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: 4095

Metal exposure in a benthic macroinvertebrate, Hydropsyche californica, related to mine drainage in the Sacramento River Metal exposure in a benthic macroinvertebrate, Hydropsyche californica, related to mine drainage in the Sacramento River

A biomonitoring technique was employed to complement studies of metal transport in the upper Sacramento River affected by acid mine drainage. Metals (Al, Cd, Cu, Fe, Hg, Pb, and Zn) were determined in a resident invertebrate, Hydropsyche californica (Insecta: Trichoptera), and streambed sediments (
Authors
Daniel J. Cain, James L. Carter, Steven V. Fend, Samuel N. Luoma, Charles N. Alpers, Howard E. Taylor

Pesticides in the atmosphere of the Mississippi River Valley, part II: Air Pesticides in the atmosphere of the Mississippi River Valley, part II: Air

Weekly composite air samples were collected from early April through to mid-September 1995 at three paired urban and agricultural sites along the Mississippi River region of the Midwestern United States. The paired sampling sites were located in Mississippi, Iowa, and Minnesota. A background site, removed from dense urban and agricultural areas, was located on the shore of Lake Superior...
Authors
W.T. Foreman, M.S. Majewski, D. A. Goolsby, F.W. Wiebe, R.H. Coupe

Occurrence of pesticides in rain and air in urban and agricultural areas of Mississippi, April-September 1995 Occurrence of pesticides in rain and air in urban and agricultural areas of Mississippi, April-September 1995

In April 1995, the US Geological Survey began a study to determine the occurrence and temporal distribution of 49 pesticides and pesticide metabolites in air and rain samples from an urban and an agricultural sampling site in Mississippi. The study was a joint effort between the National Water-Quality Assessment and the Toxic Substances Programs and was part of a larger study examining...
Authors
R.H. Coupe, M.A. Manning, W.T. Foreman, D. A. Goolsby, M.S. Majewski

Groundwater “fast paths” in the Snake River Plain aquifer: Radiogenic isotope ratios as natural groundwater tracers Groundwater “fast paths” in the Snake River Plain aquifer: Radiogenic isotope ratios as natural groundwater tracers

Preferential flow paths are expected in many groundwater systems and must be located because they can greatly affect contaminant transport. The fundamental characteristics of radiogenic isotope ratios in chemically evolving waters make them highly effective as preferential flow path indicators. These ratios tend to be more easily interpreted than solute-concentration data because their...
Authors
Thomas M. Johnson, Robert C. Roback, Travis L. McLing, Thomas D. Bullen, Donald J. DePaolo, Christine Doughty, Randall J. Hunt, Robert W. Smith, L. DeWayne Cecil, Michael T. Murrell

Identifying fracture‐zone geometry using simulated annealing and hydraulic‐connection data Identifying fracture‐zone geometry using simulated annealing and hydraulic‐connection data

A new approach is presented to condition geostatistical simulation of high‐permeability zones in fractured rock to hydraulic‐connection data. A simulated‐annealing algorithm generates three‐dimensional (3‐D) realizations conditioned to borehole data, inferred hydraulic connections between packer‐isolated borehole intervals, and an indicator (fracture zone or background‐K bedrock)...
Authors
Frederick D. Day-Lewis, Paul A. Hsieh, Steven M. Gorelick

Microbial degradation of chloroethenes in groundwater systems Microbial degradation of chloroethenes in groundwater systems

The chloroethenes, tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE) are among the most common contaminants detected in groundwater systems. As recently as 1980, the consensus was that chloroethene compounds were not significantly biodegradable in groundwater. Consequently, efforts to remediate chloroethene-contaminated groundwater were limited to largely unsuccessful pump-and-treat...
Authors
Paul M. Bradley

Benthic flux of metals and nutrients into the water column of Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho: Report of an August, 1999, pilot study Benthic flux of metals and nutrients into the water column of Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho: Report of an August, 1999, pilot study

A field study was conducted between August 16-27, 1999, to provide the first direct measurements of the benthic flux of dissolved (0.2-micron filtered) solutes between the bottom sediment and water column at two sites in Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Trace metals (namely, cadmium, copper, manganese, mercury species, and zinc) and nutrients (namely, ammonia, nitrate plus nitrite, oxygen
Authors
James S. Kuwabara, William M. Berelson, Laurie S. Balistrieri, Paul F. Woods, Brent R. Topping, Douglas J. Steding, David P. Krabbenhoft

Monthly variability and possible sources of nitrate in ground water beneath mixed agricultural land use, Suwannee and Lafayette Counties, Florida Monthly variability and possible sources of nitrate in ground water beneath mixed agricultural land use, Suwannee and Lafayette Counties, Florida

In an area of mixed agricultural land use in Suwannee and Lafayette Counties of northern Florida, water samples were collected monthly from 14 wells tapping the Upper Floridan aquifer during July 1998 through June 1999 to assess hydrologic and land-use factors affecting the variability in nitrate concentrations in ground water. Unusually high amounts of rainfall in September and October...
Authors
Brian G. Katz, J.K. Böhlke

Determination of infiltration and percolation rates along a reach of the Santa Fe River near La Bajada, New Mexico Determination of infiltration and percolation rates along a reach of the Santa Fe River near La Bajada, New Mexico

Two methods, one a surface-water method and the second a ground-water method, were used to determine infiltration and percolation rates along a 2.5-kilometer reach of the Santa Fe River near La Bajada, New Mexico. The surface-water method uses streamflow measurements and their differences along a stream reach, streamflow-loss rates, stream surface area, and evaporation rates to determine
Authors
Carole L. Thomas, Amy E. Stewart, Jim E. Constantz

Methodology for applying monitored natural attenuation to petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated ground-water systems with examples from South Carolina Methodology for applying monitored natural attenuation to petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated ground-water systems with examples from South Carolina

Natural attenuation processes such as dispersion, advection, and biogradation serve to decrease concentrations of disssolved contaminants as they are transported in all ground-water systems. However, the efficiency of these natural attenuation processes and the degree to which they help attain remediation goals, varies considerably from site to site. This report provides a methodology...
Authors
Frank H. Chapelle, John F. Robertson, James Landmeyer, Paul M. Bradley
Was this page helpful?