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SPARROW, a modeling tool for the regional interpretation of water-quality monitoring data. The 

model relates in-stream water-quality measurements to spatially referenced characteristics of 

watersheds, including contaminant sources and factors influencing terrestrial and aquatic transport.

SPARROW empirically estimates the origin and fate of contaminants in river networks and 

quantifies uncertainties in model predictions. 

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SPARROW Surface Water-Quality Modeling 

 SPARROW tracks nutrient delivery locally 

 to the outlets of inland watersheds and 

 regionally to coastal waters. Differences 

 in phosphorus yield in the Mississippi 

 River Basin shown above are caused by 

 local and regional differences in phos- 

 phorus removal in streams and reservoirs

 during transport [Read more about these 

 and other SPARROW results] 

RECENT ACTIVITIES

z SPARROW modeling of southeastern U.S.

streams 

z Rankings of watershed nutrient yields in 

the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin

z SPARROW Fact Sheet 

z Studies of denitrification and nitrogen removal

in streams 

z SPARROW Major River Basin (MRB) Studies 

z Phosphorus and nitrogen delivery to the Gulf 

of Mexico from the Mississippi River Basin 

z Dissolved solids in streams of the Southwest: 

Sources and sinks 

APPLICATIONS

The National Models 

z Phosphorus and nitrogen delivery to the Gulf 

of Mexico from the Mississippi River Basin 

z Moving from Monitoring to Prediction: The 

Quality of the Nation's Streams 

z Natural background concentrations of 

nutrients in U.S. streams 

z Atmospheric sources of nitrogen to major U.S.

estuaries 

z Effect of stream channel size on nitrogen

delivery to the Gulf of Mexico 

z Sources of nutrients in the Nation's streams 

(model predictions for HUC watersheds) 

Nutrients in the Northeastern United 

States

z Regional total nitrogen and phosphorus 

models 

z The role of headwater streams in downstream 

USGS SPARROW Surface Water-Quality Modeling Page 1 of 2

http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/sparrow/ 1/5/2010
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U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey

URL: http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/sparrow/index.html 

Page Contact Information: ralex@usgs.gov

Page Last Modified: Wed., 21-July-2009 12:09 EDT 

 Related Links:

 NAWQA Home Page

 NAWQA Nutrients Synthesis Program 

 NAWQA Modeling and Software

 Coastal Hypoxia Research Project

 Denitrification Research Coord. Network

 SPARROW Workshop: October 2002

 SPARROW Internal Web Page 

water quality 

z New England SPARROW data viewer 

z New England Interstate Water Pollution 

Control Commission (NEIWPCC) 

z U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 

1 Project

Nutrients in the Chesapeake Bay 

Watershed

z Application of the national models

z A regional nitrogen model

z Models for the late 1980s and the 1990s 

WATERSHED DATA FOR THE 

APPLICATIONS

z Hydrologic cataloging unit watersheds 

z River reaches of the conterminous U.S. - 

USGS Enhanced River Reach File: 

version 2.0 (ERF1-2) version 1.2 (ERF1); 

z Stream water-quality measurements (on-line; 

CD-ROM) 

z Municipal and industrial point sources 

z Fertilizer use 

z Livestock nutrient wastes 

z Atmospheric deposition 

z Population - Census of Housing and 

Population 

z National Resources Inventory (NRI) 

z Soil characteristics - State Soil Geographic 

Data (STATSGO) 

z Precipitation and air temperature 

USGS SPARROW Surface Water-Quality Modeling Page 2 of 2

http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/sparrow/ 1/5/2010