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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

A comparison of phase inversion and traveltime tomography for processing near-surface refraction traveltimes A comparison of phase inversion and traveltime tomography for processing near-surface refraction traveltimes

With phase inversion, one can estimate subsurface velocities using the phases of first-arriving waves, which are the frequency-domain equivalents of the traveltimes. Phase inversion is modified to make it suitable for processing traveltimes from near-surface refraction surveys. The modifications include parameterizing the model, correcting the observed phases, and selecting the complex...
Authors
Karl J. Ellefsen

What does "water quality" mean? What does "water quality" mean?

No abstract available.
Authors
Francis H. Chapelle, Paul M. Bradley, Peter B. McMahon, Bruce D. Lindsey

Dual nitrate isotopes in dry deposition: Utility for partitioning NOx source contributions to landscape nitrogen deposition Dual nitrate isotopes in dry deposition: Utility for partitioning NOx source contributions to landscape nitrogen deposition

Dry deposition is a major component of total atmospheric nitrogen deposition and thus an important source of bioavailable nitrogen to ecosystems. However, relative to wet deposition, less is known regarding the sources and spatial variability of dry deposition. This is in part due to difficulty in measuring dry deposition and associated deposition velocities. Passive sampling techniques...
Authors
E.M. Elliott, Carol Kendall, E.W. Boyer, Douglas A. Burns, Gary Lear, H.E. Golden, K. Harlin, A. Bytnerowicz, T.J. Butler, R. Glatz

Obtaining parsimonious hydraulic conductivity fields using head and transport observations: A Bayesian geostatistical parameter estimation approach Obtaining parsimonious hydraulic conductivity fields using head and transport observations: A Bayesian geostatistical parameter estimation approach

Flow path delineation is a valuable tool for interpreting the subsurface hydrogeochemical environment. Different types of data, such as groundwater flow and transport, inform different aspects of hydrogeologic parameter values (hydraulic conductivity in this case) which, in turn, determine flow paths. This work combines flow and transport information to estimate a unified set of...
Authors
Michael N. Fienen, R. Hunt, D. Krabbenhoft, T. Clemo

Arsenic in the evolution of earth and extraterrestrial ecosystems Arsenic in the evolution of earth and extraterrestrial ecosystems

If you were asked to speculate about the form extra-terrestrial life on Mars might take, which geomicrobial phenomenon might you select as a model system, assuming that life on Mars would be ‘primitive’? Give your reasons. At the end of my senior year at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1968, I took Professor Ehrlich's final for his Geomicrobiology course. The above question beckoned...
Authors
R.S. Oremland, C.W. Saltikov, Felisa Wolfe-Simon, J.F. Stolz

Gene and antigen markers of Shiga-toxin producing E. coli from Michigan and Indiana river water: Occurrence and relation to recreational water quality criteria Gene and antigen markers of Shiga-toxin producing E. coli from Michigan and Indiana river water: Occurrence and relation to recreational water quality criteria

The relation of bacterial pathogen occurrence to fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) concentrations used for recreational water quality criteria (RWQC) is poorly understood. This study determined the occurrence of Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) markers and their relation to FIB concentrations in Michigan and Indiana river water. Using 67 fecal coliform (FC) bacteria cultures...
Authors
J.W. Duris, S.K. Haack, L.R. Fogarty

Mercury sources, distribution, and bioavailability in the North Pacific Ocean: Insights from data and models Mercury sources, distribution, and bioavailability in the North Pacific Ocean: Insights from data and models

Fish harvested from the Pacific Ocean are a major contributor to human methylmercury (MeHg) exposure. Limited oceanic mercury (Hg) data, particularly MeHg, has confounded our understanding of linkages between sources, methylation sites, and concentrations in marine food webs. Here we present methylated (MeHg and dimethylmercury (Me2Hg)) and total Hg concentrations from 16 hydrographic...
Authors
E.M. Sunderland, D. P. Krabbenhoft, J.W. Moreau, S.A. Strode, W.M. Landing

Copper isotope fractionation in acid mine drainage Copper isotope fractionation in acid mine drainage

We measured the Cu isotopic composition of primary minerals and stream water affected by acid mine drainage in a mineralized watershed (Colorado, USA). The δ65Cu values (based on 65Cu/63Cu) of enargite (δ65Cu = −0.01 ± 0.10‰; 2σ) and chalcopyrite (δ65Cu = 0.16 ± 0.10‰) are within the range of reported values for terrestrial primary Cu sulfides (−1‰ ‰Δaq-mino=-0.57±0.14‰, where mino...
Authors
B.E. Kimball, R. Mathur, A.C. Dohnalkova, A.J. Wall, R.L. Runkel, S.L. Brantley

Utilizing chromophoric dissolved organic matter measurements to derive export and reactivity of dissolved organic carbon exported to the Arctic Ocean: A case study of the Yukon River, Alaska Utilizing chromophoric dissolved organic matter measurements to derive export and reactivity of dissolved organic carbon exported to the Arctic Ocean: A case study of the Yukon River, Alaska

[1] The quality and quantity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) exported by Arctic rivers is known to vary with hydrology and this exported material plays a fundamental role in the biogeochemical cycling of carbon at high latitudes. We highlight the potential of optical measurements to examine DOM quality across the hydrograph in Arctic rivers. Furthermore, we establish chromophoric DOM...
Authors
R.G.M. Spencer, G. R. Aiken, K.D. Butler, M.M. Dornblaser, Robert G. Striegl, P.J. Hernes

Contrasting residence times and fluxes of water and sulfate in two small forested watersheds in Virginia, USA Contrasting residence times and fluxes of water and sulfate in two small forested watersheds in Virginia, USA

Watershed mass balances for solutes of atmospheric origin may be complicated by the residence times of water and solutes at various time scales. In two small forested headwater catchments in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, USA, mean annual export rates of SO4= differ by a factor of 2, and seasonal variations in SO4= concentrations in atmospheric deposition and stream water are out...
Authors
J.K. Böhlke, R. L. Michel

Ultraviolet absorbance as a proxy for total dissolved mercury in streams Ultraviolet absorbance as a proxy for total dissolved mercury in streams

Stream water samples were collected over a range of hydrologic and seasonal conditions at three forested watersheds in the northeastern USA. Samples were analyzed for dissolved total mercury (THgd), DOC concentration and DOC composition, and UV254 absorbance across the three sites over different seasons and flow conditions. Pooling data from all sites, we found a strong positive...
Authors
J.A. Dittman, J. B. Shanley, C. T. Driscoll, G. R. Aiken, A.T. Chalmers, J.E. Towse
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