Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
GeoHEALTH-USGS Newsletter
GeoHEALTH-USGS Newsletter
The GeoHEALTH–USGS Newsletter—published since 2004—provides information on USGS science activities pertinent to safeguarding the health of fish, wildlife, domesticated animals, and people from environmental exposures to contaminants and pathogens.
Featured Science Activities
Featured Science Activities
Learn about our Featured Science Activities through our pages that highlight studies, publications, and results.
Filter Total Items: 4097
Ground-water models cannot be validated Ground-water models cannot be validated
Ground-water models are embodiments of scientific hypotheses. As such, the models cannot be proven or validated, but only tested and invalidated. However, model testing and the evaluation of predictive errors lead to improved models and a better understanding of the problem at hand. In applying ground-water models to field problems, errors arise from conceptual deficiencies, numerical...
Authors
Leonard F. Konikow, J.D. Bredehoeft
Evaluation of methyl fluoride and dimethyl ether as inhibitors of aerobic methane oxidation Evaluation of methyl fluoride and dimethyl ether as inhibitors of aerobic methane oxidation
Methyl fluoride (MF) and dimethyl ether (DME) were effective inhibitors of aerobic methanotrophy in a variety of soils. MF and DME blocked consumption of CH4 as well as the oxidation of 14CH4 to 14CO2, but neither MF nor DME affected the oxidation of [14C]methanol or [14C]formate to 14CO2. Cooxidation of ethane and propane by methane-oxidizing soils was also inhibited by MF...
Authors
Ronald S. Oremland, Charles W. Culbertson
Enzymatic uranium precipitation Enzymatic uranium precipitation
No abstract available.
Authors
Y.A. Gorby, Derek R. Lovley
Detailed study of selenium and selected elements in water, bottom sediment, and biota associated with irrigation drainage in the middle Green River basin, Utah, 1988-90 Detailed study of selenium and selected elements in water, bottom sediment, and biota associated with irrigation drainage in the middle Green River basin, Utah, 1988-90
No abstract available.
Authors
D. W. Stephens, Bruce Waddell, L. A. Peltz, J. B. Miller
Bioremediation of uranium contamination with enzymatic uranium reduction Bioremediation of uranium contamination with enzymatic uranium reduction
Enzymatic uranium reduction by Desulfovibrio desulfuricans readily removed uranium from solution in a batch system or when D. desulfuricans was separated from the bulk of the uranium-containing water by a semipermeable membrane. Uranium reduction continued at concentrations as high as 24 mM. Of a variety of potentially inhibiting anions and metals evaluated, only high concentrations of...
Authors
Derek R. Lovley, Elizabeth J.P. Phillips
Use of geochemical biomarkers in bottom sediment to track oil from a spill, San Francisco Bay, California Use of geochemical biomarkers in bottom sediment to track oil from a spill, San Francisco Bay, California
In April 1988, approximately 1500 m3 of a San Joaquin Valley crude oil were accidentally released from a Shell Oil Co. refinery near Martinez, Californa. The oil flowed into Carquinez Strait and Suisun Bay in northern San Francisco Bay Sediment and oil samples were collected within a week and analysed for geochemical marker compounds in order to track the molecular signature of the oil...
Authors
F. D. Hostettler, J. B. Rapp, K.A. Kvenvolden
A study of ground-water flow beneath the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Massachusetts; project description, August 1992 A study of ground-water flow beneath the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Massachusetts; project description, August 1992
No abstract available.
Authors
P. M. Barlow, D.R. LeBlanc
Selected meteorological data for an arid site near Beatty, Nye County, Nevada, calendar year 1989 Selected meteorological data for an arid site near Beatty, Nye County, Nevada, calendar year 1989
Selected meteorological data were collected at a study site adjacent to a low-level radioactive-waste burial facility near Beatty, Nevada, for calendar year 1989. Data were collected in support of ongoing studies to estimate the potential for downward movement of radionuclides into the unsaturated sediments beneath waste-burial trenches at the facility. The data include air temperature...
Authors
J.L. Wood, Brian J. Andraski
Laboratory investigations on the role of sediment surface and ground water chemistry in transport of bacteria through a contaminated Sandy Aquifer Laboratory investigations on the role of sediment surface and ground water chemistry in transport of bacteria through a contaminated Sandy Aquifer
No abstract available.
Authors
M. A. Scholl, R.W. Harvey
Plankton studies in San Francisco Bay, California; XIV, Chlorophyll distributions and hydrographic properties of San Francisco Bay, 1992 Plankton studies in San Francisco Bay, California; XIV, Chlorophyll distributions and hydrographic properties of San Francisco Bay, 1992
No abstract available.
Authors
S.M. Wienke, B.E. Cole, J. E. Cloern
Ground-penetrating radar: A tool for mapping reservoirs and lakes Ground-penetrating radar: A tool for mapping reservoirs and lakes
Ground-penetrating radar was evaluated as a tool for mapping reservoir and lake bottoms and providing stage-storage information. An impulse radar was used on a 1.4-ha (3.5-acre) reservoir with 31 transects located 6.1 m (20 feet) apart. Depth of water and lateral extent of the lake bottom were accurately measured by ground-penetrating radar. A linear (positive) relationship existed...
Authors
C.C. Truman, L.E. Asmussen, H.D. Allison
Geochemistry of dissolved inorganic carbon in a Coastal Plain aquifer. 2. Modeling carbon sources, sinks, and δ13C evolution Geochemistry of dissolved inorganic carbon in a Coastal Plain aquifer. 2. Modeling carbon sources, sinks, and δ13C evolution
Stable isotope data for dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), carbonate shell material and cements, and microbial CO2 were combined with organic and inorganic chemical data from aquifer and confining-bed pore waters to construct geochemical reaction models along a flowpath in the Black Creek aquifer of South Carolina. Carbon-isotope fractionation between DIC and precipitating cements was...
Authors
Peter B. McMahon, Francis H. Chapelle