Methods and Sources of Data Used to Develop Selected Water-Quality Indicators for Streams and Ground Water for the 2007 Edition of The State of the Nation's Ecosystems Report with Comparisons to the 2002 Edition

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was one of numerous governmental, private, and academic entities that provided input to the report The State of the Nation’s Ecosystems published periodically by the Heinz Center. This report describes the sources of data and methods used by the USGS to develop selected water-quality indicators for the 2007 edition of the Heinz Center report and documents modifications in the data sources and interpretations between the 2002 and 2007 editions of the Heinz Center report. Stream and ground-water quality data collected nationally as part of the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment Program were used to develop the ecosystem indicators for the Heinz Center report, including Core National indicators for the Movement of Nitrogen and Chemical Contamination and for selected ecosystems classified as Farmlands, Forest, Grasslands and Shrublands, Freshwater, and Urban and Suburban. In addition, the USGS provided water-quality and streamflow data collected as part of the National Stream Water Quality Accounting Network and the Federal–State Cooperative Program. The documentation provided herein serves not only as a reference for current and future editions of The State of the Nation’s Ecosystems but also provides critical information for future assessments of changes in contaminant occurrence in streams and ground water of the United States.

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