U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2005-3015

February 2005

The National Research Program in the Hydrological Sciences

Research in the NRP is focused on (1) site specific or problem specific 

studies of special interest to the USGS 

and DOI and (2) broad investigations 

on topics of scientific importance in the 

hydrologic sciences. 

This combination of 

approaches is essential 

to the development of 

scientific understanding 

and to the application 

of that understanding 

to problems related to 

the use and preservation 

of the Nation’s water 

resources.

The NRP makes a 

deliberate effort to 

anticipate research needs 

that will be pertinent 

to hydrologic science 

issues of the future. New 

information, theories, 

techniques, and tools 

developed by scientists 

within the program are used by other 

USGS scientists and managers, by members of the hydrologic community outside 

the USGS, nationally and internationally, 

and by the public. The emphasis of NRP 

research activities changes through time, 

reflecting the emergence of needed new 

areas of inquiry and the demand for new 

tools and techniques with 

which to address waterresources issues and 

problems. 

The program is directly 

linked to and funded by 

other USGS programs 

and initiatives to ensure 

that NRP research 

addresses current waterresource needs. These 

programs include the 

Water, Energy, and 

Biogeochemical Budgets Program (WEBB), 

the Toxic Substances 

Hydrology Program, the 

National Water Quality 

Assessment (NAWQA) 

Program, the Integrated 

Priority Ecosystems Program, the Volcano Hazards Program, the Ground-Water 

Resources Program, and the National 

Streamflow Information Program. 

Research investigations are often pursued 

in collaboration with scientists in USGS 

Water Science Centers; with scientists 

in the Geology, Biology, and Geography 

Disciplines of the USGS; and with scientists at other educational and research 

institutions. The NRP’s staff of about 250 

permanent and 90 non-permanent individuals is located principally at USGS 

centers in Reston, Virginia; Denver, Colorado; and Menlo Park, California.

Research Areas and Topics

Research in the NRP is subdivided into 

research areas. Scientists, representing 

each area of research, serve as technical 

advisors to NRP managers and as a peer 

resource for other research scientists. NRP 

managers are the Chiefs of the Branches 

of Regional Research who are located in 

the Eastern, Central, and Western Regions 

and the Chief Scientist for Hydrology, 

who oversees the entire national program. Below is a brief description of the 

research areas and topics.

Samples are prepared for laboratory 

analysis at a field site in Minnesota.

Water quality samples are collected 

in the Yukon River Basin, Alaska

The National Research Program (NRP) in the hydrological sciences 

encompasses a broad spectrum of scientific investigations and 

focuses on long-term integrated studies related to water resource and 

environmental problems. The NRP provides an infrastructure within 

which the USGS can develop new information, theories, and techniques to understand, anticipate, and solve water-resource problems 

facing managers of Federal lands and the Nation. 

NRP SCIENTISTS

• Conduct research

• Provide scientific leadership 

and training

• Communicate results to scientific peers, water resource 

managers, and the public A multi-level monitoring well is set up in a 

fractured rock aquifer in New Hampshire
WATER CHEMISTRY

Assess natural and contaminant chemicals in water and sediment, 

and study fundamental chemical and biochemical processes that 

affect the movement of organic and inorganic solutes in aquatic 

systems.

• Organics in aquatic systems

• Carbon cycling and climate

• Isotope hydrology and paleohydrology

• Trace elements and radionuclides

• Weathering and watershed processes

• Transport and biogeochemical reactions

• Gases in aquatic systems

GROUND-WATER HYDROLOGY

Understand the processes that control movement and availability 

of subsurface water, its transport of dissolved substances, microbes, particulate and other fluid phases, and its interactions with 

the geological environment.

• Development of quantitative ground-water models

• Ground water—surface water—atmospheric interactions

• Unsaturated-zone hydrology

• Fractured-rock hydrology

• Ground water in geologic processes

SURFACE-WATER HYDROLOGY

Quantify, understand, and model the physical processes that 

control the distribution and quality of the Nation’s surface-water 

resources.

• Flow and transport in rivers

• Watershed modeling

• Estuarine hydrodynamics

• Climate variability and surface-water hydrology

• Statistical analysis of floods and droughts

GEOMORPHOLOGY AND SEDIMENT TRANSPORT

Understand stream-channel morphology and erosional processes 

that govern the source, mobility, and deposition of sediment.

• Sediment transport dynamics

• Changes in river channels over time

• Channel morphology and sediment transport

• Flow and sediment mechanics

ECOLOGY

Investigate the ecological and biogeochemical processes that affect the quality of water in aquatic systems.

• Microbiology

• Aquatic Ecology

• Climate and Ecology

• Biogeochemistry

Research Areas General Topics

The Need for Hydrologic Research

Research in the hydrologic sciences is important to 

the Nation to address changes in hydrologic regimes. 

Research combined with the transfer of research 

results is essential to provide information and data to 

help water resource managers make the best possible 

decisions. National needs requiring continued support 

for hydrologic research include:

• The magnitude and frequency of floods and 

droughts are changing as a result of changes in 

climate, water use, and land use. Data collection and 

intepretation are needed to understand the changes.

• Water shortages in some areas will arise from 

climate change, distribution problems, depletion of 

resources and/or water-quality constraints. New tools 

and modeling capabilities are essential to optimize 

the use of water resources. 

• Increasing population and shifting centers of population will stress the Nation's water-supply systems 

for the future. 

• Concerns are increasing about water quantity and quality 

for ecosystem protection and restoration. Water resource 

managers need scientific information on how much water 

should be allocated to preserve or restore an ecosystem 

and how the quality of that water affects the ecosystem.

• Water quality is a major concern in many parts of the 

United States. Specifically, contamination of water supplies is a continuing concern to the health and safety 

of the public and the environment. Pathogens are an 

increasing concern in drinking-water supplies. 

• New chemical products are being continually introduced to the environment. The fate and transport of 

chemicals and particles through environmental pathways, as well as their health risks, are often unknown. 

• Future use of water resources will require continued 

monitoring, increased understanding of hydrologic processes, and improved predictive tools. This information 

is essential for the safe use and conservation of surface 

water and ground water. 

Descriptions of research projects 

in the NRP and recent publications are on the Internet at

http://water.usgs.gov/nrp/

Chief Scientist for Hydrology 

U.S. Geological Survey

436 National Center

Reston, Virginia 20192

For Additional Information

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