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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

Linking hyporheic flow and nitrogen cycling near the Willamette River: A large river in Oregon, USA Linking hyporheic flow and nitrogen cycling near the Willamette River: A large river in Oregon, USA

Several approaches were used to characterize ground water/surface water interactions near the Willamette River - A large (ninth order) river in Oregon, USA. A series of potentiometric surface maps demonstrated the presence of highly dynamic hydraulic gradients between rivers and the adjacent aquifer. Hyporheic zone gradients extended on the order of hundreds of meters. River gains and...
Authors
S.R. Hinkle, J.H. Duff, F.J. Triska, A. Laenen, E.B. Gates, K.E. Bencala, D.A. Wentz, S. R. Silva

Methyl tert‐butyl ether degradation in the unsaturated zone and the relation between MTBE in the atmosphere and shallow groundwater Methyl tert‐butyl ether degradation in the unsaturated zone and the relation between MTBE in the atmosphere and shallow groundwater

Atmospheric methyl tert‐butyl ether (MTBE) concentrations in southern New Jersey generally exceeded concentrations in samples taken from the unsaturated zone. A simple unsaturated zone transport model indicates that MTBE degradation can explain the attenuation with half‐lives from a few months to a couple of years. Tert‐butyl alcohol (TBA), a possible degradation product of MTBE, was...
Authors
Arthur L. Baehr, Emmanuel G. Charles, Ronald J. Baker

Natural attenuation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the leachate plume of a municipal landfill: Using alkylbenzenes as process probes Natural attenuation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the leachate plume of a municipal landfill: Using alkylbenzenes as process probes

More than 70 individual VOCs were identified in the leachate plume of a closed municipal landfill. Concentrations were low when compared with data published for other landfills, and total VOCs accounted for less than 0.1% of the total dissolved organic carbon. The VOC concentrations in the core of the anoxic leachate plume are variable, but in all cases they were found to be near or...
Authors
Robert P. Eganhouse, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Martha A. Scholl, L.L. Matthews

Quantification of metal loads by tracer injection and synoptic sampling in Daisy Creek and the Stillwater River, Park County, Montana, August 1999 Quantification of metal loads by tracer injection and synoptic sampling in Daisy Creek and the Stillwater River, Park County, Montana, August 1999

A metal-loading study using tracer-injection and synoptic-sampling methods was conducted in Daisy Creek and a short reach of the Stillwater River during baseflow in August 1999 to quantify the metal inputs from acid rock drainage in the New World Mining District near Yellowstone National Park and to examine the downstream transport of these metals into the Stillwater River. Loads were...
Authors
David A. Nimick, Thomas E. Cleasby

MODFLOW-2000, the U.S. Geological Survey modular ground-water model: User guide to the LMT6 package, the linkage with MT3DMS for multi-species mass transport modeling MODFLOW-2000, the U.S. Geological Survey modular ground-water model: User guide to the LMT6 package, the linkage with MT3DMS for multi-species mass transport modeling

MODFLOW-2000, the newest version of MODFLOW, is a computer program that numerically solves the three-dimensional ground-water flow equation for a porous medium using a finite-difference method. MT3DMS, the successor to MT3D, is a computer program for modeling multi-species solute transport in three-dimensional ground-water systems using multiple solution techniques, including the finite...
Authors
Chunmiao Zheng, Mary Catherine Hill, Paul A. Hsieh

Analysis of streambed temperatures in ephemeral channels to determine streamflow frequency and duration Analysis of streambed temperatures in ephemeral channels to determine streamflow frequency and duration

Spatial and temporal patterns in streamflow are rarely monitored for ephemeral streams. Flashy, erosive streamflows common in ephemeral channels create a series of operational and maintenance problems, which makes it impractical to deploy a series of gaging stations along ephemeral channels. Streambed temperature is a robust and inexpensive parameter to monitor remotely, leading to the...
Authors
James E. Constantz, David A. Stonestrom, Amy E. Stewart, Richard G. Niswonger, Tyson R. Smith

Demonstration of significant abiotic iron isotope fractionation in nature Demonstration of significant abiotic iron isotope fractionation in nature

Field and laboratory studies reveal that the mineral ferrihydrite, formed as a result of abiotic oxidation of aqueous ferrous to ferric Fe, contains Fe that is isotopically heavy relative to coexisting aqueous Fe. Because the electron transfer step of the oxidation process at pH >5 is essentially irreversible and should favor the lighter Fe isotopes in the ferric iron product, this...
Authors
T.D. Bullen, A. F. White, C.W. Childs, D.V. Vivit, M.S. Schultz

pH dependence of iron photoreduction in a rocky mountain stream affected by acid mine drainage pH dependence of iron photoreduction in a rocky mountain stream affected by acid mine drainage

The redox speciation of dissolved iron and the transport of iron in acidic, metal‐enriched streams is controlled by precipitation and dissolution of iron hydroxides, by photoreduction of dissolved ferric iron and hydrous iron oxides, and by oxidation of the resulting dissolved ferrous iron. We examined the pH dependence of these processes in an acidic mine‐drainage stream, St Kevin Gulch...
Authors
Diane M. McKnight, B. A. Kimball, R.L. Runkel

Standard reference water samples for rare earth element determinations Standard reference water samples for rare earth element determinations

Standard reference water samples (SRWS) were collected from two mine sites, one near Ophir, CO, USA and the other near Redding, CA, USA. The samples were filtered, preserved, and analyzed for rare earth element (REE) concentrations (La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu) by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). These two samples were acid mine waters...
Authors
P. L. Verplanck, Ronald C. Antweiler, D. Kirk Nordstrom, Howard E. Taylor

Identification of methyl halide-utilizing genes in strain IMB-1, a methyl bromide-utilizing bacterium suggests a high degree of conservation of methyl halide-specific genes in gram-negative bacteria Identification of methyl halide-utilizing genes in strain IMB-1, a methyl bromide-utilizing bacterium suggests a high degree of conservation of methyl halide-specific genes in gram-negative bacteria

Strain IMB-1, an aerobic methylotrophic member of the alpha subgroup of the Proteobacteria, can grow with methyl bromide as a sole carbon and energy source. A single cmu gene cluster was identified in IMB-1 that contained six open reading frames: cmuC, cmuA, orf146, paaE, hutI, and partial metF. CmuA from IMB-1 has high sequence homology to the methyltransferase CmuA from...
Authors
C.A. Woodall, K.L. Warner, R.S. Oremland, J.C. Murrell, I.R. McDonald

Pesticides associated with suspended sediments entering San Francisco Bay following the first major storm of water year 1996 Pesticides associated with suspended sediments entering San Francisco Bay following the first major storm of water year 1996

Estuaries receive large quantities of suspended sediments following the first major storm of the water year. The first-flush events transport the majority of suspended sediments in any given year, and because of their relative freshness in the hydrologic system, these sediments may carry a significant amount of the sediment-associated pesticide load transported into estuaries. To...
Authors
Brian A. Bergamaschi, Kathryn Kuivila, Miranda S. Fram
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