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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: 3784

Pesticides in ground water: Do atrazine metabolites matter? Pesticides in ground water: Do atrazine metabolites matter?

Atrazine and atrazine-residue (atrazine + two metabolites - deethylatrazine and deisopropylatrazine) concentrations were examined to determine if consideration of these atrazine metabolites substantially adds to our understanding of the distribution of this pesticide in groundwater of the midcontinental United States. The mean of atrazine.residue concentrations was 53 percent greater...
Authors
S. Liu, S.T. Yen, D.W. Kolpin

Deformation-induced changes in hydraulic head during ground-water withdrawal Deformation-induced changes in hydraulic head during ground-water withdrawal

Ground-water withdrawal from a confined or semiconfined aquifer causes three-dimensional deformation in the pumped aquifer and in adjacent layers (overlying and underlying aquifers and aquitards). In response to the deformation, hydraulic head in the adjacent layers could rise or fall almost immediately after the start of pumping. This deformation-induced effect suggest that an adjacent...
Authors
Paul A. Hsieh

Removal of selenium from contaminated agricultural drainage water by nanofiltration membranes Removal of selenium from contaminated agricultural drainage water by nanofiltration membranes

Seleniferous agricultural drainage wastewater has become a new major source of pollution in the world. In the USA, large areas of farmland in 17 western states, generate contaminated salinized drainage with Se concentrations much higher than 5 ??g/l, the US Environmental Protection Agency water-quality criterion for the protection of aquatic life; Se values locally reach 4200 ??g/l in...
Authors
Y.K. Kharaka, G. Ambats, T. S. Presser, R. A. Davis

The long-term salinity field in San Francisco Bay The long-term salinity field in San Francisco Bay

Data are presented on long-term salinity behaviour in San Francisco Bay, California. A two-level, width averaged model of the tidally averaged salinity and circulation has been written in order to interpret the long-term (days to decades) salinity variability. The model has been used to simulate daily averaged salinity in the upper and lower levels of a 51 segment discretization of the...
Authors
R.J. Uncles, D. H. Peterson

Occurrence of alachlor and its sulfonated metabolite in rivers and reservoirs of the midwestern United States: The importance of sulfonation in the transport of chloroacetanilide herbicides Occurrence of alachlor and its sulfonated metabolite in rivers and reservoirs of the midwestern United States: The importance of sulfonation in the transport of chloroacetanilide herbicides

Alachlor and its metabolite, 2-[(2',6'-diethylphenyl)- (methoxymethyl)amino]-2-oxoethanesulfonate (ESA), were identified in 76 reservoirs in the midwestern United States using immunoassay, liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The median concentration of ESA (0.48 ??g/L) exceeded the median concentration of alachlor (
Authors
E.M. Thurman, D. A. Goolsby, D.S. Aga, M.L. Pomes, M. T. Meyer

Comparison of denitrification activity measurements in groundwater using cores and natural-gradient tracer tests Comparison of denitrification activity measurements in groundwater using cores and natural-gradient tracer tests

The transport of many solutes in groundwater is dependent upon the relative rates of physical flow and microbial metabolism. Quantifying rates of microbial processes under subsurface conditions is difficult and is most commonly approximated using laboratory studies with aquifer materials. In this study, we measured in situ rates of denitrification in a nitrate-contaminated aquifer using...
Authors
R. L. Smith, S. P. Garabedian, M. H. Brooks

Herbicide metabolites in surface water and groundwater: Introduction and overview Herbicide metabolites in surface water and groundwater: Introduction and overview

Several future research topics for herbicide metabolites in surface and ground water are outlined in this chapter. They are herbicide usage, chemical analysis of metabolites, and fate and transport of metabolites in surface and ground water. These three ideas follow the themes in this book, which are the summary of a symposium of the American Chemical Society on herbicide metabolites in...
Authors
E.M. Thurman, M. T. Meyer

Analysis of fractures intersecting Kahi Puka Well 1 and its relation to the growth of the island of Hawaii Analysis of fractures intersecting Kahi Puka Well 1 and its relation to the growth of the island of Hawaii

As part of the Hawaii Scientific Drilling Project, Kahi Puka Well 1 penetrated about 275 m of Mauna Loa basalts overlying a sequence of Mauna Kea flow units as it was drilled and cored to a total depth of 1053 m below land surface. A borehole televiewer (BHTV) was run in most of the well in successive stages prior to casing in order to obtain magnetically oriented acoustic images of the...
Authors
Roger H. Morin, Frederick L. Paillet

Covalent binding of aniline to humic substances. 1. Kinetic studies Covalent binding of aniline to humic substances. 1. Kinetic studies

The reaction kinetics for the covalent binding of aniline with reconstituted IHSS humic and fulvic acids, unfractionated DOM isolated from Suwannee River water, and whole samples of Suwannee River water have been investigated. The reaction kinetics in each of these systems can be adequately described by a simple second-order rate expression. The effect of varying the initial...
Authors
E.J. Weber, D.L. Spidle, K. A. Thorn

Trace metal speciation in natural waters: Computational vs. analytical Trace metal speciation in natural waters: Computational vs. analytical

Improvements in the field sampling, preservation, and determination of trace metals in natural waters have made many analyses more reliable and less affected by contamination. The speciation of trace metals, however, remains controversial. Chemical model speciation calculations do not necessarily agree with voltammetric, ion exchange, potentiometric, or other analytical speciation...
Authors
D. Kirk Nordstrom

Reactive solute transport in an acidic stream: Experimental pH increase and simulation of controls on pH, aluminum, and iron Reactive solute transport in an acidic stream: Experimental pH increase and simulation of controls on pH, aluminum, and iron

Solute transport simulations quantitatively constrained hydrologic and geochemical hypotheses about field observations of a pH modification in an acid mine drainage stream. Carbonate chemistry, the formation of solid phases, and buffering interactions with the stream bed were important factors in explaining the behavior of pH, aluminum, and iron. The precipitation of microcrystalline...
Authors
R. E. Broshears, R.L. Runkel, B. A. Kimball, Diane M. McKnight, K.E. Bencala

Choosing optimum station configurations for summarizing water quality characteristics, in 1994 Annual Report, San Francisco Estuary Regional Monitoring Program for Trace Substances: San Francisco Estuary Institute Choosing optimum station configurations for summarizing water quality characteristics, in 1994 Annual Report, San Francisco Estuary Regional Monitoring Program for Trace Substances: San Francisco Estuary Institute

One of the central problems in regional monitoring is choosing a station array that accurately reflects the distribution of values for the entire region of interest. For time-consuming or expensive measurements, an additional goal is to make the number of sampling locations and times as small as possible. These problems are probably most difficult in estuaries because of the relatively...
Authors
James E. Cloern, Brian E. Cole, J.M. Caffrey, A.D. Jassby
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