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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

Similar rates of decrease of persistent, hydrophobic and particle-reactive contaminants in riverine systems Similar rates of decrease of persistent, hydrophobic and particle-reactive contaminants in riverine systems

Although it is well-known that concentrations of anthropogenic radionuclides and organochlorine compounds in aquatic systems have decreased since their widespread release has stopped in the United States, the magnitude and variability of rates of decrease are not well-known. Paleolimnological studies of reservoirs provide a tool for evaluating these long-term trends in riverine systems...
Authors
Peter C. Van Metre, Jennifer T. Wilson, Edward Callender, Christopher C. Fuller

Estimating formation properties from early-time recovery in wells subject to turbulent head losses Estimating formation properties from early-time recovery in wells subject to turbulent head losses

A mathematical model is developed to interpret the early-time recovering water level following the termination of pumping in wells subject to turbulent head losses. The model assumes that turbulent head losses dissipate immediately when pumping ends. In wells subject to both borehole storage and turbulent head losses, the early-time recovery exhibits a slope equal to 1/2 on log-log plots...
Authors
A.M. Shapiro, D.S. Oki, E.A. Greene

A comparison of zero-order, first-order, and monod biotransformation models A comparison of zero-order, first-order, and monod biotransformation models

Under some conditions, a first-order kinetic model is a poor representation of biodegradation in contaminated aquifers. Although it is well known that the assumption of first-order kinetics is valid only when substrate concentration, S, is much less than the half-saturation constant, K(s), this assumption is often made without verification of this condition. We present a formal error...
Authors
B.A. Bekins, E. Warren, E.M. Godsy

Considerations in As analysis and speciation Considerations in As analysis and speciation

This article summarizes recent experiences in arsenic (As) quantification, preservation, and speciation developed during AWWA Research Foundation (AWWARF) and Water Industry Technical Action Fund (WITAF) projects. The goal of this article is to alert analysts and decision-makers to potential problems in As analysis and speciation, because there appear to be several unresolved problems...
Authors
M. Edwards, S. Patel, L. McNeil, H.W. Chen, M. Frey, A.D. Eaton, Ronald C. Antweiler, Howard E. Taylor

Selecting remediation goals by assessing the natural attenuation capacity of groundwater systems Selecting remediation goals by assessing the natural attenuation capacity of groundwater systems

Remediation goals for the source areas of a chlorinated ethene‐contaminated groundwater plume were identified by assessing the natural attenuation capacity of the aquifer system. The redox chemistry of the site indicates that sulfate‐reducing (H2 ∼ 2 nanomoles [nM]) per liter conditions near the contaminant source grade to Fe(III)‐reducing conditions (H2 ∼ 0.5 nM) downgradient of the...
Authors
Francis H. Chapelle, Paul M. Bradley

Humic substances as a mediator for microbially catalyzed metal reduction Humic substances as a mediator for microbially catalyzed metal reduction

The potential for humic substances to serve as a terminal electron acceptor in microbial respiration and to function as an electron shuttle between Fe(III)‐reducing microorganisms and insoluble Fe(III) oxides was investigated. The Fe(III)‐reducing microorganism Geobacter metallireducens conserved energy to support growth from electron transport to humics as evidenced by continued...
Authors
Derek R. Lovley, J.L. Fraga, E. L. Blunt-Harris, L.A. Hayes, Elizabeth J.P. Phillips, J.D. Coates

Biodegradation of crude oil into nonvolatile organic acids in a contaminated aquifer near Bemidji, Minnesota Biodegradation of crude oil into nonvolatile organic acids in a contaminated aquifer near Bemidji, Minnesota

As the result of a pipeline burst, a body of light aliphatic crude oil floats atop the groundwater in a shallow sand and gravel aquifer in a remote area outside Bemidji, Minnesota. Biodegradation has resulted in the formation of a plume of DOC downgradient from the oil body. Groundwater has also been contaminated in an area known as the spray zone, from vertical infiltration of DOC...
Authors
K. A. Thorn, G. R. Aiken

The hyporheic zone as a source of dissolved organic carbon and carbon gases to a temperate forested stream The hyporheic zone as a source of dissolved organic carbon and carbon gases to a temperate forested stream

The objective of this study was to examine chemical changes in porewaters that occur over small scales (cm) as groundwater flows through the hyporheic zone and discharges to a stream in a temperate forest of northern Wisconsin. Hyporheic-zone porewaters were sampled at discrete depths of 2, 10, 15, 61, and 183 cm at three study sites in the study basin. Chemical profiles of dissolved...
Authors
J.E. Schindler, D. P. Krabbenhoft

Size-selective predation on groundwater bacteria by nanoflagellates in an organic-contaminated aquifer Size-selective predation on groundwater bacteria by nanoflagellates in an organic-contaminated aquifer

Time series incubations were conducted to provide estimates for the size selectivities and rates of protistan grazing that may be occurring in a sandy, contaminated aquifer. The experiments involved four size classes of fluorescently labeled groundwater bacteria (FLB) and 2- to 3-μm-long nanoflagellates, primarily Spumella guttula(Ehrenberg) Kent, that were isolated from contaminated...
Authors
N.E. Kinner, R.W. Harvey, K. Blakeslee, G. Novarino, L.D. Meeker
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