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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: 3785

Comparison of 13 equations for determining evapotranspiration from a prairie wetland, Cottonwood Lake Area, North Dakota, USA Comparison of 13 equations for determining evapotranspiration from a prairie wetland, Cottonwood Lake Area, North Dakota, USA

Evapotranspiration determined using the energy-budget method at a semi-permanent prairie-pothole wetland in east-central North Dakota, USA was compared with 12 other commonly used methods. The Priestley-Taylor and deBruin-Keijman methods compared best with the energy-budget values; mean differences were less than 0.1 mm d−1, and standard deviations were less than 0.3 mm d−1. Both methods...
Authors
Donald O. Rosenberry, David L. Stannard, Thomas C. Winter, Margo L. Martinez

Urban contribution of pharmaceuticals and other organic wastewater contaminants to streams during differing flow conditions Urban contribution of pharmaceuticals and other organic wastewater contaminants to streams during differing flow conditions

During 2001, 76 water samples were collected upstream and downstream of select towns and cities in Iowa during high-, normal- and low-flow conditions to determine the contribution of urban centers to concentrations of pharmaceuticals and other organic wastewater contaminants (OWCs) in streams under varying flow conditions. The towns ranged in population from approximately 2000 to 200 000...
Authors
D.W. Kolpin, M. Skopec, M. T. Meyer, E. T. Furlong, S.D. Zaugg

SutraGUI, a graphical-user interface for SUTRA, a model for ground-water flow with solute or energy transport SutraGUI, a graphical-user interface for SUTRA, a model for ground-water flow with solute or energy transport

This report describes SutraGUI, a flexible graphical user-interface (GUI) that supports two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) simulation with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) SUTRA ground-water-flow and transport model (Voss and Provost, 2002). SutraGUI allows the user to create SUTRA ground-water models graphically. SutraGUI provides all of the graphical functionality...
Authors
Richard B. Winston, Clifford I. Voss

Cross sectional concentration data for selected organic contaminants in river waters near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Illinois, Missouri, and Ohio Rivers, June 1989 and May-June 1990 Cross sectional concentration data for selected organic contaminants in river waters near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Illinois, Missouri, and Ohio Rivers, June 1989 and May-June 1990

Water samples were collected upstream and downstream from the confluence of the Ohio River and Mississippi River to study mixing of the river waters. Samples collected in June 1989 on the Mississippi River were analyzed for alachlor, atrazine, 2-chloro-2',6'-diethylacetanilide, cyanazine, desethyl-atrazine, desisopropylatrazine, 2,6-diethylaniline, 2-hydroxy-2',6'-diethylacetanilide...
Authors
Colleen E. Rostad, LaDonna M. Bishop, Wilfred E. Pereira, Thomas J. Leiker

Near field receiving water monitoring of trace metals in clams (macoma balthica) and sediments near the Palo Alto Water Quality Control Plant in South San Francisco Bay, California: 2000 Near field receiving water monitoring of trace metals in clams (macoma balthica) and sediments near the Palo Alto Water Quality Control Plant in South San Francisco Bay, California: 2000

Trace element concentrations were analyzed on samples of fine-grained sediments and clams (Macoma balthica) collected from a mudflat one kilometer south of the discharge of the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant in South San Francisco Bay. This report serves as a continuation of the Near Field Receiving Water Monitoring Study, which was started in 1994. The data for 2003...
Authors
Edward Moon, Samuel N. Luoma, Daniel J. Cain, Michelle I. Hornberger, Carlos Primo C. David

Genotoxicity in native fish associated with agricultural runoff events Genotoxicity in native fish associated with agricultural runoff events

The primary objective of the present study was to test whether agricultural chemical runoff was associated with in-stream genotoxicity in native fish. Using Sacramento sucker (Catostomus occidentalis), we combined field-caging experiments in an agriculturally dominated watershed with controlled laboratory exposures to field-collected water samples, and we coupled genotoxicity biomarker
Authors
Andrew Whitehead, Kathryn Kuivila, James L. Orlando, S. Kotelevtsev, Susan L. Anderson

Methods for the preparation and analysis of solids and suspended solids for total mercury Methods for the preparation and analysis of solids and suspended solids for total mercury

The methods documented in this report are utilized by the Wisconsin District Mercury Lab for analysis of total mercury in solids (soils and sediments) and suspended solids (isolated on filters). Separate procedures are required for the different sample types. For solids, samples are prepared by room-temperature acid digestion and oxidation with aqua regia. The samples are brought up to...
Authors
Shane D. Olund, John F. DeWild, Mark L. Olson, Michael T. Tate

Assessing denitrification in groundwater using natural gradient tracer tests with 15N: In situ measurement of a sequential multistep reaction Assessing denitrification in groundwater using natural gradient tracer tests with 15N: In situ measurement of a sequential multistep reaction

Denitrification was measured within a nitrate‐contaminated aquifer on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, using natural gradient tracer tests with 15N nitrate. The aquifer contained zones of relatively high concentrations of nitrite (up to 77 μM) and nitrous oxide (up to 143 μM) and has been the site of previous studies examining ground water denitrification using the acetylene block technique...
Authors
Richard L. Smith, J.K. Bohlke, Stephen P. Garabedian, Kinga M. Revesz, Tadashi Yoshinari

Food web pathway determines how selenium affects aquatic ecosystems: A San francisco Bay case study Food web pathway determines how selenium affects aquatic ecosystems: A San francisco Bay case study

Chemical contaminants disrupt ecosystems, but specific effects may be under-appreciated when poorly known processes such as uptake mechanisms, uptake via diet, food preferences, and food web dynamics are influential. Here we show that a combination of food web structure and the physiology of trace element accumulation explain why some species in San Francisco Bay are threatened by a...
Authors
A.R. Stewart, S. N. Luoma, C.E. Schlekat, M.A. Doblin, K.A. Hieb

Structural and spectral features of selenium nanospheres produced by Se-respiring bacteria Structural and spectral features of selenium nanospheres produced by Se-respiring bacteria

Certain anaerobic bacteria respire toxic selenium oxyanions and in doing so produce extracellular accumulations of elemental selenium [Se(0)]. We examined three physiologically and phylogenetically diverse species of selenate- and selenite-respiring bacteria, Sulfurospirillum barnesii, Bacillus selenitireducens, and Selenihalanaerobacter shriftii, for the occurrence of this phenomenon...
Authors
R.S. Oremland, M.J. Herbel, J.S. Blum, S. Langley, T.J. Beveridge, P.M. Ajayan, T. Sutto, A.V. Ellis, S. Curran

The microbial arsenic cycle in Mono Lake, California The microbial arsenic cycle in Mono Lake, California

Significant concentrations of dissolved inorganic arsenic can be found in the waters of a number of lakes located in the western USA and in other water bodies around the world. These lakes are often situated in arid, volcanic terrain. The highest concentrations of arsenic occur in hypersaline, closed basin soda lakes and their remnant brines. Although arsenic is a well-known toxicant to...
Authors
Ronald S. Oremland, John F. Stolz, James T. Hollibaugh
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