Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
GeoHEALTH-USGS Newsletter
GeoHEALTH-USGS Newsletter
The GeoHEALTH–USGS Newsletter—published since 2004—provides information on USGS science activities pertinent to safeguarding the health of fish, wildlife, domesticated animals, and people from environmental exposures to contaminants and pathogens.
Featured Science Activities
Featured Science Activities
Learn about our Featured Science Activities through our pages that highlight studies, publications, and results.
Filter Total Items: 4098
Toxicity of silicon carbide nanowires to sediment-dwelling invertebrates in water or sediment exposures Toxicity of silicon carbide nanowires to sediment-dwelling invertebrates in water or sediment exposures
Silicon carbide nanowires (SiCNW) are insoluble in water. When released into an aquatic environment, SiCNW would likely accumulate in sediment. The objective of this study was to assess the toxicity of SiCNW to four freshwater sediment-dwelling organisms: amphipods (Hyalella azteca), midges (Chironomus dilutus), oligochaetes (Lumbriculus variegatus), and mussels (Lampsilis siliquoidea)...
Authors
Joseph N. Mwangi, Ning Wang, Andrew Ritts, James L. Kunz, Christopher G. Ingersoll, Hao Li, Baolin Deng
Toxic effects of dietary methylmercury on immune function and hematology in American kestrels (Falco sparverius) Toxic effects of dietary methylmercury on immune function and hematology in American kestrels (Falco sparverius)
Fifty-nine adult male American kestrels (Falco sparverius) were assigned to one of three diet formulations including 0 (control), 0.6, and 3.9 μg/g (dry wt) methylmercury (MeHg). Kestrels received their diets daily for 13 weeks to assess the effects of dietary MeHg on immunocompetence. Immunotoxic endpoints included assessment of cell-mediated immunity (CMI) using the phytohemagglutinin...
Authors
Dawn M. Fallacara, Richard S. Halbrook, John B. French
Towards identifying the next generation of superfund and hazardous waste site contaminants Towards identifying the next generation of superfund and hazardous waste site contaminants
Background This commentary evolved from a workshop sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences titled "Superfund Contaminants: The Next Generation" held in Tucson, Arizona, in August 2009. All the authors were workshop participants. Objectives Our aim was to initiate a dynamic, adaptable process for identifying contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) that are...
Authors
Wendell P. Ela, David L. Sedlak, Morton A. Barlaz, Heather F. Henry, Derek C.G. Muir, Deborah L. Swackhamer, Eric J. Weber, Robert G. Arnold, P. Lee Ferguson, Jennifer A. Field, Edward T. Furlong, John P. Giesy, Rolf U. Halden, Tala Henry, Ronald A. Hites, Keri C. Hornbuckle, Philip H. Howard, Richard G. Luthy, Anita K. Meyer, A. Eduardo Saez, Frederick S. vom Saal, Chris D. Vulpe, Mark R. Wiesner
Quality of our groundwater resources: Arsenic and fluoride Quality of our groundwater resources: Arsenic and fluoride
Groundwater often contains arsenic or fluoride concentrations too high for drinking or cooking. These constituents, often naturally occurring, are not easy to remove. The right combination of natural or manmade conditions can lead to elevated arsenic or fluoride which includes continental source rocks, high alkalinity and pH, reducing conditions for arsenic, high phosphate, high...
Authors
D. Kirk Nordstrom
Editor’s message: Groundwater modeling fantasies - Part 1, adrift in the details Editor’s message: Groundwater modeling fantasies - Part 1, adrift in the details
Fools ignore complexity. Pragmatists suffer it. Some can avoid it. Geniuses remove it. …Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it. (Epigrams in Programming by Alan Perlis, a computer scientist; Perlis 1982). A doctoral student creating a groundwater model of a regional aquifer put individual circular regions around data points where he had hydraulic head measurements, so...
Authors
Clifford I. Voss
Characterization of the intragranular water regime within subsurface sediments: pore volume, surface area, and mass transfer limitations Characterization of the intragranular water regime within subsurface sediments: pore volume, surface area, and mass transfer limitations
Although "intragranular" pore space within grain aggregates, grain fractures, and mineral surface coatings may contain a relatively small fraction of the total porosity within a porous medium, it often contains a significant fraction of the reactive surface area, and can thus strongly affect the transport of sorbing solutes. In this work, we demonstrate a batch experiment procedure using...
