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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

Phytoplankton bloom dynamics in coastal ecosystems: A review with some general lessons from sustained investigation of San Francisco Bay, California Phytoplankton bloom dynamics in coastal ecosystems: A review with some general lessons from sustained investigation of San Francisco Bay, California

Phytoplankton blooms are prominent features of biological variability in shallow coastal ecosystems such as estuaries, lagoons, bays, and tidal rivers. Long-term observation and research in San Francisco Bay illustrates some patterns of phytoplankton spatial and temporal variability and the underlying mechanisms of this variability. Blooms are events of rapid production and accumulation...
Authors
James E. Cloern

Selected meteorological and micrometeorological data for an arid site near Beatty, Nye County, Nevada, calendar year 1992 Selected meteorological and micrometeorological data for an arid site near Beatty, Nye County, Nevada, calendar year 1992

il-heat-flux data were collected at a study site adjacent to a low-level radioactive-waste burial facility near Beatty, Nevada, for calendar year 1992. Data were collected in support of ongoing studies to estimate the potential for downward movement of radionuclides into the unsaturated sediments beneath waste-burial trenches at the arid facility. Data collected for the whole year...
Authors
James L. Wood

Solution of the advection-dispersion equation: Continuous load of finite duration Solution of the advection-dispersion equation: Continuous load of finite duration

Field studies of solute fate and transport in streams and rivers often involve an. experimental release of solutes at an upstream boundary for a finite period of time. A review of several standard references on surface-water-quality modeling indicates that the analytical solution to the constant-parameter advection-dispersion equation for this type of boundary condition has been...
Authors
R.L. Runkel

Simulation of phosphate transport in sewage-contaminated groundwater, Cape Cod, Massachusetts Simulation of phosphate transport in sewage-contaminated groundwater, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Sewage-contaminated groundwater currently discharges to Ashumet Pond, located on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Phosphate concentrations as high as 60 μmol l−1 have been measured in groundwater entering Ashumet Pond, and there is concern that the rate of eutrophication could increase. Phosphate in the sewage plume is sorbed by aquifer sediment; the amount is a function of phosphate...
Authors
K.G. Stollenwerk

The deethylatrazine/atrazine ratio as an indicator of the onset of the spring flush of herbicides into surface water of the Midwestern United States The deethylatrazine/atrazine ratio as an indicator of the onset of the spring flush of herbicides into surface water of the Midwestern United States

The ratio of deethylatrazine to atrazine (DAR) may be used to record the first major runoff of herbicides from non-point-source corn fields to surface water in the Midwestern United States. The DAR dramatically decreases from ∼0.5 to 0.1 upon application of herbicide and the first major runoff event of a basin. The DAR then gradually increases to values of approximately 0.4–0.6 during...
Authors
E.M. Thurman, J. D. Fallon

Occurrence and accumulation of pesticides and organic contaminants in river sediment, water and clam tissues from the San Joaquin River and tributaries, California Occurrence and accumulation of pesticides and organic contaminants in river sediment, water and clam tissues from the San Joaquin River and tributaries, California

A study was conducted in 1992 to assess the effects of anthropogenic activities and land use on the water quality of the San Joaquin River and its major tributaries. This study focused on pesticides and organic contaminants, looking at distributions of contaminants in water, bed and suspended sediment, and the bivalve Corbicula fluminea. Results indicated that this river system is...
Authors
W. E. Pereira, Joseph L. Domagalski, F. D. Hostettler, L. R. Brown, J. B. Rapp

Variability in surface energy flux partitioning during Washita '92: Resulting effects on Penman-Monteith and Priestley-Taylor parameters Variability in surface energy flux partitioning during Washita '92: Resulting effects on Penman-Monteith and Priestley-Taylor parameters

During the Washita '92 field experiment, the local surface energy balance was evaluated at four locations in the USDA-ARS Little Washita River Watershed near Chickasha, OK, using the Bowen ratio-energy balance (BREB) approach. For any given day, differences in the partitioning of the available energy appeared to be mostly a function of the type of vegetation at the site, while the actual...
Authors
William P. Kustas, D.I. Stannard, K.J. Allwine

Experimental investigation and modeling of uranium (VI) transport under variable chemical conditions Experimental investigation and modeling of uranium (VI) transport under variable chemical conditions

The transport of adsorbing and complexing metal ions in porous media was investigated with a series of batch and column experiments and with reactive solute transport modeling. Pulses of solutions containing U(VI) were pumped through columns filled with quartz grains, and the breakthrough of U(VI) was studied as a function of variable solution composition (pH, total U(VI) concentration...
Authors
M. Kohler, G.P. Curtis, D.B. Kent, J.A. Davis

Copper speciation and binding by organic matter in copper-contaminated streamwater Copper speciation and binding by organic matter in copper-contaminated streamwater

Fulvic acid binding sites (1.3−70 μM) and EDTA (0.0017−0.18 μM) accounted for organically bound Cu in seven stream samples measured by potentiometric titration. Cu was 84−99% organically bound in filtrates with 200 nM total Cu. Binding of Cu by EDTA was limited by competition from other trace metals. Water hardness was inversely related to properties of dissolved organic carbon (DOC)...
Authors
R.F. Breault, J.A. Colman, G. R. Aiken, D. McKnight

Reactive solute transport in streams: 1. Development of an equilibrium- based model Reactive solute transport in streams: 1. Development of an equilibrium- based model

An equilibrium-based solute transport model is developed for the simulation of trace metal fate and transport in streams. The model is formed by coupling a solute transport model with a chemical equilibrium submodel based on MINTEQ. The solute transport model considers the physical processes of advection, dispersion, lateral inflow, and transient storage, while the equilibrium submodel...
Authors
Robert L. Runkel, Kenneth E. Bencala, Robert E. Broshears, Steven C. Chapra
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