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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: 4093

Methanogenic biodegradation of charcoal production wastes in groundwater at Kingsford, Michigan, USA Methanogenic biodegradation of charcoal production wastes in groundwater at Kingsford, Michigan, USA

A house exploded in the City of Kingsford, Michigan USA. The explosion was caused by CH4 that leaked into the basement from the surrounding soil. Evidence suggests that biodegradation of products from the distillation and spillage at or near a former wood carbonization plant site was the major source of CH4 and CO2 in the groundwater system. The plant area is directly upgradient from...
Authors
Godsy E. Michael, E. Warren, D.B. Westjohn

Potential artifacts in interpretation of differential breakthrough of colloids and dissolved tracers in the context of transport in a zero-valent iron permeable reactive barrier Potential artifacts in interpretation of differential breakthrough of colloids and dissolved tracers in the context of transport in a zero-valent iron permeable reactive barrier

Many published studies have used visual comparison of the timing of peak breakthrough of colloids versus conservative dissolved tracers (hereafter referred to as dissolved tracers or tracers) in subsurface media to determine whether they are advected differently, and to elucidate the mechanisms of differential advection. This purely visual approach of determining differential advection...
Authors
P. Zhang, W.P. Johnson, M.J. Piana, C. C. Fuller, D. L. Naftz

pH dependence of iron photoreduction in a rocky mountain stream affected by acid mine drainage pH dependence of iron photoreduction in a rocky mountain stream affected by acid mine drainage

The redox speciation of dissolved iron and the transport of iron in acidic, metal‐enriched streams is controlled by precipitation and dissolution of iron hydroxides, by photoreduction of dissolved ferric iron and hydrous iron oxides, and by oxidation of the resulting dissolved ferrous iron. We examined the pH dependence of these processes in an acidic mine‐drainage stream, St Kevin Gulch...
Authors
Diane M. McKnight, B. A. Kimball, R.L. Runkel

Demonstration of significant abiotic iron isotope fractionation in nature Demonstration of significant abiotic iron isotope fractionation in nature

Field and laboratory studies reveal that the mineral ferrihydrite, formed as a result of abiotic oxidation of aqueous ferrous to ferric Fe, contains Fe that is isotopically heavy relative to coexisting aqueous Fe. Because the electron transfer step of the oxidation process at pH >5 is essentially irreversible and should favor the lighter Fe isotopes in the ferric iron product, this...
Authors
T.D. Bullen, A. F. White, C.W. Childs, D.V. Vivit, M.S. Schultz

Spectroscopic evidence for ternary surface complexes in the lead(II)-malonic acid-hematite system Spectroscopic evidence for ternary surface complexes in the lead(II)-malonic acid-hematite system

Using extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) measurements, we examined the sorption of Pb(II) to hematite in the presence of malonic acid. Pb LIII-edge EXAFS measurements performed in the presence of malonate indicate the presence of both Fe and C neighbors, suggesting that a major fraction of surface-bound...
Authors
J.J. Lenhart, J.R. Bargar, J.A. Davis

Formation and transport of the sulfonic acid metabolites of alachlor and metolachlor in soil Formation and transport of the sulfonic acid metabolites of alachlor and metolachlor in soil

Alachlor and metolachlor are dechlorinated and transformed into their corresponding ethane sulfonic acid (ESA) metabolites in soil. In a field-disappearance study, it was shown that alachlor ESA was formed at a faster rate and at concentrations 2−4 times higher than metolachlor ESA, conforming with the observed longer disappearance half-life of metolachlor (15.5 d) in the field as...
Authors
D.S. Aga, E.M. Thurman

Influence of reactive sulfide (AVS) and supplementary food on Ag, Cd and Zn bioaccumulation in the marine polychaete Neanthes arenaceodentata Influence of reactive sulfide (AVS) and supplementary food on Ag, Cd and Zn bioaccumulation in the marine polychaete Neanthes arenaceodentata

A laboratory bioassay determined the relative contribution of various pathways of Ag, Cd and Zn bioaccumulation in the marine polychaete Neanthes arenaceodentata exposed to moderately contaminated sediments. Juvenile worms were exposed for 25 d to experimental sediments containing 5 different reactive sulfide (acid volatile sulfides, AVS) concentrations (1 to 30 ??mol g-1), but with...
Authors
J.-S. Lee, B.-G. Lee, H. Yoo, C.-H. Koh, S. N. Luoma

Progression of natural attenuation processes at a crude-oil spill site . I. Geochemical evolution of the plume Progression of natural attenuation processes at a crude-oil spill site . I. Geochemical evolution of the plume

A 16-year study of a hydrocarbon plume shows that the extent of contaminant migration and compound-specific behavior have changed as redox reactions, most notably iron reduction, have progressed over time. Concentration changes at a small scale, determined from analysis of pore-water samples drained from aquifer cores, are compared with concentration changes at the plume scale...
Authors
I.M. Cozzarelli, B.A. Bekins, M.J. Baedecker, G. R. Aiken, R.P. Eganhouse, M.E. Tuccillo

Methods of analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey Organic Geochemistry Research Group—Determination of glyphosate, aminomethylphosphonic acid, and glufonsinate in water using online solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography/mass sp Methods of analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey Organic Geochemistry Research Group—Determination of glyphosate, aminomethylphosphonic acid, and glufonsinate in water using online solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography/mass sp

An analytical method for the determination of glyphosate, its principal degradation compound, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), and glufosinate in water with varying matrices has been developed. Four different sample matrices fortified at 0.2 and 2.0 μg/L (micrograms per liter) were analyzed using precolumn derivatization with 9-fluorenylmethylchloroformate (FMOC). After derivatization...
Authors
E.A. Lee, A.P. Strahan, E.M. Thurman

Regional water-quality analysis of 2,4-D and dicamba in river water using gas chromatography-isotope dilution mass spectrometry Regional water-quality analysis of 2,4-D and dicamba in river water using gas chromatography-isotope dilution mass spectrometry

Gas chromatography with isotope dilution mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used in regional National Water Quality Assessment studies of the herbicides, 2,4-D and dicamba, in river water across the United States. The GC-MS method involved solid-phase extraction, derivatized with deuterated 2,4-D, and analysis by selected ion monitoring. The...
Authors
E.M. Thurman, L.R. Zimmerman, D.S. Aga, R. J. Gilliom

Distribution of oxygen-18 and deuteriun in river waters across the United States Distribution of oxygen-18 and deuteriun in river waters across the United States

Reconstruction of continental palaeoclimate and palaeohydrology is currently hampered by limited information about isotopic patterns in the modern hydrologic cycle. To remedy this situation and to provide baseline data for other isotope hydrology studies, more than 4800, depth- and width-integrated, stream samples from 391 selected sites within the USGS National Stream Quality Accounting...
Authors
Carol Kendall, Tyler B. Coplen
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