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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: 3785

Constraining the inferred paleohydrologic evolution of a deep unsaturated zone in the Amargosa Desert Constraining the inferred paleohydrologic evolution of a deep unsaturated zone in the Amargosa Desert

Natural flow regimes in deep unsaturated zones of arid interfluvial environments are rarely in hydraulic equilibrium with near-surface boundary conditions imposed by present-day plant–soil–atmosphere dynamics. Nevertheless, assessments of water resources and contaminant transport require realistic estimates of gas, water, and solute fluxes under past, present, and projected conditions
Authors
Michelle Ann Walvoord, David A. Stonestrom, Brian J. Andraski, Robert G. Striegl

Using dual-bacterial denitrification to improve δ15N determinations of nitrates containing mass-independent 17O Using dual-bacterial denitrification to improve δ15N determinations of nitrates containing mass-independent 17O

The bacterial denitrification method for isotopic analysis of nitrate using N2O generated from Pseudomonas aureofaciens may overestimate δ15N values by as much as 1–2‰ for samples containing atmospheric nitrate because of mass-independent 17O variations in such samples. By analyzing such samples for δ15N and δ18O using the denitrifier Pseudomonas chlororaphis, one obtains nearly correct...
Authors
Tyler B. Coplen, J.K. Bohlke, Karen L. Casciotti

Historical trends in occurrence and atmospheric inputs of halogenated volatile organic compounds in untreated ground water used as a source of drinking water Historical trends in occurrence and atmospheric inputs of halogenated volatile organic compounds in untreated ground water used as a source of drinking water

Analyses of samples of untreated ground water from 413 community-, non-community- (such as restaurants), and domestic-supply wells throughout the US were used to determine the frequency of detection of halogenated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in drinking-water sources. The VOC data were compiled from archived chromatograms of samples analyzed originally for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs...
Authors
S.D. Shapiro, E. Busenberg, M. J. Focazio, Niel Plummer

Characterization and origin of polar dissolved organic matter from the Great Salt Lake Characterization and origin of polar dissolved organic matter from the Great Salt Lake

Polar dissolved organic matter (DOM) was isolated from a surface-water sample from the Great Salt Lake by separating it from colloidal organic matter by membrane dialysis, from less-polar DOM fractions by resin sorbents, and from inorganic salts by a combination of sodium cation exchange followed by precipitation of sodium salts by acetic acid during evaporative concentration. Polar DOM...
Authors
J.A. Leenheer, T.I. Noyes, C.E. Rostad, M.L. Davisson

A walk through the hydroclimate network in Yosemite National Park: River chemistry A walk through the hydroclimate network in Yosemite National Park: River chemistry

Visitors to Yosemite National Park (YNP) are fully aware of the weather, snowmelt, waterfalls (Photo 1), and river discharge and river and lake water temperature. They are not, however, thinking about river chemistry because you can’t see, hear, or feel it. So a river chemistry article in Nature Notes needs a familiar background before we break out the instruments.
Authors
Dave Peterson, Richard Smith, Stephen Hager

Comparison of 13 equations for determining evapotranspiration from a prairie wetland, Cottonwood Lake Area, North Dakota, USA Comparison of 13 equations for determining evapotranspiration from a prairie wetland, Cottonwood Lake Area, North Dakota, USA

Evapotranspiration determined using the energy-budget method at a semi-permanent prairie-pothole wetland in east-central North Dakota, USA was compared with 12 other commonly used methods. The Priestley-Taylor and deBruin-Keijman methods compared best with the energy-budget values; mean differences were less than 0.1 mm d−1, and standard deviations were less than 0.3 mm d−1. Both methods...
Authors
Donald O. Rosenberry, David L. Stannard, Thomas C. Winter, Margo L. Martinez

Urban contribution of pharmaceuticals and other organic wastewater contaminants to streams during differing flow conditions Urban contribution of pharmaceuticals and other organic wastewater contaminants to streams during differing flow conditions

During 2001, 76 water samples were collected upstream and downstream of select towns and cities in Iowa during high-, normal- and low-flow conditions to determine the contribution of urban centers to concentrations of pharmaceuticals and other organic wastewater contaminants (OWCs) in streams under varying flow conditions. The towns ranged in population from approximately 2000 to 200 000...
Authors
D.W. Kolpin, M. Skopec, M. T. Meyer, E. T. Furlong, S.D. Zaugg

SutraGUI, a graphical-user interface for SUTRA, a model for ground-water flow with solute or energy transport SutraGUI, a graphical-user interface for SUTRA, a model for ground-water flow with solute or energy transport

This report describes SutraGUI, a flexible graphical user-interface (GUI) that supports two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) simulation with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) SUTRA ground-water-flow and transport model (Voss and Provost, 2002). SutraGUI allows the user to create SUTRA ground-water models graphically. SutraGUI provides all of the graphical functionality...
Authors
Richard B. Winston, Clifford I. Voss

Cross sectional concentration data for selected organic contaminants in river waters near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Illinois, Missouri, and Ohio Rivers, June 1989 and May-June 1990 Cross sectional concentration data for selected organic contaminants in river waters near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Illinois, Missouri, and Ohio Rivers, June 1989 and May-June 1990

Water samples were collected upstream and downstream from the confluence of the Ohio River and Mississippi River to study mixing of the river waters. Samples collected in June 1989 on the Mississippi River were analyzed for alachlor, atrazine, 2-chloro-2',6'-diethylacetanilide, cyanazine, desethyl-atrazine, desisopropylatrazine, 2,6-diethylaniline, 2-hydroxy-2',6'-diethylacetanilide...
Authors
Colleen E. Rostad, LaDonna M. Bishop, Wilfred E. Pereira, Thomas J. Leiker

Near field receiving water monitoring of trace metals in clams (macoma balthica) and sediments near the Palo Alto Water Quality Control Plant in South San Francisco Bay, California: 2000 Near field receiving water monitoring of trace metals in clams (macoma balthica) and sediments near the Palo Alto Water Quality Control Plant in South San Francisco Bay, California: 2000

Trace element concentrations were analyzed on samples of fine-grained sediments and clams (Macoma balthica) collected from a mudflat one kilometer south of the discharge of the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant in South San Francisco Bay. This report serves as a continuation of the Near Field Receiving Water Monitoring Study, which was started in 1994. The data for 2003...
Authors
Edward Moon, Samuel N. Luoma, Daniel J. Cain, Michelle I. Hornberger, Carlos Primo C. David

Genotoxicity in native fish associated with agricultural runoff events Genotoxicity in native fish associated with agricultural runoff events

The primary objective of the present study was to test whether agricultural chemical runoff was associated with in-stream genotoxicity in native fish. Using Sacramento sucker (Catostomus occidentalis), we combined field-caging experiments in an agriculturally dominated watershed with controlled laboratory exposures to field-collected water samples, and we coupled genotoxicity biomarker
Authors
Andrew Whitehead, Kathryn Kuivila, James L. Orlando, S. Kotelevtsev, Susan L. Anderson
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