This data release contains input data files (R scripts and supporting data files) and results tables associated with analyses that describe the predicted effects of surface-water withdrawal scenarios on specific stream flow characteristics (SFC), changes in fish species richness, and ecological withdrawal thresholds from stream sites within the Tennessee and Cumberland River basins. Surface-water withdrawal scenarios were constructed using two different models: 1) Percent-of-flow (POF) withdrawal model; 2) Constant-rate (CR) withdrawal model. The POF model simulated water withdrawal scenarios by reducing each daily streamflow value by a set percentage ranging from 0 to 40% withdrawal. The CR model simulated water withdrawals by reducing daily streamflow by a constant value (regardless of ambient/background daily streamflow values) ranging from 0.003 to 1.415 cubic meters per second (equal to 0.1 to 50.0 cubic feet per second). Additionally, four minimum flow levels were applied under each withdrawal model to investigate the potential effects of different levels of low-flow protection on fish species richness response to water withdrawals. The primary INPUT files consist of three R scripts that contain executable code as well as detailed instructions, comments, and descriptions to fully reproduce the output results files. All files required to successfully reproduce output results are contained within the “INPUT” folder and “SupportingFiles” sub-folder that accompany this data release. Some of the supporting INPUT files consist of various datasets originally reported in previously published journal articles and were used to format and/or calculate various hydrologic or ecologic metrics (see citations below). Basic site information (i.e., site number, site name, spatial coordinates, drainage area, ecoregion, etc) for each stream site is contained within siteInfo.txt file. Results tables for both POF and CR withdrawal models are contained within "SFC", "Richness", "Thresholds", and "SumThresholds" folders. References: Knight, R.R., Cartwright, J.M., and Ladd, D.E., 2016, Streamflow and fish community diversity data for use in developing ecological limit functions for the Cumberland Plateau, northeastern Middle Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky, 2016: U.S. Geological Survey Data Release: http://dx.doi.org/10.5066/F7JH3J83. Knight, R.R., Gain, W.S., and Wolfe, W.J., 2012, Modelling ecological flow regime: an example from the Tennessee and Cumberland River basins: Ecohydrology, v. 5, no. 5, p. 613–627. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.246. Knight, R.R., Murphy, J.C., Wolfe, W.J., Saylor, C.F., and Wales, A.K., 2014, Ecological limit functions relating fish community response to hydrologic departures of the ecological flow regime in the Tennessee River basin, United States: Ecohydrology, p. 1262–1280. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco1460. R Core Team (2018), R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. URL https://www.R-project.org/

This geospatial dataset includes one point feature class file and associated FGDC-compliant metadata representing datasets to support development of ecological limit functions for the Cumberland Plateau in northeastern Middle Tennessee and southeastern Kentucky. Knight and others (2012, 2014) developed a methodology of relating fish species richness to changes in hydrologic conditions for sites within the Tennessee River Basin; this dataset applies this methodology to 138 sites within the the Cumberland Plateau. Information contained within this dataset represents values of basin characteristics (see Table II in Knight and others, 2012), estimates of streamflow characteristics (see Table I in Knight and others, 2012), measures of individual and cumulative departure of streamflow characteristics from reference hydrologic conditions, and fish species richness for 138 sites in the study area. Characteristics describing each basin were estimated and standardized (see Table III in Knight and others, 2012) and include: percent forest, percent agriculture, percent of basin in the Interior Plateau Level 3 Ecoregion, percent of basin in Blue Ridge Level 3 Ecoregion, mean basin elevation, index of Hortonian overland flow, soil factor, geologic factor, monthly mean precipitation, January precipitation deviation, August temperature deviation, temperature range, and rock depth as well as the interaction of soil factor, geologic factor, and rock depth with monthly mean precipitation. Basin characteristics were used as independent variables to estimate streamflow characteristics, also in standardized form, following Knight and others (2012). Estimated streamflow characteristics include measures of the magnitude, duration, frequency, timing, and rate of change of the annual hydrograph (Knight and others, 2012). Departure values for individual streamflow characteristics were determined by calculating the numerical distance (difference) outside the reference range for each streamflow characteristic. Reference hydrologic conditions for the study area were determined using methods presented in Knight and others (2012; 2014). Reference ranges are included in the metadata in the entity and attribute descriptions for the fields representing individual hydrologic departure values. Cumulative hydrologic departures represent the sum of individual departure values that were identified as statistically significant (p < 0.05) in quantile regression analysis based on Knight and others (2014), stratified by fish group. Fish species richness for 11 fish groups is presented for each site and represents trophic, taxonomic, reproductive, and habitat preferences (see Table I in Knight and others, 2014) as well as fishes that are considered as rare, threatened, or endangered by Withers (2009). Knight, R.R., Gain, W.S., and Wolfe, W.J., 2012, Modelling ecological flow regime: an example from the Tennessee and Cumberland River basins: Ecohydrology, v. 5, p. 613–627, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/eco.246 Knight, R.R., Murphy, J.C., Wolfe, W.J., Saylor, C.F., and Wales, A.K., 2014, Ecological limit functions relating fish community response to hydrologic departures of the ecological flow regime in the Tennessee River basin, United States: Ecohydrology, v. 7, p. 1262–1280, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/eco.1460 Withers, D., 2009, Tennessee Natural Heritage Program rare animals list: Division of Natural Areas, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Nashville, TN, 61 p, last accessed November 19, 2015, at https://www.tn.gov/assets/entities/environment/attachments/na_animal-list.pdf

