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

Subcellular compartmentalization of Cd and Zn in two bivalves. II. Significance of trophically available metal (TAM) Subcellular compartmentalization of Cd and Zn in two bivalves. II. Significance of trophically available metal (TAM)

This paper examines how the subcellular partitioning of Cd and Zn in the bivalves Macoma balthica and Potamocorbula amurensis may affect the trophic transfer of metal to predators. Results show that the partitioning of metals to organelles, Œenzymes¹ and metallothioneins (MT) comprise a subcellular compartment containing trophically available metal (TAM; i.e. metal trophically available...
Authors
W.G. Wallace, Samuel N. Luoma

Abundance and characteristics of the recreational water quality indicator bacteria Escherichia coli and enterococci in gull faeces Abundance and characteristics of the recreational water quality indicator bacteria Escherichia coli and enterococci in gull faeces

Aims: To evaluate the numbers and selected phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of the faecal indicator bacteria Escherichia coli and enterococci in gull faeces at representative Great Lakes swimming beaches in the United States. Methods and Results: E. coli and enterococci were enumerated in gull faeces by membrane filtration. E. coli genotypes (rep‐PCR genomic profiles) and E. coli...
Authors
L.R. Fogarty, S.K. Haack, M. J. Wolcott, R.L. Whitman

Selenium in San Francisco Bay zooplankton: Potential effects of hydrodynamics and food web interactions Selenium in San Francisco Bay zooplankton: Potential effects of hydrodynamics and food web interactions

The potential toxicity of elevated selenium (Se) concentrations in aquatic ecosystems has stimulated efforts to measure Se concentrations in benthos, nekton, and waterfowl in San Francisco Bay (SF Bay). In September 1998, we initiated a 14 mo field study to determine the concentration of Se in SF Bay zooplankton, which play a major role in the Bay food web, but which have not previously...
Authors
D.G. Purkerson, M.A. Doblin, S.M. Bollens, S. N. Luoma, G.A. Cutter

Oxygen isotopes in nitrate: New reference materials for 18O:17O:16O measurements and observations on nitrate-water equilibration Oxygen isotopes in nitrate: New reference materials for 18O:17O:16O measurements and observations on nitrate-water equilibration

Despite a rapidly growing literature on analytical methods and field applications of O isotope-ratio measurements of NO3− in environmental studies, there is evidence that the reported data may not be comparable because reference materials with widely varying δ18O values have not been readily available. To address this problem, we prepared large quantities of two nitrate salts with...
Authors
J.K. Böhlke, S.J. Mroczkowski, T.B. Coplen

Variations in flow and transport in thick desert vadose zones in response to paleoclimatic forcing (0-90 kyr): Field measurements, modeling, and uncertainties Variations in flow and transport in thick desert vadose zones in response to paleoclimatic forcing (0-90 kyr): Field measurements, modeling, and uncertainties

An understanding of unsaturated flow and potential recharge in interdrainage semiarid and arid regions is critical for quantification of water resources and contaminant transport. We evaluated system response to paleoclimatic forcing using water potential and Cl profiles and modeling of nonisothermal liquid and vapor flow and Cl transport at semiarid (High Plains, Texas) and arid...
Authors
Bridget R. Scanlon, K. Keese, R.C. Reedy, Jirka Simunek, Brian J. Andraski

Near field receiving water monitoring of trace metals in clams (Macoma balthica) and sediments near the Palo Alto water quality control plant in south San Francisco Bay, California: 2002 Near field receiving water monitoring of trace metals in clams (Macoma balthica) and sediments near the Palo Alto water quality control plant in south San Francisco Bay, California: 2002

This report presents trace element concentrations analyzed on samples of fine-grained sediments and clams (Macoma balthica) collected from a mudflat one kilometer south of the discharge of the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant in South San Francisco Bay. This report serves as a continuation of the Near Field Receiving Water Monitoring Study, which was started in 1994. The...
Authors
Edward Moon, Carlos Primo C. David, Samuel N. Luoma, Daniel J. Cain, Michelle I. Hornberger, Irene R. Lavigne

Using water-quality profiles to characterize seasonal water quality and loading in the upper Animas River basin, southwestern Colorado Using water-quality profiles to characterize seasonal water quality and loading in the upper Animas River basin, southwestern Colorado

One of the important types of information needed to characterize water quality in streams affected by historical mining is the seasonal pattern of toxic trace-metal concentrations and loads. Seasonal patterns in water quality are estimated in this report using a technique called water-quality profiling. Water-quality profiling allows land managers and scientists to assess priority areas...
Authors
Kenneth J. Leib, M. Alisa Mast, Winfield G. Wright

Estimating the susceptibility of surface water in Texas to nonpoint-source contamination by use of logistic regression modeling Estimating the susceptibility of surface water in Texas to nonpoint-source contamination by use of logistic regression modeling

In the State of Texas, surface water (streams, canals, and reservoirs) and ground water are used as sources of public water supply. Surface-water sources of public water supply are susceptible to contamination from point and nonpoint sources. To help protect sources of drinking water and to aid water managers in designing protective yet cost-effective and risk-mitigated monitoring...
Authors
William A. Battaglin, Randy L. Ulery, Thomas Winterstein, Toby Welborn

Comment on “Isotopic fractionation between Fe(III) and Fe(II) in aqueous solutions” by Clark Johnson et al., [Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 195 (2002) 141–153] Comment on “Isotopic fractionation between Fe(III) and Fe(II) in aqueous solutions” by Clark Johnson et al., [Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 195 (2002) 141–153]

In a recent contribution [1], Johnson et al. reported the equilibrium isotope fractionation factor between dissolved Fe(II) and Fe(III) in aqueous solutions at pH=2.5 and 5.5. They suggest that because the iron isotope fractionation observed in their experiments spans virtually the entire range observed in sedimentary rocks, Fe(II)–Fe(III) aqueous speciation may play a major role in...
Authors
Thomas D. Bullen, Arthur F. White, Cyril W. Childs

Effects of stormwater infiltration on quality of groundwater beneath retention and detention basins Effects of stormwater infiltration on quality of groundwater beneath retention and detention basins

Infiltration of storm water through detention and retention basins may increase the risk of groundwater contamination, especially in areas where the soil is sandy and the water table shallow, and contaminants may not have a chance to degrade or sorb onto soil particles before reaching the saturated zone. Groundwater from 16 monitoring wells installed in basins in southern New Jersey was...
Authors
D. Fischer, Emmanuel G. Charles, Arthur L. Baehr

Herbicides and transformation products in surface waters of the Midwestern United States Herbicides and transformation products in surface waters of the Midwestern United States

Most herbicides applied to crops are adsorbed by plants or transformed (degraded) in the soil, but small fractions are lost from fields and either move to streams in overland runoff, near surface flow, or subsurface drains, or they infiltrate slowly to ground water. Herbicide transformation products (TPs) can be more or less mobile and more or less toxic in the environment than their...
Authors
W.A. Battaglin, E.M. Thurman, S. J. Kalkhoff, S. D. Porter

A finite-volume ELLAM for three-dimensional solute-transport modeling A finite-volume ELLAM for three-dimensional solute-transport modeling

A three-dimensional finite-volume ELLAM method has been developed, tested, and successfully implemented as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) MODFLOW-2000 ground water modeling package. It is included as a solver option for the Ground Water Transport process. The FVELLAM uses space-time finite volumes oriented along the streamlines of the flow field to solve an integral form of...
Authors
T.F. Russell, C.I. Heberton, Leonard F. Konikow, G.Z. Hornberger
Was this page helpful?