee, and Manitowoc Counties).

Description of the field methods and data management procedures used to produce the Springs Inventory (see Bulletin 113).

Field trip guidebook from the International Glaciological Society Symposium on Glacial Erosion and Sedimentation, May 15, 2019.

The authors of this open-file report scoured the literature for previous studies about the Central Sands area. This bibliography provides an overview of available research related to the hydrogeologic setting and water-budget components of the Central Sands Lakes Study (CSLS).

Field trip route and notes looking at Cambrian and Middle Ordovician rocks of southwestern Wisconsin.

Field trip guidebook showcasing four sites in Trempealeau County in west-central Wisconsin. The focus of this trip is on the sandstone formations that are prized for frac sand mining. (A draft of this book was originally prepared for the 2017 American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) Sand Mine Life Cycle Seminar held in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.)

The Wisconsin Groundwater-Level Monitoring Network consists of 93 wells and 2 spring gaging stations. This report documents work performed on seven of the wells between August 1, 2016 and July 31, 2017, and appendices provide historical reference documents.

Concentrations of radium at or above the health standard in a Madison municipal well prompted the water utility to request assistance from the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey to better understand the source of the radium. This report documents a series of analyses performed on the elemental composition of rock samples from the affected...

Field trip guidebook describes the evidence suggesting that the Wisconsin River once flowed from west to east. (Prepared for the 2015 Geological Society of America North-Central Section Meeting.)

This open-file report documents the recharge model created for the East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. Includes the resulting recharge map, a useful tool for land-use planners interested in identifying important groundwater recharge areas.