This geospatial dataset includes one point feature class file and associated FGDC-compliant metadata representing datasets to support development of ecological limit functions for the Cumberland Plateau in northeastern Middle Tennessee and southeastern Kentucky. Knight and others (2012, 2014) developed a methodology of relating fish species richness to changes in hydrologic conditions for sites within the Tennessee River Basin; this dataset applies this methodology to 138 sites within the the Cumberland Plateau. Information contained within this dataset represents values of basin characteristics (see Table II in Knight and others, 2012), estimates of streamflow characteristics (see Table I in Knight and others, 2012), measures of individual and cumulative departure of streamflow characteristics from reference hydrologic conditions, and fish species richness for 138 sites in the study area. Characteristics describing each basin were estimated and standardized (see Table III in Knight and others, 2012) and include: percent forest, percent agriculture, percent of basin in the Interior Plateau Level 3 Ecoregion, percent of basin in Blue Ridge Level 3 Ecoregion, mean basin elevation, index of Hortonian overland flow, soil factor, geologic factor, monthly mean precipitation, January precipitation deviation, August temperature deviation, temperature range, and rock depth as well as the interaction of soil factor, geologic factor, and rock depth with monthly mean precipitation. Basin characteristics were used as independent variables to estimate streamflow characteristics, also in standardized form, following Knight and others (2012). Estimated streamflow characteristics include measures of the magnitude, duration, frequency, timing, and rate of change of the annual hydrograph (Knight and others, 2012). Departure values for individual streamflow characteristics were determined by calculating the numerical distance (difference) outside the reference range for each streamflow characteristic. Reference hydrologic conditions for the study area were determined using methods presented in Knight and others (2012; 2014). Reference ranges are included in the metadata in the entity and attribute descriptions for the fields representing individual hydrologic departure values. Cumulative hydrologic departures represent the sum of individual departure values that were identified as statistically significant (p < 0.05) in quantile regression analysis based on Knight and others (2014), stratified by fish group. Fish species richness for 11 fish groups is presented for each site and represents trophic, taxonomic, reproductive, and habitat preferences (see Table I in Knight and others, 2014) as well as fishes that are considered as rare, threatened, or endangered by Withers (2009). Knight, R.R., Gain, W.S., and Wolfe, W.J., 2012, Modelling ecological flow regime: an example from the Tennessee and Cumberland River basins: Ecohydrology, v. 5, p. 613–627, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/eco.246 Knight, R.R., Murphy, J.C., Wolfe, W.J., Saylor, C.F., and Wales, A.K., 2014, Ecological limit functions relating fish community response to hydrologic departures of the ecological flow regime in the Tennessee River basin, United States: Ecohydrology, v. 7, p. 1262–1280, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/eco.1460 Withers, D., 2009, Tennessee Natural Heritage Program rare animals list: Division of Natural Areas, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Nashville, TN, 61 p, last accessed November 19, 2015, at https://www.tn.gov/assets/entities/environment/attachments/na_animal-list.pdf

