Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

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

Filter Total Items: 4097

Chemical and isotopic methods for quantifying ground-water recharge in a regional, semiarid environment Chemical and isotopic methods for quantifying ground-water recharge in a regional, semiarid environment

The High Plains aquifer underlying the semiarid Southern High Plains of Texas and New Mexico, USA was used to illustrate solute and isotopic methods for evaluating recharge fluxes, runoff, and spatial and temporal distribution of recharge. The chloride mass-balance method can provide, under certain conditions, a time-integrated technique for evaluation of recharge flux to regional...
Authors
Warren W. Wood, Ward E. Sanford

Use of a square-array direct-current resistivity method to detect fractures in crystalline bedrock in New Hampshire Use of a square-array direct-current resistivity method to detect fractures in crystalline bedrock in New Hampshire

Azimuthal square-array direct-current (dc) resistivity soundings were used to detect fractures in bedrock in the Mirror Lake watershed in Grafton County, New Hampshire. Soundings were conducted at a site where crystalline bedrock underlies approximately 7 m (meters) of glacial drift. Measured apparent resistivities changed with the orientation of the array. Graphical interpretation of...
Authors
J.W. Lane, F.P. Haeni, W.M. Watson

Measurements of aquifer-storage change and specific yield using gravity surveys Measurements of aquifer-storage change and specific yield using gravity surveys

Pinal Creek is an intermittent stream that drains a 200-square-mile alluvial basin in central Arizona. Large changes in water levels and aquifer storage occur in an alluvial aquifer near the stream in response to periodic recharge and ground-water withdrawals. Outflow components of the ground-water budget and hydraulic properties of the alluvium are well-defined by field measurements...
Authors
D. R. Pool, J.H. Eychaner

Effects of colloids on metal transport in a river receiving acid mine drainage, upper Arkansas River, Colorado, U.S.A. Effects of colloids on metal transport in a river receiving acid mine drainage, upper Arkansas River, Colorado, U.S.A.

Inflows of metal-rich, acidic water that drain from mine dumps and tailings piles in the Leadville, Colorado, area enter the non-acidic water in the upper Arkansas River. Hydrous iron oxides precipitate as colloids and move downstream in suspension, particularly downstream from California Gulch, which has been the major source of metal loads. The colloids influence the concentrations of...
Authors
Briant A. Kimball

Transport of chromium and selenium in a pristine sand and gravel aquifer: Role of adsorption processes Transport of chromium and selenium in a pristine sand and gravel aquifer: Role of adsorption processes

Field transport experiments were conducted in an oxic sand and gravel aquifer using Br (bromide ion), Cr (chromium, injected as Cr(VI)), Se (selenium, injected as Se(VI)), and other tracers. The aquifer has mildly acidic pH values and low concentrations of dissolved salts. Within analytical errors, all mobile Cr was present as Cr(VI). All mobile Se was probably present as Se(VI)...
Authors
D.B. Kent, J.A. Davis, L.C.D. Anderson, B.A. Rea

Mechanism of formation of humus coatings on mineral surfaces 1. Evidence for multidentate binding of organic acids from compost leachate on alumina Mechanism of formation of humus coatings on mineral surfaces 1. Evidence for multidentate binding of organic acids from compost leachate on alumina

Measurements of the infrared linear dichroism of carboxylate groups of organic acids from compost leachate adsorbed to an alumina surface and the enthalpy of adsorption of this reaction have been made. The linear dichroism measurements indicated that the carboxylate groups are not free to rotate. This limited rotation probably results from bidentate binding of the carboxylate groups. The...
Authors
R.L. Wershaw, J.A. Leenheer, R.P. Sperline, Yuan Song, L.A. Noll, R.L. Melvin, G.P. Rigatti

Large-scale atmospheric forcing of recent trends toward early snowmelt runoff in California Large-scale atmospheric forcing of recent trends toward early snowmelt runoff in California

Since the late 1940s, snowmelt and runoff have come increasingly early in the water year in many basins in northern and central California. This subtle trend is most pronounced in moderate-altitude basins, which are sensitive to changes in mean winter temperatures. Such basins have broad areas in which winter temperatures are near enough to freezing that small increases result initially...
Authors
Michael D. Dettinger, Daniel R. Cayan

XAS study of AsO43− and SeO42− substituted schwertmannites XAS study of AsO43− and SeO42− substituted schwertmannites

Synthetic schwertmannite samples with varying amounts of arsenate and selenate substituting for sulfate were examined by XAS methods in an attempt to characterize the location of the anion complexes. Selenate appears to both substitute directly for sulfate within tunnels in the structure, and sorb onto the outside of crystallites. No disruption of the basic structure appears with...
Authors
G.A. Waychunas, Ning Xu, C. C. Fuller, J.A. Davis, J.M. Bigham

Chlorofluorocarbons as tracers of groundwater transport processes in a shallow, silty sand aquifer Chlorofluorocarbons as tracers of groundwater transport processes in a shallow, silty sand aquifer

Detailed depth profiles of Chlorofluorocarbons CFC-11(CFCl3(, CFC-12 (CF2Cl2) and CFC-113 (C2F3Cl3) have been obtained from a well-characterized field site in central Ontario. Aquifer materials comprise predominantly silty sands, with a mean organic carbon content of 0.03%. Nearly one-dimensional flow exists at this site, and the vertical migration of a well-defined 3H peak has been...
Authors
P.G. Cook, D. K. Solomon, Niel Plummer, E. Busenberg, S.L. Schiff
Was this page helpful?