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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

From the 1988 drought to the 1993 flood: Transport of halogenated organic compounds with the Mississippi river suspended sediment at Thebes, Illinois From the 1988 drought to the 1993 flood: Transport of halogenated organic compounds with the Mississippi river suspended sediment at Thebes, Illinois

Suspended sediment was isolated from water samples collected from the Mississippi River at Thebes, IL, eight times over a 5-year period from May 1988 through September 1993 in order to evaluate the transport of lipophilic halogenated organic compounds associated with the suspended sediment. Two hydrologic extremes were included-the 1988 drought and the 1993 flood. Halogenated organic...
Authors
C.E. Rostad

Effects of carbon dioxide variations in the unsaturated zone on water chemistry in a glacial-outwash aquifer Effects of carbon dioxide variations in the unsaturated zone on water chemistry in a glacial-outwash aquifer

The research site at Otis Air Base, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has been developed for hydrogeological and geochemical studies of sewage-effluent contaminated groundwater since 1982. Research of hydrologic properties, transport, and chemical and biological processes is ongoing, but the origin of background water chemistry has not been determined. The principal geochemical process giving...
Authors
R. W. Lee

A theoretically based determination of bowen-ratio fetch requirements A theoretically based determination of bowen-ratio fetch requirements

Determination of fetch requirements for accurate Bowen-ratio measurements of latent- and sensible-heat fluxes is more involved than for eddy-correlation measurements because Bowen-ratio sensors are located at two heights, rather than just one. A simple solution to the diffusion equation is used to derive an expression for Bowen-ratio fetch requirements, downwind of a step change in...
Authors
D.I. Stannard

Assessing hydrogeochemical heterogeneity in natural and constructed wetlands Assessing hydrogeochemical heterogeneity in natural and constructed wetlands

While 'water quality function' is cited as an important wetland function to design for and preserve, we demonstrate that the scale at which hydrochemical samples are collected can significantly influence interpretations of biogeochemical processes in wetlands. Subsurface, chemical profiles for both nutrients and major ions were determined at a site in southwestern Wisconsin that...
Authors
R. J. Hunt, D. P. Krabbenhoft, Marilyn P. Anderson

The urban atmosphere as a non-point source for the transport of MTBE and other volatile organic compounds (VOCS) to shallow groundwater The urban atmosphere as a non-point source for the transport of MTBE and other volatile organic compounds (VOCS) to shallow groundwater

Infiltration and dispersion (including molecular diffusion) can transport volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from urban air into shallow groundwater. The gasoline additive methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is of special interest because of its (1) current levels in some urban air, (2) strong partitioning from air into water, (3) resistance to degradation, (4) use as an octane-booster since...
Authors
J. F. Pankow, N.R. Thomson, Richard L. Johnson, A. L. Baehr, J.S. Zogorski

Physiological considerations in applying laboratory-determined buoyant densities to predictions of bacterial and protozoan transport in groundwater: Results of in-situ and laboratory tests Physiological considerations in applying laboratory-determined buoyant densities to predictions of bacterial and protozoan transport in groundwater: Results of in-situ and laboratory tests

Buoyant densities were determined for groundwater bacteria and microflagellates (protozoa) from a sandy aquifer (Cape Cod, MA) using two methods:  (1) density-gradient centrifugation (DGC) and (2) Stoke's law approximations using sedimentation rates observed during natural-gradient injection and recovery tests. The dwarf (average cell size, 0.3 μm), unattached bacteria inhabiting a...
Authors
R.W. Harvey, D.W. Metge, N. Kinner, N. Mayberry

Assimilation efficiencies and turnover rates of trace elements in marine bivalves: A comparison of oysters, clams and mussels Assimilation efficiencies and turnover rates of trace elements in marine bivalves: A comparison of oysters, clams and mussels

Assimilation efficiencies (AEs) and physiological turnover-rate constants (k) of six trace elements (Ag, Am, Cd, Co, Se, Zn) in four marine bivalves (Crassostrea virginica Gmelin,Macoma balthica Linnaeus, Mercenaria mercenaria Linnaeus, and Mytilus edulis Linnaeus) were measured in radiotracer-depuration experiments. Egestion rates of unassimilated elements were highest during the first...
Authors
J.R. Reinfelder, W.-X. Wang, S. N. Luoma, N.S. Fisher

Potential for intrinsic bioremediation of a DNT-contaminated aquifer Potential for intrinsic bioremediation of a DNT-contaminated aquifer

Microorganisms indigenous to a shallow aquifer, which underlies an explosives-contaminated site, mineralized 28% of [U-ring-14C] 2,4–dinitrotoluene to 14CO2 within 28 days under aerobic conditions. Approximately 20% of added 2,4–dinitrotoluene remained undegraded at the end of the incubation while approximately 22% and 6% were transformed to 4–amino-2–nitrotoluene and 2–amino-4...
Authors
P. M. Bradley, F. H. Chapelle, J. E. Landmeyer, J.G. Schumacher

Effect of flagellates on free-living bacterial abundance in an organically contaminated aquifer Effect of flagellates on free-living bacterial abundance in an organically contaminated aquifer

Little is known about the role of protists in the saturated subsurface. Porous media microcosms containing bacteria and protists, were used to determine whether flagellates from an organically contaminated aquifer could substantively affect the number of free- living bacteria (FLB). When flagellates were present, the 3-40% maximum breakthrough of fluorescent y labelled FLB injected into...
Authors
N.E. Kinner, R.W. Harvey, M. Kazmierkiewicz-Tabaka

Nuclear magnetic resonance identification of new sulfonic acid metabolites of chloroacetanilide herbicides Nuclear magnetic resonance identification of new sulfonic acid metabolites of chloroacetanilide herbicides

The detection of the sulfonic acid metabolites of the chloroacetanilide herbicides acetochlor, alachlor, butachlor, propachlor, and, more recently, metolachlor in surface and ground water suggests that a common mechanism for dechlorination exists via the glutathione conjugation pathway. The identification of these herbicides and their metabolites is important due to growing public...
Authors
M.D. Morton, F.H. Walters, D.S. Aga, E.M. Thurman, C.K. Larive

Historical trends in organochlorine compounds in river basins identified using sediment cores from reservoirs Historical trends in organochlorine compounds in river basins identified using sediment cores from reservoirs

This study used chemical analyses of dated sediment cores from reservoirs to define historical trends in water quality in the influent river basins. This work applies techniques from paleolimnology to reservoirs, and in the process, highlights differences between sediment-core interpretations for reservoirs and natural lakes. Sediment cores were collected from six reservoirs in the...
Authors
P. C. Van Metre, E. Callender, C. C. Fuller
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