This data release supports an analysis of changes in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrate concentrations in Buck Creek watershed near Inlet, New York 2001 to 2021. The Buck Creek watershed is a 310-hectare forested watershed that is recovering from acidic deposition within the Adirondack region. The data release includes pre-processed model inputs and model outputs for the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge and Season (WRTDS) model (Hirsch and others, 2010) to estimate daily flow normalized concentrations of DOC and nitrate during a 20-year period of analysis. WRTDS uses daily discharge and concentration observations implemented through the Exploration and Graphics for River Trends R package (EGRET) to predict solute concentration using decimal time and discharge as explanatory variables (Hirsch and De Cicco, 2015; Hirsch and others, 2010). Discharge and concentration data are available from the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (NWIS) database (U.S. Geological Survey, 2016). The time series data were analyzed for the entire period, water years 2001 (WY2001) to WY2021 where WY2001 is the period from October 1, 2000 to September 30, 2001. This data release contains 5 comma-separated values (CSV) files, one R script, and one XML metadata file. There are four input files (“Daily.csv”, “INFO.csv”, “Sample_doc.csv”, and “Sample_nitrate.csv”) that contain site information, daily mean discharge, and mean daily DOC or nitrate concentrations. The R script (“Buck Creek WRTDS R script.R”) uses the four input datasets and functions from the EGRET R package to generate estimations of flow normalized concentrations. The output file (“WRTDS_results.csv”) contains model output at daily time steps for each sub-watershed and for each solute. Files are automatically associated with the R script when opened in RStudio using the provided R project file ("Files.Rproj"). All input, output, and R files are in the "Files.zip" folder.

This data release supports an analysis of changes in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrate concentrations in Buck Creek watershed near Inlet, New York 2001 to 2021. The Buck Creek watershed is a 310-hectare forested watershed that is recovering from acidic deposition within the Adirondack region. The data release includes pre-processed model inputs and model outputs for the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge and Season (WRTDS) model (Hirsch and others, 2010) to estimate daily flow normalized concentrations of DOC and nitrate during a 20-year period of analysis. WRTDS uses daily discharge and concentration observations implemented through the Exploration and Graphics for River Trends R package (EGRET) to predict solute concentration using decimal time and discharge as explanatory variables (Hirsch and De Cicco, 2015; Hirsch and others, 2010). Discharge and concentration data are available from the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (NWIS) database (U.S. Geological Survey, 2016). The time series data were analyzed for the entire period, water years 2001 (WY2001) to WY2021 where WY2001 is the period from October 1, 2000 to September 30, 2001. This data release contains 5 comma-separated values (CSV) files, one R script, and one XML metadata file. There are four input files (“Daily.csv”, “INFO.csv”, “Sample_doc.csv”, and “Sample_nitrate.csv”) that contain site information, daily mean discharge, and mean daily DOC or nitrate concentrations. The R script (“Buck Creek WRTDS R script.R”) uses the four input datasets and functions from the EGRET R package to generate estimations of flow normalized concentrations. The output file (“WRTDS_results.csv”) contains model output at daily time steps for each sub-watershed and for each solute. Files are automatically associated with the R script when opened in RStudio using the provided R project file ("Files.Rproj"). All input, output, and R files are in the "Files.zip" folder.

