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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: 4098

Environmental factors affecting mercury in Camp Far West Reservoir, California, 2001-03 Environmental factors affecting mercury in Camp Far West Reservoir, California, 2001-03

This report documents water quality in Camp Far West Reservoir from October 2001 through August 2003. The reservoir, located at approximately 300 feet above sea level in the foothills of the northwestern Sierra Nevada, California, is a monomictic lake characterized by extreme drawdown in the late summer and fall. Thermal stratification in summer and fall is coupled with anoxic conditions...
Authors
Charles N. Alpers, A. Robin Stewart, Michael K. Saiki, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Brent R. Topping, Kelly M. Rider, Steven K. Gallanthine, Cynthia A. Kester, Robert O. Rye, Ronald C. Antweiler, John F. De Wild

The effect of terrace geology on ground-water movement and on the interaction of ground water and surface water on a mountainside near Mirror Lake, New Hampshire, USA The effect of terrace geology on ground-water movement and on the interaction of ground water and surface water on a mountainside near Mirror Lake, New Hampshire, USA

The west watershed of Mirror Lake in the White Mountains of New Hampshire contains several terraces that are at different altitudes and have different geologic compositions. The lowest terrace (FSE) has 5 m of sand overlying 9 m of till. The two next successively higher terraces (FS2 and FS1) consist entirely of sand and have maximum thicknesses of about 7 m. A fourth, and highest...
Authors
T. C. Winter, D.C. Buso, P.C. Shattuck, P. T. Harte, D.A. Vroblesky, D.J. Goode

Ground-based thermography of fluvial systems at low and high discharge reveals potential complex thermal heterogeneity driven by flow variation and bioroughness Ground-based thermography of fluvial systems at low and high discharge reveals potential complex thermal heterogeneity driven by flow variation and bioroughness

Temperature is a primary physical and biogeochemical variable in aquatic systems. Field‐based measurement of temperature at discrete sampling points has revealed temperature variability in fluvial systems, but traditional techniques do not readily allow for synoptic sampling schemes that can address temperature‐related questions with broad, yet detailed, coverage. We present results of...
Authors
M.B. Cardenas, J. W. Harvey, A.I. Packman, D.T. Scott

Influences of organic matter and calcification rate on trace elements in aragonitic estuarine bivalve shells Influences of organic matter and calcification rate on trace elements in aragonitic estuarine bivalve shells

A suite of elements (B, Na, Mg, S, K, Ca, V, Mn, Cr, Sr, and Ba) was measured in aragonitic shells of the estuarine bivalve Corbula amurensis, the Asian clam, using the Sensitive High-Resolution Ion MicroProbe with Reverse Geometry (SHRIMP RG). Our initial intent was to explore potential geochemical proxy relationships between shell chemistry and salinity (freshwater inflow) in northern...
Authors
R.K. Takesue, C. R. Bacon, J.K. Thompson

Differences in evaporation between a floating pan and class a pan on land Differences in evaporation between a floating pan and class a pan on land

Research was conducted to develop a method for obtaining floating pan evaporation rates in a small (less than 10,000 m2) wetland, lagoon, or pond. Floating pan and land pan evaporation data were collected from March 1 to August 31, 2005, at a small natural wetland located in the alluvium of the Canadian River near Norman, Oklahoma, at the U.S. Geological Survey Norman Landfill Toxic...
Authors
J.R. Masoner, D.I. Stannard, S. C. Christenson

Characterization and cycling of atmospheric mercury along the central US Gulf Coast Characterization and cycling of atmospheric mercury along the central US Gulf Coast

Concentrations of atmospheric Hg species, elemental Hg (Hg∘), reactive gaseous Hg (RGM), and fine particulate Hg (Hg-PM2.5) were measured at a coastal site near Weeks Bay, Alabama from April to August, 2005 and January to May, 2006. Mean concentrations of the species were 1.6 ± 0.3 ng m−3, 4.0 ± 7.5 pg m−3 and 2.7 ± 3.4 pg m−3, respectively. A strong diel pattern was observed for RGM...
Authors
M.A. Engle, M.T. Tate, D. P. Krabbenhoft, A. Kolker, M.L. Olson, E.S. Edgerton, J.F. DeWild, A.K. McPherson

Human-induced changes in the hydrology of the Western United States Human-induced changes in the hydrology of the Western United States

Observations have shown that the hydrological cycle of the western United States changed significantly over the last half of the 20th century. We present a regional, multivariable climate change detection and attribution study, using a high-resolution hydrologic model forced by global climate models, focusing on the changes that have already affected this primarily arid region with a...
Authors
T.P. Barnett, D.W. Pierce, H.G. Hidalgo, Celine Bonfils, B.D. Santer, T. Das, G. Bala, A.W. Wood, T. Nozawa, A.A. Mirin, D.R. Cayan, M. D. Dettinger

Cross-borehole flow tests and insights into hydraulic connections in fractured mudstone and sandstone Cross-borehole flow tests and insights into hydraulic connections in fractured mudstone and sandstone

Cross-borehole flow tests provided insights into hydraulic connections in fractured and dipping mudstone and sandstone that were consistent with the lithostratigraphic and structural framework of a VOCcontaminated bedrock research site in west-central New Jersey. Two cross-borehole flow tests were completed. Each test involved measurement and analysis of transient flow in a newly...
Authors
John H. Williams, Pierre Lacombe, Carole D. Johnson, Frederick L. Paillet

Chloroethene dechlorination in acidic groundwater: Implications for combining fenton's treatment with natural attenuation Chloroethene dechlorination in acidic groundwater: Implications for combining fenton's treatment with natural attenuation

A sulfuric acid leak in 1988 at a chloroethene-contaminated groundwater site at the Naval Air Station Pensacola has resulted in a long-term record of the behavior of chloroethene contaminants at low pH and a unique opportunity to assess the potential impact of source area treatment technologies, which involve acidification of the groundwater environment (e.g., Fenton's-based in situ...
Authors
Paul M. Bradley, Michael A. Singletary, Francis H. Chapelle

Water-quality, bed-sediment, and biological data (October 2005 through September 2006) and statistical summaries of long-term data for streams in the Clark Fork Basin, Montana Water-quality, bed-sediment, and biological data (October 2005 through September 2006) and statistical summaries of long-term data for streams in the Clark Fork Basin, Montana

Water, bed sediment, and biota were sampled in streams from Butte to below Milltown Reservoir as part of a long-term monitoring program in the upper Clark Fork basin; additional water-quality samples were collected in the Clark Fork basin from sites near Milltown Reservoir downstream to near the confluence of the Clark Fork and Flathead River as part of a supplemental sampling program...
Authors
Kent A. Dodge, Michelle I. Hornberger, Jessica Dyke

Investigating atmospheric mercury with the U.S. Geological Survey Mobile Mercury Laboratory Investigating atmospheric mercury with the U.S. Geological Survey Mobile Mercury Laboratory

Atmospheric mercury is thought to be an important source of mercury present in fish, resulting in numerous local, statewide, tribal, and province-wide fish consumption advisories in the United States and Canada (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2007a). To understand how mercury occurs in the atmosphere and its potential to be transferred from the atmosphere to the biosphere, the U.S
Authors
Allan Kolker
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