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Publications

Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).

Filter Total Items: 4041

Effect of ground-water recharge on configuration of the water table beneath sand dunes and on seepage in lakes in the sandhills of Nebraska, U.S.A.

Analysis of water-level fluctuations in about 30 observation wells and 5 lakes in the Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge in the sandhills of Nebraska indicates water-table configuration beneath sand dunes in this area varies considerably, depending on the configuration of the topography of the dunes. If the topography of an interlake dunal area is hummocky, ground-water recharge is focused at
Authors
T. C. Winter

Determination of selected azaarenes in water by bonded-phase extraction and liquid chromatography

A method for the rapid and simple quantitative determination of quinoline, isoquinoline, and five selected three-ring azaarenes in water has been developed. The azaarene fraction is separated from its carbon analogues on n-octadecyl packing material by edition with acidified water/acetonitrile. Concentration as great as 1000-fold is achieved readily. Instrumental analysis involves high-speed liqui
Authors
T.R. Steinheimer, M.G. Ondrus

Snow chemistry of the Cascade-Sierra Nevada Mountains

This investigation assesses geographic variations in atmospheric deposition in Washington, Oregon, and California using snow cores from the Cascade-Sierra Nevada Mountains, collected from late February to mid-March 1983. A statistical analysis of the analytical and sampling precision was made. The snowpack in the higher Cascades and Sierra Nevada is not strongly influenced by anthropogenic activit
Authors
L.B. Laird, Howard E. Taylor, V. C. Kennedy

Limitations in the use of commercial humic acids in water and soil research

Seven samples of commercial "humic acids", purchased from five different suppliers, were studied, and their characteristics were compared with humic and fulvic acids isolated from streams, soils, peat, leonardite, and a dopplerite sample. Cross-polarization and magic-angle spinning 13C NMR spectroscopy clearly shows pronounced differences between the commercial materials and all other samples. Ele
Authors
R. L. Malcolm, P. MacCarthy

Simulation of fluid flow and energy transport processes associated with high-level radioactive waste disposal in unsaturated alluvium

Many parts of the Great Basin have thick zones of unsaturated alluvium which might be suitable for disposing of high-level radioactive wastes. A mathematical model accounting for the coupled transport of energy, water (vapor and liquid), and dry air was used to analyze one-dimensional, vertical transport above and below an areally extensive repository. Numerical simulations were conducted for a hy
Authors
David W. Pollock

Controlled and renewable release of phosphorous in soils from mixtures of phosphate rock and NH4-exchanged clinoptilolite

A controlled and renewable release fertilization system is proposed that employs NH4 saturated clinoptilolite to aid in the dissolution of phosphate rock (apatite), and thereby to release soluble N, P, and exchangeable Ca for uptake by plants. The system is based on the principle that exchangers can sequester Ca ions released by the dissolution of apatite, thereby leading to further dissolution of
Authors
T.-M. Lai, D. D. Eberl

Algal growth response to particle-bound orthophosphate and zinc

Effects of Zn (0-1 mu M total Zn(II)) and orthophosphate (8-12 mu M total P) additions on growth indices for the chlorophyte Selenastrum capricornutum were examined in a medium containing 50 mg liter-1 colloidal titania. Over the Zn(II) concentration range used, detrimental growth and yield effects were observed. Addition of P to a synthetic growth medium increased stationary phase cell density, b
Authors
James S. Kuwabara, J.A. Davis, Cecily C.Y. Chang

Use of detrended correspondence analysis in evaluating factors controlling species composition of periphyton

Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) was evaluated for its usefulness in elucidating relationships among samples and among species of periphyton in an oligotrophic stream, and for its effectiveness in displaying major gradients where an experimental gradient (copper) affecting species composition was imposed. It was highly sensitive to differences among samples and consistently provided ecologi
Authors
Harry V. Leland, James L. Carter

Recalibration and predictive reliability of a solute-transport model of an irrigated stream-aquifer system

A solute-transport model of an irrigated stream-aquifer system was recalibrated because of discrepancies between prior predictions of ground-water salinity trends during 1971-1982 and the observed outcome in February 1982. The original model was calibrated with a 1-year record of data collected during 1971-1972 in an 18-km reach of the Arkansas River Valley in southeastern Colorado. The model is i
Authors
M. Person, Leonard F. Konikow

U.S. Geological Survey toxic Waste-Groundwater Contamination Program, fiscal year 1985

In fiscal year 1982, the U S Geological Survey began an interdisciplinary research thrust entitled Toxic Waste-Groundwater Contamination Program The objective of the thrust was to provide earth sciences information necessary to evaluate and mitigate existing groundwater contamination problems resulting from the planned or inadvertant disposal of wastes and from certain land-use practices, and to i
Authors
S.E. Ragone

The modification of an estuary

The San Francisco Bay estuary has been rapidly modified by human activity. Diking and filling of most of its wetlands have eliminated habitats for fish and waterfowl; the introduction of exotic species has transformed the composition of its aquatic communities; reduction of freshwater inflow by more than half has changed the dynamics of its plant and animal communities; and wastes have contaminate
Authors
F.H. Nichols, James E. Cloern, Samuel N. Luoma, D.H. Peterson

A comparison of two methods for determining copper partitioning in oxidized sediments

Model estimations of the proportion of Cu in oxidized sediments associated with extractable organic materials show some agreement with the proportion of Cu extracted from those sediments with ammonium hydroxide. Data were from 17 estuaries of widely differing sediment chemistry. The modelling and extraction methods agreed best where concentrations of organic materials were either in very high conc
Authors
Samuel N. Luoma