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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: 4098

Tracer transport in fractured crystalline rock: Evidence of nondiffusive breakthrough tailing Tracer transport in fractured crystalline rock: Evidence of nondiffusive breakthrough tailing

Extended tailing of tracer breakthrough is often observed in pulse injection tracer tests conducted in fractured geologic media. This behavior has been attributed to diffusive exchange of tracer between mobile fluids traveling through channels in fractures and relatively stagnant fluid between fluid channels, along fracture walls, or within the bulk matrix. We present a field example...
Authors
Matthew W. Becker, Allen M. Shapiro

Sources and haloacetic acid/trihalomethane formation potentials of aquatic humic substances in the Wakarusa River and Clinton Lake near Lawrence, Kansas Sources and haloacetic acid/trihalomethane formation potentials of aquatic humic substances in the Wakarusa River and Clinton Lake near Lawrence, Kansas

Gram quantities of aquatic humic substances (AHS) were extracted from the Wakarusa River−Clinton Lake Reservoir system, near Lawrence, KS, to support nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experimental studies, report concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and AHS, define sources of the AHS, and determine if the AHS yield sufficient quantities of haloacetic acids (HAA5) and...
Authors
M.L. Pomes, C.K. Larive, E.M. Thurman, W. R. Green, W. H. Orem, C.E. Rostad, T.B. Coplen, B.J. Cutak, A.M. Dixon

Influence of acid volatile sulfide and metal concentrations on metal bioavailability to marine invertebrates in contaminated sediments Influence of acid volatile sulfide and metal concentrations on metal bioavailability to marine invertebrates in contaminated sediments

An 18-day microcosm study was conducted to evaluate the influence of acid volatile sulfides (AVS) and metal additions on bioaccumulation from sediments of Cd, Ni, and Zn in two clams (Macoma balthica and Potamocorbula amurensis) and three marine polychaetes (Neanthes arenaceodentata, Heteromastus filiformis, and Spiophanes missionensis). Manipulation of AVS by oxidation of naturally...
Authors
B.-G. Lee, J.-S. Lee, S. N. Luoma, H.J. Choi, C.-H. Koh

Organic matter sources and rehabilitation of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (California, USA) Organic matter sources and rehabilitation of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (California, USA)

1. The Sacramento San Joaquin River Delta, a complex mosaic of tidal freshwater habitats in California, is the focus of a major ecosystem rehabilitation effort because of significant long-term changes in critical ecosystem functions. One of these functions is the production, transport and transformation of organic matter that constitutes the primary food supply, which may be sub-optimal...
Authors
A.D. Jassby, James E. Cloern

Effects of topography and soil properties on recharge at two sites in an agricultural field Effects of topography and soil properties on recharge at two sites in an agricultural field

Field experiments were conducted from 1992 to 1995 to estimate ground water recharge rates at two sites located within a 2.7-hectare agricultural field. The field lies in a sand plain setting in central Minnesota and is cropped continuously in field corn. The sites are located at a topographically high (upland) site and a topographically low (lowland) site in an effort to quantify the...
Authors
G. N. Delin, R. W. Healy, M.K. Landon, J.K. Böhlke

Geochemical investigations by the U.S. Geological Survey on uranium mining, milling, and environmental restoration Geochemical investigations by the U.S. Geological Survey on uranium mining, milling, and environmental restoration

Recent research by the U.S. Geological Survey has characterized contaminant sources and identified important geochemical processes that influence transport of radionuclides from uranium mining and milling wastes. 1) Selective extraction studies indicated that alkaline earth sulfates and hydrous ferric oxides are important hosts of 226Ra in uranium mill tailings. The action of sulfate...
Authors
Edward R. Landa, Charles A. Cravotta, David L. Naftz, Philip L. Verplanck, D. Kirk Nordstrom, Robert A. Zielinski

Microbial control of mineral–groundwater equilibria: Macroscale to microscale Microbial control of mineral–groundwater equilibria: Macroscale to microscale

Using field and laboratory experiments, the geomicrobiology of a petroleum-contaminated aquifer and the relationship between mineral alteration, groundwater chemistry, and microbial colonization were examined. Results indicate that indigenous microorganisms influence mineral weathering at two scales of interaction: macroscale processes that perturb general groundwater chemistry and...
Authors
Philip C. Bennett, Franz K. Hiebert, Jennifer Roberts Roger

Testing a full‐range soil‐water retention function in modeling water potential and temperature Testing a full‐range soil‐water retention function in modeling water potential and temperature

Recent work has emphasized development of full‐range water‐retention functions that are applicable under both wet and dry soil conditions, but evaluation of such functions in numerical modeling has been limited. Here we show that simulations using the Rossi‐Nimmo (RN) full‐range function compared favorably with those using the common Brooks‐Corey function and that the RN function can...
Authors
Brian J. Andraski, Elizabeth A. Jacobson

Routine determination of sulfonylurea, imidazolinone, and sulfonamide herbicides at nanogram-per-liter concentrations by solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry Routine determination of sulfonylurea, imidazolinone, and sulfonamide herbicides at nanogram-per-liter concentrations by solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

Sulfonylurea (SU), imidazolinone (IMI), and sulfonamide (SA) herbicides are new classes of low-application-rate herbicides increasingly used by farmers. Some of these herbicides affect both weed and crop species at low dosages and must be carefully used. Less is known about the effect of these compounds on non-crop plant species, but a concentration of 100 ng/l in water has been proposed...
Authors
E. T. Furlong, M.R. Burkhardt, Paul M. Gates, S.L. Werner, W.A. Battaglin

Pesticides in the atmosphere of the Mississippi River Valley, part I: Rain Pesticides in the atmosphere of the Mississippi River Valley, part I: Rain

Weekly composite rainfall samples were collected in three paired urban and agricultural regions of the Midwestern United States and along the Mississippi River during April–September 1995. The paired sampling sites were located in Mississippi, Iowa, and Minnesota. A background site, removed from dense urban and agriculture areas, was located near Lake Superior in Michigan. Herbicides...
Authors
M.S. Majewski, W.T. Foreman, D. A. Goolsby

Influence of acid volatile sulfides and metal concentrations on metal partitioning in contaminated sediments Influence of acid volatile sulfides and metal concentrations on metal partitioning in contaminated sediments

The influence of acid volatile sulfide (AVS) on the partitioning of Cd, Ni, and Zn in porewater (PW) and sediment as reactive metals (SEM, simultaneously extracted metals) was investigated in laboratory microcosms. Two spiking procedures were compared, and the effects of vertical geochemical gradients and infaunal activity were evaluated. Sediments were spiked with a Cd−Ni−Zn mixture (0...
Authors
J.-S. Lee, B.-G. Lee, S. N. Luoma, H.J. Choi, C.-H. Koh, C. L. Brown

First LC/MS determination of cyanazine amide, cyanazine acid, and cyanazine in groundwater samples First LC/MS determination of cyanazine amide, cyanazine acid, and cyanazine in groundwater samples

Cyanazine and two of its major metabolites, cyanazine amide and cyanazine acid, were measured at trace levels in groundwater using liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization/mass spectrometry (LC/APCI/MS). Solid-phase extraction was carried out by passing 20 mL of groundwater sample through a cartridge containing a polymeric phase (PLRP-s), with recoveries ranging...
Authors
Imma Ferrer, E.M. Thurman, Damia Barcelo
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