Authors
Michael B. Hay, Deborah L. Stoliker, James A. Davis, John M. Zachara
A distribution-based parameterization for improved tomographic imaging of solute plumes A distribution-based parameterization for improved tomographic imaging of solute plumes
Difference geophysical tomography (e.g. radar, resistivity and seismic) is used increasingly for imaging fluid flow and mass transport associated with natural and engineered hydrologic phenomena, including tracer experiments, in situ remediation and aquifer storage and recovery. Tomographic data are collected over time, inverted and differenced against a background image to produce...
Authors
Adam Pidlisecky, K. Singha, F. D. Day-Lewis
Metallothionein-like multinuclear clusters of mercury(II) and sulfur in peat Metallothionein-like multinuclear clusters of mercury(II) and sulfur in peat
Strong mercury(II)–sulfur (Hg-SR) bonds in natural organic matter, which influence mercury bioavailability, are difficult to characterize. We report evidence for two new Hg-SR structures using X-ray absorption spectroscopy in peats from the Florida Everglades with added Hg. The first, observed at a mole ratio of organic reduced S to Hg (Sred/Hg) between 220 and 1140, is a Hg4Sx type of...
Authors
K. L. Nagy, A. Manceau, J. D. Gasper, J. N. Ryan, G. R. Aiken
Projected evolution of California's San Francisco bay-delta-river system in a century of climate change Projected evolution of California's San Francisco bay-delta-river system in a century of climate change
Background: Accumulating evidence shows that the planet is warming as a response to human emissions of greenhouse gases. Strategies of adaptation to climate change will require quantitative projections of how altered regional patterns of temperature, precipitation and sea level could cascade to provoke local impacts such as modified water supplies, increasing risks of coastal flooding...
Authors
James E. Cloern, Noah Knowles, Larry R. Brown, Daniel R. Cayan, Michael D. Dettinger, Tara L. Morgan, David H. Schoellhamer, Mark T. Stacey, Mick Van der Wegen, R.W. Wagner, Alan D. Jassby
In situ rates of sulfate reduction in response to geochemical perturbations In situ rates of sulfate reduction in response to geochemical perturbations
Rates of in situ microbial sulfate reduction in response to geochemical perturbations were determined using Native Organism Geochemical Experimentation Enclosures (NOGEEs), a new in situ technique developed to facilitate evaluation of controls on microbial reaction rates. NOGEEs function by first trapping a native microbial community in situ and then subjecting it to geochemical...
Authors
T.A. Kneeshaw, J.T. McGuire, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, E.W. Smith
Evaluation of influence of sediment on the sensitivity of a unionid mussel (Lampsilis siliquoidea) to ammonia in 28-day water exposures Evaluation of influence of sediment on the sensitivity of a unionid mussel (Lampsilis siliquoidea) to ammonia in 28-day water exposures
A draft update of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ambient water quality criteria (AWQC) for ammonia substantially lowers the ammonia AWQC, primarily due to the inclusion of toxicity data for freshwater mussels. However, most of the mussel data used in the updated AWQC were generated from water-only exposures and limited information is available on the potential influence of the...
Authors
N. Wang, R.A. Consbrock, C.G. Ingersoll, M.C. Barnhart
Tracking nonpoint source nitrogen pollution in human-impacted watersheds Tracking nonpoint source nitrogen pollution in human-impacted watersheds
Nonpoint source nitrogen (N) pollution is a leading contributor to U.S. water quality impairments. We combined watershed N mass balances and stable isotopes to investigate fate and transport of nonpoint N in forest, agricultural, and urbanized watersheds at the Baltimore Long-Term Ecological Research site. Annual N retention was 55%, 68%, and 82% for agricultural, suburban, and forest...
Authors
Sujay S. Kaushal, Peter M Groffman, Lawrence Band, Emily M. Elliott, Catherine A. Shields, Carol Kendall