Geology topics

Research about Pecos River

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Pecos River.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2015

Movement patterns and dispersal potential of Pecos bluntnose shiner ( Notropis simus pecosensis ) revealed using otolith microchemistry

Natal origin and dispersal potential of the federally threatened Pecos bluntnose shiner ( Notropis simus pecosensis ) were successfully characterized using otolith microchemistry and swimming performance trials. Strontium isotope ratios ( 87 Sr: 86 Sr) of otoliths within the resident plains killifish ( Fundulus zebrinus ) were successfully used as a surrogate for strontium isotope ratios in water and revealed three isotopically distinct reaches throughout 297 km of the Pecos River, New Mexico, USA. Two different life history movement patterns were revealed in Pecos bluntnose shiner. Eggs and fry were either retained in upper river reaches or passively dispersed downriver followed by upriver movement during the first year of life, with some fish achieving a minimum movement of 56 km. Swimming ability of Pecos bluntnose shiner confirmed upper critical swimming speeds ( U crit ) as high as 43.8 cm·s −1 and 20.6 body lengths·s −1 in 30 days posthatch fish. Strong swimming ability early in life supports our observations of upriver movement using otolith microchemistry and confirms movement patterns that were previously unknown for the species. Understanding patterns of dispersal of this and other small-bodied fishes using otolith microchemistry may help redirect conservation and management efforts for Great Plains fishes.

New Mexico↗

USGS2014

Golden alga presence and abundance are inversely related to salinity in a high-salinity river ecosystem, Pecos River, USA

Prymnesium parvum (golden alga, GA) is a toxigenic harmful alga native to marine ecosystems that has also affected brackish inland waters. The first toxic bloom of GA in the western hemisphere occurred in the Pecos River, one of the saltiest rivers in North America. Environmental factors (water quality) associated with GA occurrence in this basin, however, have not been examined. Water quality and GA presence and abundance were determined at eight sites in the Pecos River basin with or without prior history of toxic blooms. Sampling was conducted monthly from January 2012 to July 2013. Specific conductance (salinity) varied spatiotemporally between 4408 and 73,786 mS/cm. Results of graphical, principal component (PCA), and zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) regression analyses indicated that the incidence and abundance of GA are reduced as salinity increases spatiotemporally. LOWESS regression and correlation analyses of archived data for specific conductance and GA abundance at one of the study sites retrospectively confirmed the negative association between these variables. Results of PCA also suggested that at <15,000 mS/cm, GA was present at a relatively wide range of nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) concentrations whereas at higher salinity, GA was observed only at mid-to-high nutrient levels. Generally consistent with earlier studies, results of ZIP regression indicated that GA presence is positively associated with organic phosphorus and in samples where GA is present, GA abundance is positively associated with organic nitrogen and negatively associated with inorganic nitrogen. This is the first report of an inverse relation between salinity and GA presence and abundance in riverine waters and of interaction effects of salinity and nutrients in the field. These observations contribute to a more complete understanding of environmental conditions that influence GA distribution in inland waters.

New Mexico, Texas↗

USGS1979

Experimental salinity alleviation at Malaga Bend of the Pecos River, Eddy County, New Mexico

Upward-leaking brine, from a confined aquifer at the base of the Rustler Formation, mixes with fresher water in a shallow aquifer, resulting in discharge to the Pecos River in southern Eddy County, New Mexico, of about 0.5 cubic feet per second of saturated brine. Pumping brine from the aquifer at a rate greater than 0.5 cubic feet per second lowered the potentiometric head in the confined aquifer. From July 22, 1963 through December 1968, approximately 3,Et73 acre-feet of brine had been pumped. Total brine storage in July 1963 was 540 acre-feet, including about 200 acre-feet of salt precipitate. From 1963 to 1968, water downgradient of the storage depression increased in chloride concentration by amounts ranging from 1,500 to 99,400 milligrams per liter, and water levels near the depression increased over 3 feet. For water years 1952-63, the Pecos River gained about 240 tons per day of chloride in the reach from Malaga gaging station to Pierce Canyon Crossing. In the same reach, the average chloride gain to the Pecos River from July 1963 to August 1966 was 167 tons per day; in 1967-68 the gain increased to 256 tons per day following a major flood in August 1966. Seepage investigations made prior to pumping of the brine aquifer show that the main area contributing brine to the river was located between the Malaga gage and well USGS 11. In 1968 most of the brine inflow apparently entered the river downstream of the Malaga-USGS 11 reach. The head in the brine aquifer was lowered and discharge to the river was decreased above the Malaga gage. Leakage from the depression contributed salts to the river below the Malaga gage during brine pumpage.

New Mexico↗

USGS1976

Annual report to the Pecos River Commission on investigations being made in New Mexico and Texas by the United States Geological Survey in cooperation with the Pecos River Commission: calendar year 1976

This report describes investigations in New Mexico and Texas made by the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Pecos River Commission during the 1976 calendar year and provides a summary of costs for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1976.

New Mexico;Texas↗