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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: 4097

Effect of ferric oxyhydroxide grain coatings on the transport of bacteriophage PRD1 and Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in saturated porous media Effect of ferric oxyhydroxide grain coatings on the transport of bacteriophage PRD1 and Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in saturated porous media

To test the effect of geochemical heterogeneity on microorganism transport in saturated porous media, we measured the removal of two microorganisms, the bacteriophage PRD1 and oocysts of the protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium parvum, in flow-through columns of quartz sand coated by different amounts of a ferric oxyhydroxide. The experiments were conducted over ranges of ferric...
Authors
R.A. Abudalo, Y.G. Bogatsu, J. N. Ryan, R.W. Harvey, D.W. Metge, M. Elimelech

Differences in dissolved cadmium and zinc uptake among stream insects: Mechanistic explanations Differences in dissolved cadmium and zinc uptake among stream insects: Mechanistic explanations

This study examined the extent to which dissolved Cd and Zn uptake rates vary in several aquatic insect taxa commonly used as indicators of ecological health. We further attempted to explain the mechanisms underlying observed differences. By comparing dissolved Cd and Zn uptake rates in several aquatic insect species, we demonstrated that species vary widely in these processes. Dissolved...
Authors
D.B. Buchwalter, S. N. Luoma

Speciation and transport of newly deposited mercury in a boreal forest wetland: A stable mercury isotope approach Speciation and transport of newly deposited mercury in a boreal forest wetland: A stable mercury isotope approach

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...
Authors
B.A. Branfireun, D. P. Krabbenhoft, H. Hintelmann, R. J. Hunt, J.P. Hurley, J.W.M. Rudd

Stream salamander species richness and abundance in relation to environmental factors in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia Stream salamander species richness and abundance in relation to environmental factors in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Stream salamanders are sensitive to acid mine drainage and may be sensitive to acidification and low acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) of a watershed. Streams in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, are subject to episodic acidification from precipitation events. We surveyed 25 m by 2 m transects located on the stream bank adjacent to the water channel in Shenandoah National Park for...
Authors
Evan H. Campbell Grant, Robin E. Jung, Karen C. Rice

Trophic transfer of metals along freshwater food webs: Evidence of cadmium biomagnification in nature Trophic transfer of metals along freshwater food webs: Evidence of cadmium biomagnification in nature

We conducted a study with cadmium (Cd) and copper (Cu) in the delta of San Francisco Bay, using nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes to identify trophic position and food web structure. Cadmium is progressively enriched among trophic levels in discrete epiphyte‐based food webs composed of macrophyte‐dwelling invertebrates (the first link being epiphytic algae) and fishes (the first link...
Authors
M.-N. Croteau, S. N. Luoma, A.R. Stewart

Influence of water chemistry and travel distance on bacteriophage PRD-1 transport in a sandy aquifer Influence of water chemistry and travel distance on bacteriophage PRD-1 transport in a sandy aquifer

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the impact of groundwater chemistry and travel distance on the transport and fate behavior of PRD-1, a bacteriophage employed as a surrogate tracer for pathogenic enteric viruses. The experiments were conducted in the unconfined aquifer at the United States Geological Survey Cape Cod Toxic-Substances Hydrology Research Site in Falmouth...
Authors
W.J. Blanford, M.L. Brusseau, T.-C. Jim Yeh, C.P. Gerba, R. Harvey

Assessing the potential for re-emission of mercury deposited in precipitation from arid soils using a stable isotope Assessing the potential for re-emission of mercury deposited in precipitation from arid soils using a stable isotope

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...
Authors
J.A. Ericksen, M.S. Gustin, S.E. Lindberg, S.D. Olund, D. P. Krabbenhoft

Estimating soil hydraulic parameters from transient flow experiments in a centrifuge using parameter optimization technique Estimating soil hydraulic parameters from transient flow experiments in a centrifuge using parameter optimization technique

A modified version of the Hydrus software package that can directly or inversely simulate water flow in a transient centrifugal field is presented. The inverse solver for parameter estimation of the soil hydraulic parameters is then applied to multirotation transient flow experiments in a centrifuge. Using time‐variable water contents measured at a sequence of several rotation speeds...
Authors
Jirka Simunek, John R. Nimmo

Small-scale, hydrogen-oxidizing-denitrifying bioreactor for treatment of nitrate-contaminated drinking water Small-scale, hydrogen-oxidizing-denitrifying bioreactor for treatment of nitrate-contaminated drinking water

Nitrate removal by hydrogen-coupled denitrification was examined using flow-through, packed-bed bioreactors to develop a small-scale, cost effective system for treating nitrate-contaminated drinking-water supplies. Nitrate removal was accomplished using a Rhodocyclus sp., strain HOD 5, isolated from a sole-source drinking-water aquifer. The autotrophic capacity of the purple non-sulfur
Authors
R. L. Smith, S.P. Buckwalter, D.A. Repert, D.N. Miller

Herbicide and degradate flux in the Yazoo River Basin Herbicide and degradate flux in the Yazoo River Basin

During 1996-1997, water samples were collected from five sites in the Yazoo River Basin and analysed for 14 herbicides and nine degradates. These included acetochlor, alachlor, atrazine, cyanazine, fluometuron, metolachlor, metribuzin, molinate, norflurazon, prometryn, propanil, propazine, simazine, trifluralin, three degradates of fluometuron, two degradates of atrazine, one degradate...
Authors
R.H. Coupe, H.L. Welch, A.B. Pell, E.M. Thurman

Dissolution of cinnabar (HgS) in the presence of natural organic matter Dissolution of cinnabar (HgS) in the presence of natural organic matter

Cinnabar (HgS) dissolution rates were measured in the presence of 12 different natural dissolved organic matter (DOM) isolates including humic, fulvic, and hydrophobic acid fractions. Initial dissolution rates varied by 1.3 orders of magnitude, from 2.31 × 10−13 to 7.16 × 10−12 mol Hg (mg C)−1 m−2s−1. Rates correlate positively with three DOM characteristics: specific ultraviolet...
Authors
J.S. Waples, K. L. Nagy, G. R. Aiken, J. N. Ryan
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