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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: 4097

Synthesis of isotopically modified ZnO nanoparticles and their potential as nanotoxicity tracers Synthesis of isotopically modified ZnO nanoparticles and their potential as nanotoxicity tracers

Understanding the behavior of engineered nanoparticles in the environment and within organisms is perhaps the biggest obstacle to the safe development of nanotechnologies. Reliable tracing is a particular issue for nanoparticles such as ZnO, because Zn is an essential element and a common pollutant thus present at elevated background concentrations. We synthesized isotopically enriched...
Authors
A.D. Dybowska, Marie Noele Croteau, S.K. Misra, D. Berhanu, Samuel N. Luoma, P. Christian, P. O'Brien, E. Valsami-Jones

Sulfur in the South Florida ecosystem: Distribution, sources, biogeochemistry, impacts, and management for restoration Sulfur in the South Florida ecosystem: Distribution, sources, biogeochemistry, impacts, and management for restoration

Sulfur is broadly recognized as a water quality issue of significance for the freshwater Florida Everglades. Roughly 60% of the remnant Everglades has surface water sulfate concentrations above 1 mg l-1, a restoration performance measure based on present sulfate levels in unenriched areas. Highly enriched marshes in the northern Everglades have average sulfate levels of 60 mg l-1...
Authors
William H. Orem, C. Gilmour, D. Axelrad, David P. Krabbenhoft, D. Scheidt, P. Kalla, P. McCormick, M. Gabriel, George Aiken

Guidelines and recommended terms for expression of stable-isotope-ratio and gas-ratio measurement results Guidelines and recommended terms for expression of stable-isotope-ratio and gas-ratio measurement results

To minimize confusion in the expression of measurement results of stable isotope and gas-ratio measurements, recommendations based on publications of the Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) are presented. Whenever feasible, entries are consistent with the Système International d'Unités, the SI (known in...
Authors
Tyler B. Coplen

The secret to successful solute-transport modeling The secret to successful solute-transport modeling

Modeling subsurface solute transport is difficult—more so than modeling heads and flows. The classical governing equation does not always adequately represent what we see at the field scale. In such cases, commonly used numerical models are solving the wrong equation. Also, the transport equation is hyperbolic where advection is dominant, and parabolic where hydrodynamic dispersion is...
Authors
Leonard F. Konikow

Mercury export from the Yukon River Basin and potential response to a changing climate Mercury export from the Yukon River Basin and potential response to a changing climate

We measured mercury (Hg) concentrations and calculated export and yield from the Yukon River Basin (YRB) to quantify Hg flux from a large, permafrost-dominated, high-latitude watershed. Exports of Hg averaged 4400 kg Hg yr-1. The average annual yield for the YRB during the study period was 5.17 μg m-2 yr-1, which is 3–32 times more than Hg yields reported for 8 other major northern...
Authors
Paul F. Schuster, Robert G. Striegl, George R. Aiken, David P. Krabbenhoft, John F. DeWild, Kenna D. Butler, Ben Kamark, Mark Dornblaser

Interlaboratory comparison of measurements of acid-volatile sulfide and simultaneously extracted nickel in spiked sediments Interlaboratory comparison of measurements of acid-volatile sulfide and simultaneously extracted nickel in spiked sediments

An interlaboratory comparison of acid-volatile sulfide (AVS) and simultaneously extracted nickel (SEM_Ni) measurements of sediments was conducted among five independent laboratories. Relative standard deviations for the seven test samples ranged from 5.6 to 71% (mean = 25%) for AVS and from 5.5 to 15% (mean = 10%) for SEM_Ni. These results are in stark contrast to a recently published...
Authors
William G. Brumbaugh, Chad R. Hammerschmidt, Luciana Zanella, Emily Rogevich, Gregory Salata, Radoslaw Puchalka

Effects of biologically-active chemical mixtures on fish in a wastewater-impacted urban stream Effects of biologically-active chemical mixtures on fish in a wastewater-impacted urban stream

Stream flow in urban aquatic ecosystems often is maintained by water-reclamation plant (WRP) effluents that contain mixtures of natural and anthropogenic chemicals that persist through the treatment processes. In effluent-impactedstreams, aquatic organisms such as fish are continuously exposed to biologically-activechemicals throughout their life cycles. The North Shore Channel of the...
Authors
Larry B. Barber, Gregory K. Brown, Todd G. Nettesheim, Elizabeth W. Murphy, Stephen E. Bartell, Heiko L. Schoenfuss

An exploratory investigation of polar organic compounds in waters from a lead–zinc mine and mill complex An exploratory investigation of polar organic compounds in waters from a lead–zinc mine and mill complex

Surface water samples were collected in 2006 from a lead mine-mill complex in Missouri to investigate possible organic compounds coming from the milling process. Water samples contained relatively high concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC; greater than 20 mg/l) for surface waters but were colorless, implying a lack of naturally occurring aquatic humic or fulvic acids. Samples...
Authors
Colleen E. Rostad, Christopher J. Schmitt, John G. Schumacher, Thomas J. Leiker

Transient groundwater chemistry near a river: Effects on U(VI) transport in laboratory column experiments Transient groundwater chemistry near a river: Effects on U(VI) transport in laboratory column experiments

In the 300 Area of a U(VI)-contaminated aquifer at Hanford, Washington, USA, inorganic carbon and major cations, which have large impacts on U(VI) transport, change on an hourly and seasonal basis near the Columbia River. Batch and column experiments were conducted to investigate the factors controlling U(VI) adsorption/desorption by changing chemical conditions over time. Low alkalinity...
Authors
Jun Yin, Roy Haggerty, Deborah L. Stoliker, Douglas B. Kent, Jonathan D. Istok, Janek Greskowiak, John M. Zachara

Pathogenic bacteria and microbial-source tracking markers in Brandywine Creek Basin, Pennsylvania and Delaware, 2009-10 Pathogenic bacteria and microbial-source tracking markers in Brandywine Creek Basin, Pennsylvania and Delaware, 2009-10

The City of Wilmington, Delaware, is in the downstream part of the Brandywine Creek Basin, on the main stem of Brandywine Creek. Wilmington uses this stream, which drains a mixed-land-use area upstream, for its main drinking-water supply. Because the stream is used for drinking water, Wilmington is in need of information about the occurrence and distribution of specific fecally derived...
Authors
Joseph W. Duris, Andrew G. Reif, Leif E. Olson, Heather E. Johnson

Magnetic susceptibility as a proxy for investigating microbially mediated iron reduction Magnetic susceptibility as a proxy for investigating microbially mediated iron reduction

We investigated magnetic susceptibility (MS) variations in hydrocarbon contaminated sediments. Our objective was to determine if MS can be used as an intrinsic bioremediation indicator due to the activity of iron-reducing bacteria. A contaminated and an uncontaminated core were retrieved from a site contaminated with crude oil near Bemidji, Minnesota and subsampled for MS measurements...
Authors
F.M. Mewafy, E.A. Atekwana, D.D. Werkema, L.D. Slater, D. Ntarlagiannis, A. Revil, M. Skold, Geoffrey N. Delin
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