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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

Electrical characterization of non‐Fickian transport in groundwater and hyporheic systems Electrical characterization of non‐Fickian transport in groundwater and hyporheic systems

Recent work indicates that processes controlling solute mass transfer between mobile and less mobile domains in porous media may be quantified by combining electrical geophysical methods and electrically conductive tracers. Whereas direct geochemical measurements of solute preferentially sample the mobile domain, electrical geophysical methods are sensitive to changes in bulk electrical
Authors
Kamini Singha, Adam Pidlisecky, Frederick D. Day-Lewis, Michael N. Gooseff

Effects of ionic strength, temperature, and pH on degradation of selected antibiotics Effects of ionic strength, temperature, and pH on degradation of selected antibiotics

Aqueous degradation rates, which include hydrolysis and epimerization, for chlortetracycline (CTC), oxytetracycline (OTC), tetracycline (TET), lincomycin (LNC), sulfachlorpyridazine (SCP), sulfadimethoxine (SDM), sulfathiazole (STZ), trimethoprim (TRM), and tylosin A (TYL) were studied as a function of ionic strength (0.0015, 0.050, or 0.084 mg/L as Na2HPO4), temperature (7, 22, and 35°C...
Authors
K.A. Loftin, C.D. Adams, M. T. Meyer, R. Surampalli

Human-induced changes in the hydrology of the Western United States Human-induced changes in the hydrology of the Western United States

Observations have shown that the hydrological cycle of the western United States changed significantly over the last half of the 20th century. We present a regional, multivariable climate change detection and attribution study, using a high-resolution hydrologic model forced by global climate models, focusing on the changes that have already affected this primarily arid region with a...
Authors
T.P. Barnett, D.W. Pierce, H.G. Hidalgo, Celine Bonfils, B.D. Santer, T. Das, G. Bala, A.W. Wood, T. Nozawa, A.A. Mirin, D.R. Cayan, M. D. Dettinger

Differences in evaporation between a floating pan and class a pan on land Differences in evaporation between a floating pan and class a pan on land

Research was conducted to develop a method for obtaining floating pan evaporation rates in a small (less than 10,000 m2) wetland, lagoon, or pond. Floating pan and land pan evaporation data were collected from March 1 to August 31, 2005, at a small natural wetland located in the alluvium of the Canadian River near Norman, Oklahoma, at the U.S. Geological Survey Norman Landfill Toxic...
Authors
J.R. Masoner, D.I. Stannard, S. C. Christenson

Environmental factors affecting mercury in Camp Far West Reservoir, California, 2001-03 Environmental factors affecting mercury in Camp Far West Reservoir, California, 2001-03

This report documents water quality in Camp Far West Reservoir from October 2001 through August 2003. The reservoir, located at approximately 300 feet above sea level in the foothills of the northwestern Sierra Nevada, California, is a monomictic lake characterized by extreme drawdown in the late summer and fall. Thermal stratification in summer and fall is coupled with anoxic conditions...
Authors
Charles N. Alpers, A. Robin Stewart, Michael K. Saiki, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Brent R. Topping, Kelly M. Rider, Steven K. Gallanthine, Cynthia A. Kester, Robert O. Rye, Ronald C. Antweiler, John F. De Wild

A biodynamic understanding of dietborne metal uptake by a freshwater invertebrate A biodynamic understanding of dietborne metal uptake by a freshwater invertebrate

Aquatic organisms accumulate metals from dissolved and particulate phases. Dietborne metal uptake likely prevails in nature, but the physiological processes governing metal bioaccumulation from diet are not fully understood. We characterize dietborne copper, cadmium, and nickel uptake by a freshwater gastropod (Lymnaea stagnalis) both in terms of biodynamics and membrane transport...
Authors
M.-N. Croteau, S. N. Luoma

Distinguishing black carbon from biogenic humic substances in soil clay fractions Distinguishing black carbon from biogenic humic substances in soil clay fractions

Most models of soil humic substances include a substantial component of aromatic C either as the backbone of humic heteropolymers or as a significant component of supramolecular aggregates of degraded biopolymers. We physically separated coarse (0.2–2.0 μm e.s.d.), medium (0.02–0.2 μm e.s.d.), and fine (> 0.02 μm e.s.d.) clay subfractions from three Midwestern soils and characterized the...
Authors
D.A. Laird, M.A. Chappell, D.A. Martens, R.L. Wershaw, M. Thompson

Peat porewater chloride concentration profiles in the Everglades during wet/dry cycles from January 1996 to June 1998: Field measurements and theoretical analysis Peat porewater chloride concentration profiles in the Everglades during wet/dry cycles from January 1996 to June 1998: Field measurements and theoretical analysis

Water quality is a key aspect of the Everglades Restoration Project, the largest water reclamation and ecosystem management project proposed in the United States. Movement of nutrients and contaminants to and from Everglades peat porewater could have important consequences for Everglades water quality and ecosystem restoration activities. In a study of Everglades porewater, we observed...
Authors
M.M. Reddy, M.B. Reddy, K.L. Kipp, A. Burman, Peter Schuster, P.S. Rawlik

Eulerian-Lagrangian numerical scheme for simulating advection, dispersion, and transient storage in streams and a comparison of numerical methods Eulerian-Lagrangian numerical scheme for simulating advection, dispersion, and transient storage in streams and a comparison of numerical methods

Past applications of one-dimensional advection, dispersion, and transient storage zone models have almost exclusively relied on a central differencing, Eulerian numerical approximation to the nonconservative form of the fundamental equation. However, there are scenarios where this approach generates unacceptable error. A new numerical scheme for this type of modeling is presented here...
Authors
T.J. Cox, R.L. Runkel

Numerical model for the uptake of groundwater contaminants by phreatophytes Numerical model for the uptake of groundwater contaminants by phreatophytes

Conventional solute transport models do not adequately account for the effects of phreatophytic plant systems on contaminant concentrations in shallow groundwater systems. A numerical model was developed and tested to simulate threedimensional reactive solute transport in a heterogeneous porous medium. Advective-dispersive transport is coupled to biodegradation, sorption, and plantbased
Authors
M.A. Widdowson, A. El-Sayed, J. E. Landmeyer

Complex seasonal patterns of primary producers at the land-sea interface Complex seasonal patterns of primary producers at the land-sea interface

Seasonal fluctuations of plant biomass and photosynthesis are key features of the Earth system because they drive variability of atmospheric CO2, water and nutrient cycling, and food supply to consumers. There is no inventory of phytoplankton seasonal cycles in nearshore coastal ecosystems where forcings from ocean, land and atmosphere intersect. We compiled time series of phytoplankton...
Authors
J. E. Cloern, A.D. Jassby

Mass balance and isotope effects during nitrogen transport through septic tank systems with packed-bed (sand) filters Mass balance and isotope effects during nitrogen transport through septic tank systems with packed-bed (sand) filters

Septic tank systems are an important source of NO3− to many aquifers, yet characterization of N mass balance and isotope systematics following septic tank effluent discharge into unsaturated sediments has received limited attention. In this study, samples of septic tank effluent before and after transport through single-pass packed-bed filters (sand filters) were evaluated to elucidate...
Authors
S.R. Hinkle, J.K. Böhlke, L.H. Fisher
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