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
Spring climate and salinity in the San Francisco Bay Estuary Spring climate and salinity in the San Francisco Bay Estuary
Salinity in the San Francisco Bay Estuary almost always experiences its yearly maximum during late summer, but climate variability produces marked interannual variations. The atmospheric circulation pattern impacts the estuary primarily through variations of runoff from rainfall and snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada and, secondarily, through variations in the near-surface salinity in the...
Authors
Daniel R. Cayan, David H. Peterson
Occurrence and transport of agricultural chemicals in the Mississippi River basin, July through August 1993 Occurrence and transport of agricultural chemicals in the Mississippi River basin, July through August 1993
Heavy rainfall and severe flooding in the upper Mississippi River Basin from mid-June through early August 1993 flushed extraordinarily large amounts of agricultural chemicals (herbicides and nitrate) into the Mississippi River, many of its tributaries, and, ultimately, the Gulf of Mexico. Even though extremely high streamflows were recorded during the flood in 1993, concentrations of...
Authors
Donald A. Goolsby, William A. Battaglin, E. Michael Thurman
Ground-water quality at the Management Systems Evaluation Area near Princeton, Minnesota, 1991-92 Ground-water quality at the Management Systems Evaluation Area near Princeton, Minnesota, 1991-92
The northern cornbelt sand-plains Management Systems Evaluation Area (MSEA) program is a multiagency, multistate initiative to evaluate the effects of modified and prevailing farming systems on water quality in a sand-plain area in Minnesota and at satellite areas in North and South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The primary objective of Minnesota MSEA is to evaluate the effects of ridge-tillage...
Authors
Matthew K. Landon, Geoffrey N. Delin, J.A. Lamb, Lei Guo
A dual drawworks controller for borehole tomography A dual drawworks controller for borehole tomography
No abstract available.
Authors
T.P. Grover, R.P. Kipfinger, D.L. Wright
Geophysical logging studies in the Snake River Plain Aquifer at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory — Wells 44, 45, and 46 Geophysical logging studies in the Snake River Plain Aquifer at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory — Wells 44, 45, and 46
No abstract available.
Authors
R. H. Morin, Warren Barrash, Frederick L. Paillet, T. A. Taylor
Evaluation of statistical models to predict chemical quality of shallow ground water in the Pine Barrens of Suffolk County, Long Island, New York Evaluation of statistical models to predict chemical quality of shallow ground water in the Pine Barrens of Suffolk County, Long Island, New York
No abstract available.
Authors
P. E. Stackelberg, S. F. Siwiec
Meromixis in hypersaline Mono Lake, California. 3. Biogeochemical response to stratification and overturn Meromixis in hypersaline Mono Lake, California. 3. Biogeochemical response to stratification and overturn
Mono Lake is a terminal, saline lake that became ectogenically meromictic in 1982–1983 and remained stratified until November 1988. During this period, the monimolimnion remained anoxic and nearly isothermal, while the upper mixolimnion was well oxygenated and exhibited a seasonal thermal regime. Dissolved sulfide and methane increased in the monimolimnion as a result of diffusive flux...
Authors
Laurence G. Miller, R. Jellison, Ronald S. Oremland, Charles W. Culbertson
Effects of recharge on the transport of agricultural chemicals at the Princeton, Minn. Management Systems Evaluation Area (MSEA), 1991-92 Effects of recharge on the transport of agricultural chemicals at the Princeton, Minn. Management Systems Evaluation Area (MSEA), 1991-92
Rates of water movement through the unsaturated zone greatly affect the amount and concentrations of agricultural chemicals that may reach the water table. For example, recharge can flush to the water table chemicals that have accumulated In the unsaturated zone during dry periods. A better understanding of how topography influences recharge and the movement of agricultural chemicals is...
Authors
G. N. Delin, M.K. Landon
Application of borehole geophysics in defining the wellhead protection area for a fractured crystalline bedrock aquifer Application of borehole geophysics in defining the wellhead protection area for a fractured crystalline bedrock aquifer
Wellbore geophysical techniques were used to characterize fractures and flow in a bedrock aquifer at a site near Blackwater Brook in Dover, New Hampshire. The primary focus ofthis study was the development of a model to assist in evaluating the area surrounding a planned water supply well where contaminants introduced at the land surface might be induced to flow towards a pumping well...
Authors
J.H. Vernon, F.L. Paillet, W.H. Pedler, W.J. Griswold
Tidal, Residual, Intertidal Mudflat (TRIM) Model and its Applications to San Francisco Bay, California Tidal, Residual, Intertidal Mudflat (TRIM) Model and its Applications to San Francisco Bay, California
A numerical model using a semi-implicit finite-difference method for solving the two-dimensional shallow-water equations is presented. The gradient of the water surface elevation in the momentum equations and the velocity divergence in the continuity equation are finite-differenced implicitly, the remaining terms are finite-differenced explicitly. The convective terms are treated using...
Authors
R. T. Cheng, V. Casulli, J. W. Gartner
A perspective on stream-catchment connections A perspective on stream-catchment connections
Ecological study of the hyporheic zone is leading to recognition of a need for additional hydrologic understanding. Some of this understanding can be obtained by viewing the hyporheic zone as a succession of isolated boxes adjacent to the stream. Further understanding, particularly relevant to catchment-scale ecology, may come from studies focussed on the fluid mechanics of the flow-path
Authors
Kenneth E. Bencala