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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

Modeling Np and Pu transport with a surface complexation model and spatially variant sorption capacities: Implications for reactive transport modeling and performance assessments of nuclear waste disposal sites Modeling Np and Pu transport with a surface complexation model and spatially variant sorption capacities: Implications for reactive transport modeling and performance assessments of nuclear waste disposal sites

One-dimensional (1D) geochemical transport modeling is used to demonstrate the effects of speciation and sorption reactions on the ground-water transport of Np and Pu, two redox-sensitive elements. Earlier 1D simulations (Reardon, 1981) considered the kinetically limited dissolution of calcite and its effect on ion-exchange reactions (involving 90Sr, Ca, Na, Mg and K), and documented the...
Authors
P. D. Glynn

Molecular-scale characterization of uranium sorption by bone apatite materials for a permeable reactive barrier demonstration Molecular-scale characterization of uranium sorption by bone apatite materials for a permeable reactive barrier demonstration

Uranium binding to bone charcoal and bone meal apatite materials was investigated using U LIII-edge EXAFS spectroscopy and synchrotron source XRD measurements of laboratory batch preparations in the absence and presence of dissolved carbonate. Pelletized bone char apatite recovered from a permeable reactive barrier (PRB) at Fry Canyon, UT, was also studied. EXAFS analyses indicate that U...
Authors
C. C. Fuller, J.R. Bargar, J.A. Davis

CALFED: An experiment in science and decisionmaking CALFED: An experiment in science and decisionmaking

The CALFED Bay-Delta Program faces a challenging assignment: to develop a collaborative state-federal management plan for the complex river system and involve multiple stakeholders (primarily municipal, agricultural, and environmental entities) whose interests frequently are in direct conflict. Although many resource-management issues involve multiple stakeholders and conflict is...
Authors
Kimberly A. Taylor, Katharine L. Jacobs, Samuel N. Luoma

Excess nitrogen in selected thermal and mineral springs of the Cascade Range in northern California, Oregon, and Washington: Sedimentary or volcanic in origin? Excess nitrogen in selected thermal and mineral springs of the Cascade Range in northern California, Oregon, and Washington: Sedimentary or volcanic in origin?

Anomalous N2/Ar values occur in many thermal springs and mineral springs, some volcanic fumaroles, and at least one acid-sulfate spring of the Cascade Range. Our data show that N2/Ar values are as high as 300 in gas from some of the hot springs, as high as 1650 in gas from some of the mineral springs, and as high as 2400 in gas from the acid-sulfate spring on Mt. Shasta. In contrast, gas
Authors
Robert H. Mariner, William C. Evans, T. S. Presser, L. D. White

Inorganic nitrogen transformations in the bed of the Shingobee River, Minnesota: Integrating hydrologic and biological processes using sediment perfusion cores Inorganic nitrogen transformations in the bed of the Shingobee River, Minnesota: Integrating hydrologic and biological processes using sediment perfusion cores

Inorganic N transformations were examined in streambed sediments from the Shingobee River using sediment perfusion cores. The experimental design simulated groundwater-stream water mixing within sediment cores, which provided a well-defined one-dimensional representation of in situ hydrologic conditions. Two distinct hydrologic and chemical settings were preserved in the sediment cores...
Authors
R.W. Sheibley, J.H. Duff, A. P. Jackman, F.J. Triska

Time‐lapse imaging of saline‐tracer transport in fractured rock using difference‐attenuation radar tomography Time‐lapse imaging of saline‐tracer transport in fractured rock using difference‐attenuation radar tomography

Accurate characterization of fractured‐rock aquifer heterogeneity remains one of the most challenging and important problems in groundwater hydrology. We demonstrate a promising strategy to identify preferential flow paths in fractured rock using a combination of geophysical monitoring and conventional hydrogeologic tests. Cross‐well difference‐attenuation ground‐penetrating radar was...
Authors
Frederick D. Day-Lewis, John W. Lane, Jerry M. Harris, Steven M. Gorelick

Temperature-profile methods for estimating percolation rates in arid environments Temperature-profile methods for estimating percolation rates in arid environments

Percolation rates are estimated using vertical temperature profiles from sequentially deeper vadose environments, progressing from sediments beneath stream channels, to expansive basin-fill materials, and finally to deep fractured bedrock underlying mountainous terrain. Beneath stream channels, vertical temperature profiles vary over time in response to downward heat transport, which is...
Authors
Jim Constantz, Scott W. Tyler, Edward Kwicklis

Offset vertical radar profiling Offset vertical radar profiling

Diffraction tomography imaging was applied to VRP data acquired by vertically moving a receiving antenna in a number of wells. This procedure simulated a vertical downhole receiver array. Similarly, a transmitting antenna was sequentially moved along a series of radial lines extending outward from the receiver wells. This provided a sequence of multistatic data sets and, from each data...
Authors
A. Witten, J. Lane

Direct assessment of groundwater vulnerability from single observations of multiple contaminants Direct assessment of groundwater vulnerability from single observations of multiple contaminants

Groundwater vulnerability is a central concept in pollution risk assessment, yet its estimation has been largely a matter of expert judgment. This work applies a method for the direct calculation of vulnerability from monitoring well observations of pesticide concentrations. The method has two major advantages: it is independent of the compounds being examined, and it has a direct...
Authors
Fred Worrall, Dana W. Kolpin

Variability of isotope and major ion chemistry in the Allequash Basin, Wisconsin Variability of isotope and major ion chemistry in the Allequash Basin, Wisconsin

As part of ongoing research conducted at one of the U.S. Geological Survey's Water, Energy, and Biogeochem-ical Budgets sites, work was undertaken to describe the spatial and temporal variability of stream and ground water isotopic composition and cation chemistry in the Trout Lake watershed, to relate the variability to the watershed flow system, and to identify the linkages of...
Authors
John F. Walker, Randall J. Hunt, Thomas D. Bullen, David P. Krabbenhoft, Carol Kendall

Peer reviewed: Characterizing aquatic dissolved organic matter Peer reviewed: Characterizing aquatic dissolved organic matter

Whether it causes aesthetic concerns such as color, taste, and odor; leads to the binding and transport of organic and inorganic contaminants; produces undesirable disinfection byproducts; provides sources and sinks for carbon; or mediates photochemical processes, the nature and properties of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in water are topics of significant environmental interest. DOM is...
Authors
Jerry A. Leenheer, Jean-Philippe Croue
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