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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: 3740

Deep well injection of brine from Paradox Valley, Colorado: Potential major precipitation problems remediated by nanofiltration

Groundwater brine seepage into the Dolores River in Paradox Valley, Colorado, increases the dissolved solids load of the Colorado River annually by ∼2.0 × 108 kg. To abate this natural contamination, the Bureau of Reclamation plans to pump ∼3540 m3/d of brine from 12 shallow wells located along the Dolores River. The brine, with a salinity of 250,000 mg/L, will be piped to the deepest (4.9 km) dis
Authors
Yousif K. Kharaka, Gil Ambats, James J. Thordsen, Roy A. Davis

Quantifying macropore recharge: Examples from a semi-arid area

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the significantly increased resolution of determining macropore recharge by combining physical, chemical, and isotopic methods of analysis. Techniques for quantifying macropore recharge were developed for both small-scale (1 to 10 km2) and regional-scale areas in and semi-arid areas. The Southern High Plains region of Texas and New Mexico was used as a re
Authors
W.W. Wood, Ken A. Rainwater, D.B. Thompson

Mixed-mode sorption of hydroxylated atrazine degradation products to sell: A mechanism for bound residue

This study tested the hypothesis that sorption of hydroxylated atrazine degradation products (HADPs: hydroxyatrazine, HA; deethylhydroxyatrazine, DEHA; and deisopropylhydroxyatrazine, DIHA) to soils occurs by mixed-mode binding resulting from two simultaneous mechanisms: (1) cation exchange and (2) hydrophobic interaction. The objective was to use liquid chromatography and soil extraction experime
Authors
R.N. Lerch, E. M. Thurman, E.L. Kruger

Assessing hydrogeochemical heterogeneity in natural and constructed wetlands

While 'water quality function' is cited as an important wetland function to design for and preserve, we demonstrate that the scale at which hydrochemical samples are collected can significantly influence interpretations of biogeochemical processes in wetlands. Subsurface, chemical profiles for both nutrients and major ions were determined at a site in southwestern Wisconsin that contained areas of
Authors
R. J. Hunt, D. P. Krabbenhoft, M.P. Anderson

Differential cytochrome content and reductase activity in Geospirillum barnesii strain SeS3

The protein composition, cytochrome content, and reductase activity in the dissimilatory selenate-reducing bacterium Geospirillum barnesii strain SeS3, grown with thiosulfate, nitrate, selenate, or fumarate as the terminal electron acceptor, was investigated. Comparison of seven high-molecular-mass membrane proteins (105.3, 90.3, 82.6, 70.2, 67.4, 61.1, and 57.3 kDa) by SDS-PAGE showed that their
Authors
J.F. Stolz, T. Gugliuzza, Blum J. Switzer, R. Oremland, Murillo F. Martinez

Soil, plant, and structural considerations for surface barriers in arid environments: Application of results from studies in the Mojave Desert near Beatty, Nevada

The suitability of a waste-burial site depends on hydrologic processes that can affect the near-surface water balance. In addition, the loss of burial trench integrity by erosion and subsidence of trench covers may increase the likelihood of infiltration and percolation, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the site in isolating waste. Although the main components of the water balance may be defi
Authors
Brian J. Andraski, David E. Prudic

Analysis of the Cape Cod tracer data

An analysis of the Cape Cod test was performed using several first- and higher-order theoretical models. We compare conditional and unconditional solutions of the transport equation and employ them for analysis of the experimental data. We consider spatial moments, mass breakthrough curves, and the distribution of the solute mass in space. The concentration measurements were also analyzed using th
Authors
Souheil Ezzedine, Yoram Rubin

Tritium/3He dating of river infiltration: An example from the Danube in the Szigetköz area, Hungary

3H, He, 4He, and Ne data were obtained from a shallow ground-water system being recharged by bank infiltration from the Danube River in northwestern Hungary. After correting for excess air, 4He and Ne concentrations reflect a recharge temperature of about 9° C., close to the mean annual temperature of the Danube (10.4° C). Values of H plus 3Hetrit (“initial tritium”) as a function of the tritium/H
Authors
M. Stute, J. Deák, K. Révész, J. K. Böhlke, E. Deseö, R. Weppernig, P. Schlosser

Potential for intrinsic bioremediation of a DNT-contaminated aquifer

Microorganisms indigenous to a shallow aquifer, which underlies an explosives-contaminated site, mineralized 28% of [U-ring-14C] 2,4–dinitrotoluene to 14CO2 within 28 days under aerobic conditions. Approximately 20% of added 2,4–dinitrotoluene remained undegraded at the end of the incubation while approximately 22% and 6% were transformed to 4–amino-2–nitrotoluene and 2–amino-4–nitrotoluene, respe
Authors
P. M. Bradley, F. H. Chapelle, J. E. Landmeyer, J.G. Schumacher

Stable isotope evidence for an atmospheric origin of desert nitrate deposits in northern Chile and southern California, U.S.A.

Natural surficial accumulations of nitrate-rich salts in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile, and in the Death Valley region of the Mojave Desert, southern California, are well known, but despite many geologic and geochemical studies, the origins of the nitrates have remained controversial. N and O isotopes in nitrate, and S isotopes in coexisting soluble sulfate, were measured to determine if some
Authors
J.K. Böhlke, G. E. Ericksen, K. Revesz

Bacterial oxidation of methyl bromide in Mono Lake, California

The oxidation of methyl bromide (MeBr) in the water column of Mono Lake, CA, was studied by measuring the formation of H14CO3 from [14C]MeBr. Potential oxidation was detected throughout the water column, with highest rates occurring in the epilimnion (5-12 m depth). The oxidation of MeBr was eliminated by filter-sterilization, thereby demonstrating the involvement of bacteria. Vertical profiles of
Authors
T.L. Connell, S.B. Joye, L.G. Miller, R.S. Oremland

Protistan communities in aquifers: A review

Eukaryotic microorganisms (protists) are a very important component of microbial communities inhabiting groundwater aquifers This is not unexpected when one considers that many protists feed heterotrophically, by means of either phagotrophy (bacterivory) or osmotrophy. Protistan numbers are usually low (
Authors
G. Novarino, A. Warren, H. Butler, G. Lambourne, A. Boxshall, J. Bateman, N.E. Kinner, R.W. Harvey, R.A. Mosse, B. Teltsch