Publications

As part of the Mercury Experiment to Assess Atmospheric Loadings in Canada and the United States (METAALICUS) the fate and transport of contemporary mercury (Hg) deposition in a boreal wetland was investigated using an experimentally applied stable mercury isotope. We applied high purity (99.2% ± 0.1) 202Hg(II) to a wetland plot to determine if (1) the 202Hg was detectable above the pool...

Bank erosion is a natural process that occurs in meandering streams (Leopold and others, 1964); however, in the Midwestern United States, historical and present agricultural activities in uplands, riparian areas, and channels have increased erosion (Waters, 1995; Lyons and others, 2000; Simon and Rinaldi, 2000; and Knox, 2001). Reducing streambank erosion is important because sediment...

A solution containing 198Hg in the form of HgCl2 was added to a 4 m2 area of desert soils in Nevada, and soil Hg fluxes were measured using three dynamic flux chambers. There was an immediate release of 198Hg after it was applied, and then emissions decreased exponentially. Within the first 6 h after the isotope was added to the soil, ∼12 ng m-2 of 198Hg was emitted to the atmosphere...

Large concentrations of ammonia and densities of bacteria have been detected in reaches of the Kansas River in northeast Kansas during low streamflow conditions, prompting the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) to list these reaches as water-quality limited with respect to ammonia and fecal coliform bacteria. Sources for ammonia and bacteria in the watershed consist of...

Increased water demand in and around Windom led the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, local water suppliers, and Cottonwood County, to study the hydrology of aquifers in the Des Moines River Valley near Windom. The study area is the watershed of a 30-kilometer (19-mile) reach of the Des Moines River upstream from Windom. Based on

This study examines the use of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) as a predictor of the presence of Helicobacter spp. A combination of standard culture and molecular techniques were used to detect and quantify FIB, Helicobacter spp. and H. pylori from five North American rivers of different size and with different land use characteristics. Primers designed to amplify genes specific to...

Of the nearly 11,500 bridges in Wisconsin, 89 have been assessed with critical scour conditions. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the Marathon County Highway Department, and the Jefferson County Highway Department, performed routine monitoring of streambed elevations for three bridges. Two monitoring approaches were employed: (1)...

No abstract available.

Polychlorinated biphenyl compounds (PCBs) are a class of209 individual compounds (known as congeners) for which there are no known natural sources. PCBs are carcinogenic and bioaccumulative compounds. For over 40 years, PCBs were manufactured in the United States. The flame resistant property of PCBs made them ideal chemicals for use as flame-retardants, and as coolants and lubricants in

Pesticides commonly used on cranberries were detected in lakes, lake-bed sediment, and ground water of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation, Wisconsin adjacent to commercial cranberry bogs. Additionally, pesticides not typically used on cranberries were also detected. In water samples from Little Trout and the Corn Lakes, which are adjacent to commercial cranberry bogs, five targeted...

Concentrations of total mercury (Hg) from 2 μg/L (the USEPA maximum contaminant level) to 72 μg/L in water from about 600 domestic wells in residential parts of eight counties in southern New Jersey have been reported by State and county agencies. The wells draw water from the areally extensive (7770 km2) unconfined Kirkwood–Cohansey aquifer system, in which background concentrations of...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with local and other agencies, collects data at selected lakes throughout Wisconsin. These data, accumulated over many years, provide a data base for developing an improved understanding of the water quality of lakes. To make these data available to interested parties outside the USGS, the data are published annually in this report series...