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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

Snow-fed streamflow timing at different basin scales: Case study of the Tuolumne River above Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite, California Snow-fed streamflow timing at different basin scales: Case study of the Tuolumne River above Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite, California

Diurnal cycles in snow‐fed streams provide a useful technique for measuring the time it takes water to travel from the top of the snowpack, where snowmelt typically peaks in the afternoon, to the river gauge, where the daily maximum flows may arrive many hours later. Hourly stage measurements in nested subbasins (6‐775 km2) of the Tuolumne River in Yosemite National Park illustrate...
Authors
J.D. Lundquist, M. D. Dettinger, D.R. Cayan

Monitored natural attenuation and enhanced attenuation for chlorinated solvent plumes - It's all about balance Monitored natural attenuation and enhanced attenuation for chlorinated solvent plumes - It's all about balance

Nature's inherent ability to cleanse itself is at the heart of Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA). The complexity comes when one attempts to measure and calculate this inherent ability, called the Natural Attenuation Capacity (NAC), and determine if it is sufficient to cleanse the system to agreed upon criteria. An approach that is simple in concept for determining whether the NAC is...
Authors
K.A. Adams, K.M. Vangelas, B.B. Looney, F. Chapelle, T. Early, T. Gilmore, C.H. Sink

Perchlorate isotope forensics Perchlorate isotope forensics

Perchlorate has been detected recently in a variety of soils, waters, plants, and food products at levels that may be detrimental to human health. These discoveries have generated considerable interest in perchlorate source identification. In this study, comprehensive stable isotope analyses (37Cl/35Cl and 18O/17O/16O) of perchlorate from known synthetic and natural sources reveal...
Authors
J.K. Böhlke, N.C. Sturchio, B. Gu, J. Horita, G.M. Brown, W.A. Jackson, J. Batista, P.B. Hatzinger

Occurrence of antibiotics in water from 13 fish hatcheries, 2001-2003 Occurrence of antibiotics in water from 13 fish hatcheries, 2001-2003

A 2-year study of extensive and intensive fish hatcheries was conducted to assess the general temporal occurrence of antibiotics in aquaculture. Antibiotics were detected in 15% of the water samples collected during the 2001-2002 collection period and in 31% of the samples during the 2003 collection period. Antibiotics were detected more frequently in samples from the intensive...
Authors
J.E. Dietze, E.A. Scribner, M. T. Meyer, D.W. Kolpin

The composition of coexisting jarosite-group minerals and water from the Richmond mine, Iron Mountain, California The composition of coexisting jarosite-group minerals and water from the Richmond mine, Iron Mountain, California

Jarosite-group minerals accumulate in the form of stalactites and fine-grained mud on massive pyrite in the D drift of the Richmond mine, Iron Mountain, California. Water samples were collected by placing beakers under the dripping stalactites and by extracting pore water from the mud using a centrifuge. The water is rich in Fe3+ and SO4 2−, with a pH of approximately 2.1, which is...
Authors
Heather E. Jamieson, Clare Robinson, Charles N. Alpers, D. Kirk Nordstrom, Alexei Poustovetov, Heather A. Lowers

Control of Tamarix in the western United States: Implications for water salvage, wildlife use, and riparian restoration Control of Tamarix in the western United States: Implications for water salvage, wildlife use, and riparian restoration

Non-native shrub species in the genus Tamarix (saltcedar, tamarisk) have colonized hundreds of thousands of hectares of floodplains, reservoir margins, and other wetlands in western North America. Many resource managers seek to reduce saltcedar abundance and control its spread to increase the flow of water in streams that might otherwise be lost to evapotranspiration, to restore native...
Authors
P.B. Shafroth, J.R. Cleverly, T.L. Dudley, J.P. Taylor, Charles van Riper, E.P. Weeks, J.N. Stuart

Comparison of a novel passive sampler to standard water-column sampling for organic contaminants associated with wastewater effluents entering a New Jersey stream Comparison of a novel passive sampler to standard water-column sampling for organic contaminants associated with wastewater effluents entering a New Jersey stream

Four water samples collected using standard depth and width water-column sampling methodology were compared to an innovative passive, in situ, sampler (the polar organic chemical integrative sampler or POCIS) for the detection of 96 organic wastewater-related contaminants (OWCs) in a stream that receives agricultural, municipal, and industrial wastewaters. Thirty-two OWCs were identified...
Authors
D.A. Alvarez, P. E. Stackelberg, J. D. Petty, J.N. Huckins, E. T. Furlong, S.D. Zaugg, M. T. Meyer

Development of a solenoid pumped in situ zinc analyzer for environmental monitoring Development of a solenoid pumped in situ zinc analyzer for environmental monitoring

A battery powered submersible chemical analyzer, the Zn-DigiScan (Zn Digital Submersible Chemical Analyzer), has been developed for near real-time, in situ monitoring of zinc in aquatic systems. Microprocessor controlled solenoid pumps propel sample and carrier through an anion exchange column to separate zinc from interferences, add colorimetric reagents, and propel the reaction complex...
Authors
T.P. Chapin, R. B. Wanty

Microbiology: A microbial arsenic cycle in a salt-saturated, extreme environment Microbiology: A microbial arsenic cycle in a salt-saturated, extreme environment

Searles Lake is a salt-saturated, alkaline brine unusually rich in the toxic element arsenic. Arsenic speciation changed from arsenate [As(V)] to arsenite [As(III)] with sediment depth. Incubated anoxic sediment slurries displayed dissimilatory As(V)-reductase activity that was markedly stimulated by H2 or sulfide, whereas aerobic slurries had rapid As(III)-oxidase activity. An anaerobic
Authors
R.S. Oremland, T.R. Kulp, J.S. Blum, S.E. Hoeft, S. Baesman, L.G. Miller, J.F. Stolz

Heat as a tracer to estimate dissolved organic carbon flux from a restored wetland Heat as a tracer to estimate dissolved organic carbon flux from a restored wetland

Heat was used as a natural tracer to characterize shallow ground water flow beneath a complex wetland system. Hydrogeologic data were combined with measured vertical temperature profiles to constrain a series of two‐dimensional, transient simulations of ground water flow and heat transport using the model code SUTRA (Voss 1990). The measured seasonal temperature signal reached depths of...
Authors
K.R. Burow, J. Constantz, R. Fujii
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