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 pre- and post-remediation water quality, Mineral Creek, Colorado A comparison of pre- and post-remediation water quality, Mineral Creek, Colorado
Pre- and post-remediation data sets are used herein to assess the effectiveness of remedial measures implemented in the headwaters of the Mineral Creek watershed, where contamination from hard rock mining has led to elevated metal concentrations and acidic pH. Collection of pre- and post-remediation data sets generally followed the synoptic mass balance approach, in which numerous stream...
Authors
R.L. Runkel, K.E. Bencala, B. A. Kimball, K. Walton-Day, P. L. Verplanck
Numerical models of caldera deformation: Effects of multiphase and multicomponent hydrothermal fluid flow Numerical models of caldera deformation: Effects of multiphase and multicomponent hydrothermal fluid flow
Ground surface displacement (GSD) in large calderas is often interpreted as resulting from magma intrusion at depth. Recent advances in geodetic measurements of GSD, notably interferometric synthetic aperture radar, reveal complex and multifaceted deformation patterns that often require complex source models to explain the observed GSD. Although hydrothermal fluids have been discussed as...
Authors
M. Hutnak, S. Hurwitz, S. E. Ingebritsen, P. A. Hsieh
Rapid changes in small fish mercury concentrations in estuarine wetlands: Implications for wildlife risk and monitoring programs Rapid changes in small fish mercury concentrations in estuarine wetlands: Implications for wildlife risk and monitoring programs
Small fish are commonly used to assess mercury (Hg) risk to wildlife and monitor Hg in wetlands. However, limited research has evaluated short-term Hg variability in small fish, which can have important implications for monitoring programs and risk assessment. We conducted a time-series study of Hg concentrations in two small fish species representing benthic (longjaw mudsuckers...
Authors
Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Joshua T. Ackerman
The use of fluoride as a natural tracer in water and the relationship to geological features: Examples from the Animas River Watershed, San Juan Mountains, Silverton, Colorado The use of fluoride as a natural tracer in water and the relationship to geological features: Examples from the Animas River Watershed, San Juan Mountains, Silverton, Colorado
Investigations within the Silverton caldera, in southwestern Colorado, used a combination of traditional geological mapping, alteration-assemblage mapping, and aqueous geochemical sampling that showed a relationship between geological and hydrologic features that may be used to better understand the provenance and evolution of the water. Veins containing fluorite, huebnerite, and...
Authors
Dana J. Bove, Katherine Walton-Day, Briant A. Kimball
Fractionation of stable isotopes in perchlorate and nitrate during in situ biodegradation in a sandy aquifer Fractionation of stable isotopes in perchlorate and nitrate during in situ biodegradation in a sandy aquifer
An in situ experiment was performed in a shallow alluvial aquifer in Maryland to quantify the fractionation of stable isotopes in perchlorate (Cl and O) and nitrate (N and O) during biodegradation. An emulsified soybean oil substrate that was previously injected into this aquifer provided the electron donor necessary for biological perchlorate reduction and denitrification. During the...
Authors
P.B. Hatzinger, John Karl Bohlke, N.C. Sturchio, B. Gu, L.J. Heraty, R.C. Borden
Enantiomer fractions of chlordane components in sediment from U.S. Geological Survey sites in lakes and rivers Enantiomer fractions of chlordane components in sediment from U.S. Geological Survey sites in lakes and rivers
Spatial, temporal, and sediment-type trends in enantiomer signatures were evaluated for cis- and trans-chlordane (CC, TC) in archived core, suspended, and surficial-sediment samples from six lake, reservoir, and river sites across the United States. The enantiomer fractions (EFs) measured in these samples are in good agreement with those reported for sediment, soil, and air samples in...
Authors
E.M. Ulrich, W.T. Foreman, P. C. Van Metre, J.T. Wilson, S.A. Rounds
A carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur elemental and isotopic study in dated sediment cores from the Louisiana Shelf A carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur elemental and isotopic study in dated sediment cores from the Louisiana Shelf
Three sediment cores were collected off the Mississippi River delta on the Louisiana Shelf at sites that are variably influenced by recurring, summer-time water-column hypoxia and fluvial loadings. The cores, with established chronology, were analyzed for their respective carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur elemental and isotopic composition to examine variable organic matter inputs, and to...
Authors
R.J. Rosenbauer, P.W. Swarzenski, C. Kendall, W. H. Orem, F. D. Hostettler, M.E. Rollog
Quality assurance and quality control in light stable isotope laboratories: A case study of Rio Grande, Texas, water samples Quality assurance and quality control in light stable isotope laboratories: A case study of Rio Grande, Texas, water samples
New isotope laboratories can achieve the goal of reporting the same isotopic composition within analytical uncertainty for the same material analysed decades apart by (1) writing their own acceptance testing procedures and putting them into their mass spectrometric or laser-based isotope-ratio equipment procurement contract, (2) requiring a manufacturer to demonstrate acceptable...
Authors
T.B. Coplen, H. Qi
Wastewater effluent, combined sewer overflows, and other sources of organic compounds to Lake Champlain Wastewater effluent, combined sewer overflows, and other sources of organic compounds to Lake Champlain
Abstract: Some sources of organic wastewater compounds (OWCs) to streams, lakes, and estuaries, including wastewater‐treatment‐plant effluent, have been well documented, but other sources, particularly wet‐weather discharges from combined‐sewer‐overflow (CSO) and urban runoff, may also be major sources of OWCs. Samples of wastewater‐treatment‐plant (WWTP) effluent, CSO effluent, urban...
Authors
P. Phillips, A. Chalmers
Geoelectrical measurement and modeling of biogeochemical breakthrough behavior during microbial activity Geoelectrical measurement and modeling of biogeochemical breakthrough behavior during microbial activity
We recorded bulk electrical conductivity (σb) along a soil column during microbially-mediated selenite oxyanion reduction. Effluent fluid electrical conductivity and early time σb were modeled according to classic advective-dispersive transport of the nutrient medium. However, σb along the column exhibited strongly bimodal breakthrough which cannot be explained by changes in the...
Authors
L.D. Slater, Frederick D. Day-Lewis, D. Ntarlagiannis, M. O'Brien, N. Yee
Assessing the sources and magnitude of diurnal nitrate variability in the San Joaquin River (California) with an in situ optical nitrate sensor and dual nitrate isotopes Assessing the sources and magnitude of diurnal nitrate variability in the San Joaquin River (California) with an in situ optical nitrate sensor and dual nitrate isotopes
1. We investigated diurnal nitrate (NO3−) concentration variability in the San Joaquin River using an in situ optical NO3− sensor and discrete sampling during a 5‐day summer period characterized by high algal productivity. Dual NO3− isotopes (δ15NNO3 and δ18ONO3) and dissolved oxygen isotopes (δ18ODO) were measured over 2 days to assess NO3− sources and biogeochemical controls over...
Authors
Brian A. Pellerin, Bryan D. Downing, Carol Kendall, Randy A. Dahlgren, Tamara E.C. Kraus, John Franco Saraceno, Robert G. M. Spencer, Brian A. Bergamaschi
Acid rock drainage and climate change Acid rock drainage and climate change
Rainfall events cause both increases and decreases in acid and metals concentrations and their loadings from mine wastes, and unmined mineralized areas, into receiving streams based on data from 3 mines sites in the United States and other sites outside the US. Gradual increases in concentrations occur during long dry spells and sudden large increases are observed during the rising limb...
Authors
D. Kirk Nordstrom