Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
Filter Total Items: 4095
Linking hyporheic flow and nitrogen cycling near the Willamette River: A large river in Oregon, USA Linking hyporheic flow and nitrogen cycling near the Willamette River: A large river in Oregon, USA
Several approaches were used to characterize ground water/surface water interactions near the Willamette River - A large (ninth order) river in Oregon, USA. A series of potentiometric surface maps demonstrated the presence of highly dynamic hydraulic gradients between rivers and the adjacent aquifer. Hyporheic zone gradients extended on the order of hundreds of meters. River gains and...
Authors
S.R. Hinkle, J.H. Duff, F.J. Triska, A. Laenen, E.B. Gates, K.E. Bencala, D.A. Wentz, S. R. Silva
Natural attenuation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the leachate plume of a municipal landfill: Using alkylbenzenes as process probes Natural attenuation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the leachate plume of a municipal landfill: Using alkylbenzenes as process probes
More than 70 individual VOCs were identified in the leachate plume of a closed municipal landfill. Concentrations were low when compared with data published for other landfills, and total VOCs accounted for less than 0.1% of the total dissolved organic carbon. The VOC concentrations in the core of the anoxic leachate plume are variable, but in all cases they were found to be near or...
Authors
Robert P. Eganhouse, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Martha A. Scholl, L.L. Matthews
Methyl tert‐butyl ether degradation in the unsaturated zone and the relation between MTBE in the atmosphere and shallow groundwater Methyl tert‐butyl ether degradation in the unsaturated zone and the relation between MTBE in the atmosphere and shallow groundwater
Atmospheric methyl tert‐butyl ether (MTBE) concentrations in southern New Jersey generally exceeded concentrations in samples taken from the unsaturated zone. A simple unsaturated zone transport model indicates that MTBE degradation can explain the attenuation with half‐lives from a few months to a couple of years. Tert‐butyl alcohol (TBA), a possible degradation product of MTBE, was...
Authors
Arthur L. Baehr, Emmanuel G. Charles, Ronald J. Baker
Long-term changes in consentrations and flux fo nitrogen in the Mississippi River Basin, USA Long-term changes in consentrations and flux fo nitrogen in the Mississippi River Basin, USA
Current and historical data show that nitrogen concentrations and flux in the Mississippi River Basin have increased significantly during the past 100 years. Most of the increase observed in the lower Mississippi River has occurred since the early 1970s and is due almost entirely to an increase in nitrate. The current (1980-99) average annual nitrogen (N) flux from the Mississippi Basin...
Authors
D. A. Goolsby, W.A. Battaglin
MODFLOW-2000, the U.S. Geological Survey modular ground-water model: User guide to the LMT6 package, the linkage with MT3DMS for multi-species mass transport modeling MODFLOW-2000, the U.S. Geological Survey modular ground-water model: User guide to the LMT6 package, the linkage with MT3DMS for multi-species mass transport modeling
MODFLOW-2000, the newest version of MODFLOW, is a computer program that numerically solves the three-dimensional ground-water flow equation for a porous medium using a finite-difference method. MT3DMS, the successor to MT3D, is a computer program for modeling multi-species solute transport in three-dimensional ground-water systems using multiple solution techniques, including the finite...
Authors
Chunmiao Zheng, Mary Catherine Hill, Paul A. Hsieh
After site selection and before data analysis: sampling, sorting, and laboratory procedures used in stream benthic macroinvertebrate monitoring programs by USA state agencies After site selection and before data analysis: sampling, sorting, and laboratory procedures used in stream benthic macroinvertebrate monitoring programs by USA state agencies
A survey of methods used by US state agencies for collecting and processing benthic macroinvertebrate samples from streams was conducted by questionnaire; 90 responses were received and used to describe trends in methods. The responses represented an estimated 13,000-15,000 samples collected and processed per year. Kicknet devices were used in 64.5% of the methods; other sampling devices...
Authors
James L. Carter, Vincent H. Resh
Compound-specific carbon isotope analysis of a contaminant plume in Kingsford, Michigan, USA Compound-specific carbon isotope analysis of a contaminant plume in Kingsford, Michigan, USA
Compound-specific isotope analysis was used to study a contaminated site near Kingsford, Michigan, USA. Organic compounds at three of the sites studied had similar 13C values indicating that the contaminant source is the same for all sites. At a fourth site, chemical and 13C values had evolved due to microbial degradation of organics, with the 13C being much heavier than the starting...
Authors
R. L. Michel, S. R. Silva, B. Bemis, E.M. Godsy, E. Warren
Analysis of streambed temperatures in ephemeral channels to determine streamflow frequency and duration Analysis of streambed temperatures in ephemeral channels to determine streamflow frequency and duration
Spatial and temporal patterns in streamflow are rarely monitored for ephemeral streams. Flashy, erosive streamflows common in ephemeral channels create a series of operational and maintenance problems, which makes it impractical to deploy a series of gaging stations along ephemeral channels. Streambed temperature is a robust and inexpensive parameter to monitor remotely, leading to the...
Authors
James E. Constantz, David A. Stonestrom, Amy E. Stewart, Richard G. Niswonger, Tyson R. Smith
Quantification of metal loads by tracer injection and synoptic sampling in Daisy Creek and the Stillwater River, Park County, Montana, August 1999 Quantification of metal loads by tracer injection and synoptic sampling in Daisy Creek and the Stillwater River, Park County, Montana, August 1999
A metal-loading study using tracer-injection and synoptic-sampling methods was conducted in Daisy Creek and a short reach of the Stillwater River during baseflow in August 1999 to quantify the metal inputs from acid rock drainage in the New World Mining District near Yellowstone National Park and to examine the downstream transport of these metals into the Stillwater River. Loads were...
Authors
David A. Nimick, Thomas E. Cleasby
Ground-water studies in Fairbanks, Alaska: A better understanding of some of the United States' highest natural arsenic concentrations Ground-water studies in Fairbanks, Alaska: A better understanding of some of the United States' highest natural arsenic concentrations
No abstract available.
Authors
Seth Mueller, Rich Goldfarb, Philip Verplanck
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