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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

The reversibility of virus attachment to mineral surfaces The reversibility of virus attachment to mineral surfaces

Virus transport through groundwater is limited by attachment to mineral surfaces and inactivation. Current virus transport models do not consider the implications of the reversibility of virus attachment to minerals. To explore the reversibility of virus attachment to mineral surfaces, we attached PRD1, a bacteriophage considered to be a good model of enteric viruses, to quartz and...
Authors
J.P. Loveland, J. N. Ryan, G.L. Amy, R.W. Harvey

Hydrogeology of the Hawaii Scientific Drilling Project borehole KP-1 2. Groundwater geochemistry and regional flow patterns Hydrogeology of the Hawaii Scientific Drilling Project borehole KP-1 2. Groundwater geochemistry and regional flow patterns

A series of downhole and surface water samples were taken from the 1‐km‐deep KP‐1 borehole located on the eastern flank of the island of Hawaii. Early samples from depths of more than 700 m showed salinities nearly equivalent to seawater but having anomalous cation concentrations that are attributed to ion exchange between formation fluids and residual drilling mud clays. Later deep...
Authors
D. M. Thomas, Frederick L. Paillet, M.E. Conrad

Geochemistry of aquatic humic substances in the Lake Fryxell basin, Antarctica Geochemistry of aquatic humic substances in the Lake Fryxell basin, Antarctica

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in Lake Fryxell, 10 streams flowing into the lake, and the moat surrounding the lake was studied to determine the influence of sources and biogeochemical processes on its distribution and chemical nature. Lake Fryxell is an amictic, permanently ice-covered lake in the McMurdo Dry Valleys which contains benthic and planktonic microbial populations, but...
Authors
G. Aiken, D. McKnight, R. Harnish, R. Wershaw

Reduction of aqueous transition metal species on the surfaces of Fe(II)-containing oxides Reduction of aqueous transition metal species on the surfaces of Fe(II)-containing oxides

Experimental studies demonstrate that structural Fe(II) in magnetite and ilmenite heterogeneously reduce aqueous ferric, cupric, vanadate, and chromate ions at the oxide surfaces over a pH range of 1–7 at 25°C. For an aqueous transition metal m, such reactions are3[Fe2+Fe23+]O4(magnetite)+2/nmz→4[Fe23+]O3(magnetite)+Fe2++2/nmz−n and3[Fe2+Ti]O3(ilmenite)+2/nmz→Fe23+Ti3O9(pseudorutile)+Fe2...
Authors
A. F. White, M. L. Peterson

Two-dimensional advective transport in ground-water flow parameter estimation Two-dimensional advective transport in ground-water flow parameter estimation

Nonlinear regression is useful in ground-water flow parameter estimation, but problems of parameter insensitivity and correlation often exist given commonly available hydraulic-head and head-dependent flow (for example, stream and lake gain or loss) observations. To address this problem, advective-transport observations are added to the ground-water flow, parameter-estimation model...
Authors
E.R. Anderman, M. C. Hill, E. P. Poeter

Kinetic determinations of trace element bioaccumulation in the mussel Mytilus edulis Kinetic determinations of trace element bioaccumulation in the mussel Mytilus edulis

Laboratory experiments employing radiotracer methodology were conducted to determine the assimilation efficiencies from ingested natural seston, the influx rates from the dissolved phase and the efflux rates of 6 trace elements (Ag, Am, Cd, Co, Se and Zn) in the mussel Mytilus edulis. A kinetic model was then employed to predict trace element concentration in mussel tissues in 2...
Authors
W.-X. Wang, N.S. Fisher, S. N. Luoma

Nitrate reduction in sediments of lowland tropical streams draining swamp forest in Costa Rica: An ecosystem perspective Nitrate reduction in sediments of lowland tropical streams draining swamp forest in Costa Rica: An ecosystem perspective

Nitrate reduction and denitrification were measured in swamp forest streams draining lowland rain forest on Costa Rica's Atlantic slope foothills using the C2H2-block assay and sediment-water nutrient fluxes. Denitrification assays using the C2H2-block technique indicated that the full suite of denitrifying enzymes were present in the sediment but that only a small fraction of the...
Authors
J.H. Duff, C. M. Pringle, F.J. Triska

Removal of selenium from contaminated agricultural drainage water by nanofiltration membranes Removal of selenium from contaminated agricultural drainage water by nanofiltration membranes

Seleniferous agricultural drainage wastewater has become a new major source of pollution in the world. In the USA, large areas of farmland in 17 western states, generate contaminated salinized drainage with Se concentrations much higher than 5 ??g/l, the US Environmental Protection Agency water-quality criterion for the protection of aquatic life; Se values locally reach 4200 ??g/l in...
Authors
Y.K. Kharaka, G. Ambats, T. S. Presser, R. A. Davis

Deformation-induced changes in hydraulic head during ground-water withdrawal Deformation-induced changes in hydraulic head during ground-water withdrawal

Ground-water withdrawal from a confined or semiconfined aquifer causes three-dimensional deformation in the pumped aquifer and in adjacent layers (overlying and underlying aquifers and aquitards). In response to the deformation, hydraulic head in the adjacent layers could rise or fall almost immediately after the start of pumping. This deformation-induced effect suggest that an adjacent...
Authors
Paul A. Hsieh

Chloride mass-balance method for estimating ground water recharge in arid areas: Examples from western Saudi Arabia Chloride mass-balance method for estimating ground water recharge in arid areas: Examples from western Saudi Arabia

The chloride mass-balance method, which integrates time and aerial distribution of ground water recharge, was applied to small alluvial aquifers in the wadi systems of the Asir and Hijaz mountains in western Saudi Arabia. This application is an extension of the method shown to be suitable for estimating recharge in regional aquifers in semi-arid areas. Because the method integrates...
Authors
A.S. Bazuhair, W.W. Wood

The use of streambed temperature profiles to estimate the depth, duration, and rate of percolation beneath arroyos The use of streambed temperature profiles to estimate the depth, duration, and rate of percolation beneath arroyos

Temporal variations in a streambed temperature profile between 30 and 300 cm beneath Tijeras Arroyo, New Mexico, were analyzed at 30-min intervals for 1990 to estimate the depth, duration, and rate of percolation during streamflows. The depth of percolation was clearly documented by the rapid response of the streambed temperature profile to streamflows. Results indicate that the...
Authors
James Constantz, Carole L. Thomas

The combined use of 87Sr/86Sr and carbon and water isotopes to study the hydrochemical interaction between groundwater and lakewater in mantled karst The combined use of 87Sr/86Sr and carbon and water isotopes to study the hydrochemical interaction between groundwater and lakewater in mantled karst

The hydrochemical interaction between groundwater and lakewater influences the composition of water that percolates downward from the surficial aquifer system through the underlying intermediate confining unit and recharges the Upper Floridan aquifer along highlands in Florida. The 87Sr/86Sr ratio along with the stable isotopes, D, 18O, and 13C were used as tracers to study the...
Authors
B. G. Katz, T.D. Bullen
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