The hydrologic regime of rivers and streams is a major determinant of habitat quality for fish and aquatic invertebrates. Long-term streamflow data were compiled and multidecadal streamflow trends and ecological flow (EFlow) statistics were calculated in support of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Chesapeake Bay Science Initiative toward understanding fish habitat and health in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (CBWS). A dataset comprising all streamgages (n = 409) reporting daily means of streamflow within the CBWS and remaining active as of September 30, 2018 (the end of Water Year [WY] 2018), independent of streamgage installation date, was retrieved from the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS). This dataset was then subset to include only those streamgages with a contiguous timeseries of streamflow data from a start date no earlier than April 1, 1939 (Climate Year [CY] 1940) and no later than October 1, 1999 (WY 2000). The R packages “EGRET” and "Eflowstats" were utilized together to determine streamflow trends and EFlow statistics from the subset (n = 243). Trends and EFlows were computed for the ranges 1940-1969 (n = 90), 1970-1999 (n = 167), and 2000-2018 (n = 243). Streamflow trends were computed for eight annual metrics (1-, 7- and 30-day minima [CY] and maxima [WY], mean and median [WYs]). These streamflow trends provide context for the 178 EFlow statistics (WY) which have been designated to characterize the magnitude, frequency, and duration of extreme high and low flows, the timing of seasonal flows, and the consistency of the historic regime. Files herein include the following Child Items: (1) a table summarizing streamflow trends for three time periods at a minimum of 90 and maximum of 243 streamgages and 500 time-series plots graphically representing those trends; (2) a table summarizing EFlow statistics and the change between each statistic for three time periods at a minimum of 90 and maximum of 243 streamgages; and (3) a GIS shapefile of the original 409 USGS streamgage locations, complete with NWIS attributes, active within the CBWS through September 30, 2018.

The hydrologic regime of rivers and streams is a major determinant of habitat quality for fish and aquatic invertebrates. Long-term streamflow data were compiled and multidecadal streamflow trends and ecological flow (EFlow) statistics were calculated in support of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Chesapeake Bay Science Initiative toward understanding fish habitat and health in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (CBWS). A dataset comprising all streamgages (n = 409) reporting daily means of streamflow within the CBWS and remaining active as of September 30, 2018 (the end of Water Year [WY] 2018), independent of streamgage installation date, was retrieved from the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS). This dataset was then subset to include only those streamgages with a contiguous timeseries of streamflow data from a start date no earlier than April 1, 1939 (Climate Year [CY] 1940) and no later than October 1, 1999 (WY 2000). The R packages “EGRET” and "Eflowstats" were utilized together to determine streamflow trends and EFlow statistics from the subset (n = 243). Trends and EFlows were computed for the ranges 1940-1969 (n = 90), 1970-1999 (n = 167), and 2000-2018 (n = 243). Streamflow trends were computed for eight annual metrics (1-, 7- and 30-day minima [CY] and maxima [WY], mean and median [WYs]). These streamflow trends provide context for the 178 EFlow statistics (WY) which have been designated to characterize the magnitude, frequency, and duration of extreme high and low flows, the timing of seasonal flows, and the consistency of the historic regime. Files herein include the following Child Items: (1) a table summarizing streamflow trends for three time periods at a minimum of 90 and maximum of 243 streamgages and 500 time-series plots graphically representing those trends; (2) a table summarizing EFlow statistics and the change between each statistic for three time periods at a minimum of 90 and maximum of 243 streamgages; and (3) a GIS shapefile of the original 409 USGS streamgage locations, complete with NWIS attributes, active within the CBWS through September 30, 2018.

During 2015-17, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USDA FS), carried out a study to characterize the hydrology and water chemistry in the Rock Creek and Cumberland River areas of the Daniel Boone National Forest. The study areas were historically mined for coal and have since been the focus of remediation efforts. The study examined the contributions of tributaries and gains/losses in both areas, and continuous water-quality and base flow estimates at Rock Creek, so the USDA FS can thoroughly evaluate the current conditions and move forward with well-informed remediation efforts.

During 2015-17, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USDA FS), carried out a study to characterize the hydrology and water chemistry in the Rock Creek and Cumberland River areas of the Daniel Boone National Forest. The study areas were historically mined for coal and have since been the focus of remediation efforts. The study examined the contributions of tributaries and gains/losses in both areas, and continuous water-quality and base flow estimates at Rock Creek, so the USDA FS can thoroughly evaluate the current conditions and move forward with well-informed remediation efforts.

This file (wymt_ffa_2022Yellowstone_WATSTORE.txt) contains peak-flow input data for PeakFQ for peak-flow frequency analyses for selected streamgages based on data through water year 2022. The file format is called WATSTORE (National Water Data Storage and Retrieval System) available from NWISWeb (http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/peak).