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
Lean about our Featured Science Activities through our pages that highlight science studies, publications, and results.
Filter Total Items: 3785
The design of sampling transects for characterizing water quality in estuaries The design of sampling transects for characterizing water quality in estuaries
The high spatial variability of estuaries poses a challenge for characterizing estuarine water quality. This problem was examined by conducting monthly high-resolution transects for several water quality variables (chlorophyll a, suspended particulate matter and salinity) in San Francisco Bay (California, U.S.A.). Using these data, six different ways of choosing station locations along a...
Authors
A.D. Jassby, B.E. Cole, J. E. Cloern
Effects of exchanged cation and layer charge on the sorption of water and EGME vapors on montmorillonite clays Effects of exchanged cation and layer charge on the sorption of water and EGME vapors on montmorillonite clays
The effects of exchanged cation and layer charge on the sorption of water and ethylene glycol monoethyl ether (EGME) vapors on montmorillonite have been studied on SAz-1 and SWy-1 source clays, each exchanged respectively with Ca, Na, K, Cs and tetramethylammonium (TMA) cations. The corresponding lattice expansions were also determined, and the corresponding N2 adsorption data were...
Authors
Cary T. Chiou, David W. Rutherford
Method for determination of methyl tert-butyl ether and its degradation products in water Method for determination of methyl tert-butyl ether and its degradation products in water
An analytical method is described that can detect the major alkyl ether compounds that are used as gasoline oxygenates (methyl tert-butyl ether, MTBE; ethyl tert-butyl ether, ETBE; and tert-amyl methyl ether, TAME) and their most characteristic degradation products (tert-butyl alcohol, TBA; tert-butyl formate, TBF; and tert-amyl alcohol, TAA) in water at sub-ppb concentrations. The new...
Authors
C.D. Church, L.M. Isabelle, J. F. Pankow, D.L. Rose, P.G. Tratnyek
Diagnosing the flood of 1997 in San Francisco Bay with observations and model results Diagnosing the flood of 1997 in San Francisco Bay with observations and model results
No abstract available.
Authors
Noah Knowles, Daniel Cayan, Reginald J. Uncles, Lynn Ingram, Dave Peterson
Are walleye from Lake Roosevelt contaminated with mercury? Are walleye from Lake Roosevelt contaminated with mercury?
To find out, scientists from the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) tested walleye and other sport fish from the upper Columbia River and Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake (Lake Roosevelt), the largest reservoir in Washington and a popular fishing spot. Findings: Walleye had higher concentrations of mercury than other sport fish. Larger walleye had higher mercury concentrations than smaller walleye...
Authors
Martha L. Erwin, Mark D. Munn
Source characterization of disinfection byproduct precursors in two Arkansas water-supply reservoirs Source characterization of disinfection byproduct precursors in two Arkansas water-supply reservoirs
No abstract available.
Authors
Michael L. Pomes, W. R. Green, E.M. Thurman, W. H. Orem, H.T. Lerch
Geochemical and hydrologic considerations in remediating phosphorus-contaminated ground water in a sewage plume near Ashumet Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts Geochemical and hydrologic considerations in remediating phosphorus-contaminated ground water in a sewage plume near Ashumet Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
No abstract available.
Authors
D. A. Walter, D.R. LeBlanc
Organic carbon and nitrogen content associated with colloids and suspended particulates from the Mississippi River and some of its tributaries Organic carbon and nitrogen content associated with colloids and suspended particulates from the Mississippi River and some of its tributaries
Suspended material samples were collected at 16 sites along the Mississippi River and some of its tributaries during July-August 1991, October-November 1991, and April-May 1992, and separated into colloid and particulate fractions to determine the organic carbon content of these two fractions of suspended material. Sample collection involved centrifugation to isolate the suspended...
Authors
C.E. Rostad, J.A. Leenheer, S.R. Daniel
Ambiguity in measuring matrix diffusion with single-well injection/recovery tracer tests Ambiguity in measuring matrix diffusion with single-well injection/recovery tracer tests
Single-well injection/recovery tracer tests are considered for use in characterizing and quantifying matrix diffusion in dual-porosity aquifers. Numerical modeling indicates that neither regional drift in homogeneous aquifers, nor heterogeneity in aquifers having no regional drift, nor hydrodynamic dispersion significantly affects these tests. However, when drift is coupled...
Authors
S.C. Lessoff, Leonard F. Konikow
Hydrogeologic framework of western Cape Cod, Massachusetts Hydrogeologic framework of western Cape Cod, Massachusetts
The aquifer of western Cape Cod consists of several hydrogeologic units composed of sand, gravel, silt, and clay (fig. 1) that were deposited during the late Wisconsinan glaciation of New England. The aquifer is a shallow, unconfined hydrologic system in which ground-water flows radially outward from the apex of the ground-water mound near the center of the peninsula toward the coast...
Authors
John P. Masterson, Byron D. Stone, Donald A. Walter, Jennifer G. Savoie
Dissolved nutrient data for the San Francisco Bay Estuary, California, January through November 1995 Dissolved nutrient data for the San Francisco Bay Estuary, California, January through November 1995
The U.S. Geological Survey conducted hydrologic investigations in San Francisco Bay between January and November of 1995. Dissolved inorganic plant nutrients, nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, silica, and reactive phosphorus were measured in surface and in near-bottom waters at previously established locations in the channel portions of both northern and southern reaches of the bay, and at...
Authors
Stephen W. Hager, Laurence E. Schemel
Assessment of intrinsic bioremediation of gasoline contamination in the shallow aquifer, Laurel Bay Exchange, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina Assessment of intrinsic bioremediation of gasoline contamination in the shallow aquifer, Laurel Bay Exchange, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina
Laboratory, field, and digital solute-transport- modeling studies demonstrate that microorganisms indigenous to the shallow ground-water system at Laurel Bay Exchange, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, can degrade petroleum hydrocarbons in gasoline released at the site. Microorganisms in aquifer sediments incubated in the laboratory under aerobic and anaerobic conditions
Authors
J. E. Landmeyer, Francis Chapelle, P. M. Bradley