Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
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Occurrence and transport of agricultural chemicals in Leary Weber Ditch Basin, Hancock County, Indiana, 2003-04 Occurrence and transport of agricultural chemicals in Leary Weber Ditch Basin, Hancock County, Indiana, 2003-04
Leary Weber Ditch Basin, Hancock County, Indiana, is one of seven first-order basins selected from across the United States as part of the Agricultural Chemicals: Source, Transport, and Fate study conducted by the National Water-Quality Assessment Program of the U.S. Geological Survey. The nationwide study was designed to increase the understanding of the links between the sources of...
Authors
Nancy T. Baker, Wesley W. Stone, John T. Wilson, Michael T. Meyer
Simulation of solute transport across low-permeability barrier walls Simulation of solute transport across low-permeability barrier walls
Low-permeability, non-reactive barrier walls are often used to contain contaminants in an aquifer. Rates of solute transport through such barriers are typically many orders of magnitude slower than rates through the aquifer. Nevertheless, the success of remedial actions may be sensitive to these low rates of transport. Two numerical simulation methods for representing low-permeability...
Authors
P. T. Harte, Leonard F. Konikow, G.Z. Hornberger
Multiphase, multicomponent parameter estimation for liquid and vapor fluxes in deep arid systems using hydrologic data and natural environmental tracers Multiphase, multicomponent parameter estimation for liquid and vapor fluxes in deep arid systems using hydrologic data and natural environmental tracers
Multiphase, multicomponent numerical models of long-term unsaturated-zone liquid and vapor movement were created for a thick alluvial basin at the Nevada Test Site to predict present-day liquid and vapor fluxes. The numerical models are based on recently developed conceptual models of unsaturated-zone moisture movement in thick alluvium that explain present-day water potential and tracer...
Authors
Edward M. Kwicklis, Andrew V. Wolfsberg, Philip H. Stauffer, Michelle Ann Walvoord, Michael J. Sully
Speciation of volatile arsenic at geothermal features in Yellowstone National Park Speciation of volatile arsenic at geothermal features in Yellowstone National Park
Geothermal features in the Yellowstone National Park contain up to several milligram per liter of aqueous arsenic. Part of this arsenic is volatilized and released into the atmosphere. Total volatile arsenic concentrations of 0.5–200 mg/m3 at the surface of the hot springs were found to exceed the previously assumed nanogram per cubic meter range of background concentrations by orders of...
Authors
B. Planer-Friedrich, C. Lehr, J. Matschullat, B.J. Merkel, D. Kirk Nordstrom, Mark W. Sandstrom
Characterization of surface and ground water δ18O seasonal variation and its use for estimating groundwater residence times Characterization of surface and ground water δ18O seasonal variation and its use for estimating groundwater residence times
18O is an ideal tracer for characterizing hydrological processes because it can be reliably measured in several watershed hydrological compartments. Here, we present multiyear isotopic data, i.e. 18O variations (δ18O), for precipitation inputs, surface water and groundwater in the Shingobee River Headwaters Area (SRHA), a well-instrumented research catchment in north-central Minnesota...
Authors
Michael M. Reddy, Paul F. Schuster, Carol Kendall, Micaela B. Reddy
Steroid estrogens, nonylphenol ethoxylate metabolites, and other wastewater contaminants in groundwater affected by a residential septic system on Cape Cod, MA Steroid estrogens, nonylphenol ethoxylate metabolites, and other wastewater contaminants in groundwater affected by a residential septic system on Cape Cod, MA
Septic systems serve approximately 25% of U.S. households and may be an important source of estrogenic and other organic wastewater contaminants (OWC) to groundwater. We monitored several estrogenic OWC, including nonylphenol (NP), nonylphenol mono- and diethoxycarboxylates (NP1EC and NP2EC), the steroid hormones 17β-estradiol (E2), estrone (E1) and their glucuronide and sulfate...
Authors
C.H. Swartz, S. Reddy, M.J. Benotti, H. Yin, L. B. Barber, Bruce J. Brownawell, R.A. Rudel
Ammonium transport and reaction in contaminated groundwater: Application of isotope tracers and isotope fractionation studies Ammonium transport and reaction in contaminated groundwater: Application of isotope tracers and isotope fractionation studies
Ammonium (NH4+) is a major constituent of many contaminated groundwaters, but its movement through aquifers is complex and poorly documented. In this study, processes affecting NH4+ movement in a treated wastewater plume were studied by a combination of techniques including large‐scale monitoring of NH4+ distribution; isotopic analyses of coexisting aqueous NH4+, NO3−, N2, and sorbed NH4...
Authors
J.K. Böhlke, Richard L. Smith, Daniel N. Miller
Presence and distribution of wastewater-derived pharmaceuticals in soil irrigated with reclaimed water Presence and distribution of wastewater-derived pharmaceuticals in soil irrigated with reclaimed water
Three sites in the Front Range of Colorado, USA, were monitored from May through September 2003 to assess the presence and distribution of pharmaceuticals in soil irrigated with reclaimed water derived from urban wastewater. Soil cores were collected monthly, and 19 pharmaceuticals, all of which were detected during the present study, were measured in 5‐cm increments of the 30‐cm cores...
Authors
C.A. Kinney, E. T. Furlong, S.L. Werner, J.D. Cahill
Geophysical monitoring of a field-scale biostimulation pilot project Geophysical monitoring of a field-scale biostimulation pilot project
The USGS conducted a geophysical investigation in support of a U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southern Division field‐scale biostimulation pilot project at Anoka County Riverfront Park (ACP), downgradient of the Naval Industrial Reserve Ordnance Plant, Fridley, Minnesota. The goal of the pilot project is to evaluate subsurface injection of vegetable oil emulsion (VOE) to...
Authors
J.W. Lane, F. D. Day-Lewis, C.C. Casey
Perchlorate in pleistocene and holocene groundwater in North-Central New Mexico Perchlorate in pleistocene and holocene groundwater in North-Central New Mexico
Groundwater from remote parts of the Middle Rio Grande Basin in north-central New Mexico has perchlorate (ClO4-) concentrations of 0.12−1.8 μg/L. Because the water samples are mostly preanthropogenic in age (0−28 000 years) and there are no industrial sources in the study area, a natural source of the ClO4- is likely. Most of the samples have Br-, Cl-, and SO42- concentrations that are...
Authors
Niel Plummer, J.K. Böhlke, M. W. Doughten
Subsurface imaging of an abandoned solid waste landfill site in Norman, Oklahoma Subsurface imaging of an abandoned solid waste landfill site in Norman, Oklahoma
Leachate plume emanating from an old unlined municipal landfill site near the city of Norman, Oklahoma, is discharging into the underlying alluvial aquifer. Subsurface imaging techniques, electrical resistivity tomography and electrical conductivity (EC) logging, were used on the site to detect and map the position of the leachate plume. Anomalous EC zones, delineated with the two...
Authors
J.T. Zume, A. Tarhule, S. Christenson