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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

Overview of a simple model describing variation of dissolved organic carbon in an upland catchment Overview of a simple model describing variation of dissolved organic carbon in an upland catchment

Hydrological mechanisms controlling the variation of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were investigated in the Deer Creek catchment located near Montezuma, CO. Patterns of DOC in streamflow suggested that increased flows through the upper soil horizon during snowmelt are responsible for flushing this DOC-enriched interstitial water to the streams. We examined possible hydrological...
Authors
Elizabeth W. Boyer, George M. Hornberger, Kenneth E. Bencala, Diane M. McKnight

Identification of hydraulic conductivity structure in sand and gravel aquifers: Cape Cod data set Identification of hydraulic conductivity structure in sand and gravel aquifers: Cape Cod data set

This study evaluates commonly used geostatistical methods to assess reproduction of hydraulic conductivity (K) structure and sensitivity under limiting amounts of data. Extensive conductivity measurements from the Cape Cod sand and gravel aquifer are used to evaluate two geostatistical estimation methods, conditional mean as an estimate and ordinary kriging, and two stochastic simulation...
Authors
J.R. Eggleston, S.A. Rojstaczer, J.J. Peirce

Glutathione conjugation and contaminant transformation Glutathione conjugation and contaminant transformation

The recent identification of a novel sulfonated metabolite of alachlor in groundwater and metolachlor in soil is likely the result of glutathione conjugation. Glutathione conjugation is an important biochemical reaction that leads, in the case of alachlor, to the formation of a rather difficult to detect, water-soluble, and therefore highly mobile, sulfonated metabolite. Research from...
Authors
Jennifer A. Field, E.M. Thurman

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate as a potential methanogenic substrate in Mono Lake sediments Dimethylsulfoniopropionate as a potential methanogenic substrate in Mono Lake sediments

A high concentration of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) was found in the water column (0.1–1.8 µM particulate plus dissolved) of Mono Lake, CA, an alkaline, hypersaline waterbody. The dense Artemia monica population contained high levels of DMSP (1.7–2.5 mmol.g-1 wet weight), presumably as an osmolyte. Death of these brine shrimp caused accumulation of DMSP along the shoreline of the...
Authors
P.T. Visscher, J.R. Guidetti, Charles W. Culbertson, Ronald S. Oremland

Microbial cycling of methyl bromide Microbial cycling of methyl bromide

Environmental concern about brominated halocarbons like methyl bromide (MeBr) is focused on their potential to destroy stratospheric ozone. Photocatalysis of MeBr and other halocarbons in the stratosphere results in the liberation of reactive CI and Br atoms. Because Br atoms are perhaps as much as 100-fold more efficient at attacking ozone than are CI atoms, bromine’s lower abundance is...
Authors
Ronald S. Oremland

Properties and variability of soil and trench fill at an arid waste-burial site Properties and variability of soil and trench fill at an arid waste-burial site

Arid sites commonly are assumed to be ideal for long-term isolation of wastes. Information on properties and variability of desert soils is limited, however, and little is known about how the natural site environment is altered by installation of a waste facility. During fall construction of two test trenches next to the waste facility on the Amargosa Desert near Beatty, NV, samples were...
Authors
Brian J. Andraski

Flow to a well in a water-table aquifer: An improved laplace transform solution Flow to a well in a water-table aquifer: An improved laplace transform solution

An alternative Laplace transform solution for the problem, originally solved by Neuman, of constant discharge from a partially penetrating well in a water-table aquifer was obtained. The solution differs from existing solutions in that it is simpler in form and can be numerically inverted without the need for time-consuming numerical integration. The derivation invloves the use of the...
Authors
A.F. Moench

Integrated borehole logging methods for wellhead protection applications Integrated borehole logging methods for wellhead protection applications

Modeling of ground water infiltration and movement in the wellhead area is a critical part of an effective wellhead protection program. Such models depend on an accurate description of the aquifer in the wellhead area so that reliable estimates of contaminant travel times can be used in defining a protection area. Geophysical and hydraulic measurements in boreholes provide one of the...
Authors
Frederick L. Paillet, W.H. Pedler

Acetochlor in the hydrologic system in the midwestern United States, 1994 Acetochlor in the hydrologic system in the midwestern United States, 1994

The herbicide acetochlor [2-chloro-N-(ethoxymethyl)-N-(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)acetamide] was given conditional registration in the United States by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in March 1994. This registration provided a rare opportunity to investigate the occurrence of a pesticide during its first season of extensive use in the midwestern United States. Water samples...
Authors
D.W. Kolpin, B.K. Nations, D. A. Goolsby, E.M. Thurman
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