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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

Practical considerations for measuring hydrogen concentrations in groundwater Practical considerations for measuring hydrogen concentrations in groundwater

Several practical considerations for measuring concentrations of dissolved molecular hydrogen (H2) in groundwater including 1 sampling methods 2 pumping methods and (3) effects of well casing materials were evaluated. Three different sampling methodologies (a downhole sampler, a gas- stripping method, and a diffusion sampler) were compared. The downhole sampler and gas-stripping methods...
Authors
F. H. Chapelle, D.A. Vroblesky, J.C. Woodward, Derek R. Lovley

Physiological considerations in applying laboratory-determined buoyant densities to predictions of bacterial and protozoan transport in groundwater: Results of in-situ and laboratory tests Physiological considerations in applying laboratory-determined buoyant densities to predictions of bacterial and protozoan transport in groundwater: Results of in-situ and laboratory tests

Buoyant densities were determined for groundwater bacteria and microflagellates (protozoa) from a sandy aquifer (Cape Cod, MA) using two methods:  (1) density-gradient centrifugation (DGC) and (2) Stoke's law approximations using sedimentation rates observed during natural-gradient injection and recovery tests. The dwarf (average cell size, 0.3 μm), unattached bacteria inhabiting a...
Authors
R.W. Harvey, D.W. Metge, N. Kinner, N. Mayberry

Modeling structural influences on soil water retention Modeling structural influences on soil water retention

A new model quantities the effect of soil structure, considered as the arrangement of particles in the soil, on soil water retention. The model partitions the pore space into texture-related and structure-related components, the textural component being what can be deduced to exist if the arrangement of the particles were random, and the structural component being the remainder. An...
Authors
J. R. Nimmo

Bacterial oxidation of methyl bromide in fumigated agricultural soils Bacterial oxidation of methyl bromide in fumigated agricultural soils

The oxidation of [14C]methyl bromide ([14C]MeBr) to 14CO2 was measured in field experiments with soils collected from two strawberry plots fumigated with mixtures of MeBr and chloropicrin (CCl3NO2). Although these fumigants are considered potent biocides, we found that the highest rates of MeBr oxidation occurred 1 to 2 days after injection when the fields were tarped, rather than before...
Authors
L.G. Miller, T.L. Connell, J.R. Guidetti, R.S. Oremland

Borehole sampling of fracture populations - compensating for borehole sampling bias in crystalline bedrock aquifers, Mirror Lake, Grafton County, New Hampshire Borehole sampling of fracture populations - compensating for borehole sampling bias in crystalline bedrock aquifers, Mirror Lake, Grafton County, New Hampshire

The clustering of orientations of hydraulically conductive fractures in bedrock at the Mirror Lake, New Hampshire fractured rock study site was investigated by comparing the orientations of fracture populations in two subvertical borehole arrays with those mapped on four adjacent subvertical roadcuts. In the boreholes and the roadcuts, the orientation of fracture populations appears very...
Authors
G.D. McDonald, Frederick L. Paillet, C.C. Barton, C. D. Johnson

Use of chemical and isotopic tracers to characterize the interactions between ground water and surface water in mantled karst Use of chemical and isotopic tracers to characterize the interactions between ground water and surface water in mantled karst

In the mantled karst terrane of northern Florida, the water quality of the Upper Floridan aquifer is influenced by the degree of connectivity between the aquifer and the surface. Chemical and isotopic analyses [18O/16O (δ18O), 2H/1H (δD), 13C/12C (δ13C), tritium (3H), and strontium‐87/strontium‐86 (87Sr/86Sr)] along with geochemical mass‐balance modeling were used to identify the...
Authors
B. G. Katz, T.B. Coplen, T.D. Bullen, J. Hal Davis

Transport and recovery of bacteriophage PRD1 in a sand and gravel aquifer: Effect of sewage-derived organic matter Transport and recovery of bacteriophage PRD1 in a sand and gravel aquifer: Effect of sewage-derived organic matter

To test the effects of sewage-derived organic matter on virus attachment, 32P-labeled bacteriophage PRD1, linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS), and tracers were injected into sewage-contaminated (suboxic, elevated organic matter) and uncontaminated (oxic, low organic matter) zones of an iron oxide-coated quartz sand and gravel aquifer on Cape Cod, MA. In the uncontaminated zone, 83% of...
Authors
A.P. Pieper, J. N. Ryan, Ronald W. Harvey, G.L. Amy, T.H. Illangasekare, D.W. Metge

The design of sampling transects for characterizing water quality in estuaries The design of sampling transects for characterizing water quality in estuaries

The high spatial variability of estuaries poses a challenge for characterizing estuarine water quality. This problem was examined by conducting monthly high-resolution transects for several water quality variables (chlorophyll a, suspended particulate matter and salinity) in San Francisco Bay (California, U.S.A.). Using these data, six different ways of choosing station locations along a...
Authors
A.D. Jassby, B.E. Cole, J. E. Cloern
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