Publications

We have developed a screening method for simplifying groundwater models by delineating areas within the domain that can be represented using steady-state groundwater recharge. The screening method is based on an analytical solution for the damping of sinusoidal infiltration variations in homogeneous soils in the vadose zone. The damping depth is defined as the depth at which the flux...

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Jefferson County and the Jefferson Valley Conservation District, sampled groundwater in southwestern Montana to evaluate the occurrence and concentration of naturally-occurring radioactive constituents and to identify geologic settings and environmental conditions in which elevated concentrations occur. A total of 168 samples were collected...

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the State of Idaho, Idaho Power Company, and the Idaho Department of Water Resources, evaluated seasonal seepage gains and losses in selected reaches of the middle Snake River, Idaho, during November 2012 and July 2013, and uncertainty in measured and computed discharge at four Idaho Power Company streamgages. Results from this...

Perchlorate (ClO4−) is a contaminant that occurs naturally throughout the world, but little is known about its distribution and interactions in terrestrial ecosystems. The objectives of this Amargosa Desert, Nevada study were to determine (i) the local-scale distribution of shallow-soil (0–30 cm) ClO4− with respect to shrub proximity (far and near) in three geomorphic settings (shoulder...

Slug tests were conducted on 56 observation wells open to bedrock at the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) in West Trenton, New Jersey. Aquifer transmissivity (T) and storage coefficient (S) values for most wells were estimated from slug-test data using the Cooper-Bredehoeft-Papadopulos method. Test data from three wells exhibited fast, underdamped water-level responses and were...

A major challenge in understanding the environmental implications of nanotechnology lies in studying nanoparticle uptake in organisms at environmentally realistic exposure concentrations. Typically, high exposure concentrations are needed to trigger measurable effects and to detect accumulation above background. But application of tracer techniques can overcome these limitations. Here we

No abstract available.

The seasonal and spatial variability of water quality, including mercury species, was evaluated in agricultural and managed, non-agricultural wetlands in the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, an area managed for multiple beneficial uses including bird habitat and rice farming. The study was conducted during an 11-month period (June 2007 to April 2008) that included a summer growing season and...

A variety of current-use pesticides were determined in weekly composite air and rain samples collected during the 1995 and 2007 growing seasons in the Mississippi Delta (MS, USA) agricultural region. Similar sampling and analytical methods allowed for direct comparison of results. Decreased overall pesticide use in 2007 relative to 1995 generally resulted in decreased detection...

This report describes a study to identify reference lakes in two lake classifications common to parts of two level III ecoregions in western Arkansas—the Arkansas Valley and Ouachita Mountains. Fifty-two lakes were considered. A screening process that relied on land-use data was followed by reconnaissance water-quality sampling, and two lakes from each ecoregion were selected for...

Removal of triclocarban (TCC) and triclosan (TCS) from wastewater is a function of adsorption, abiotic degradation, and microbial mineralization or transformation, reactions that are not currently controlled or optimized in the pollution control infrastructure of standard wastewater treatment. Here, we report on the levels of eight transformation products, human metabolites, and...

As groundwater becomes an increasingly important water resource worldwide, it is essential to understand how local geology affects groundwater quality, flowpaths and residence times. This study utilized multiple tracers to improve conceptual and numerical models of groundwater flow in the Middle San Pedro Basin in southeastern Arizona (USA) by determining recharge areas...