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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

Changes in soil hydraulic properties caused by construction of a simulated waste trench at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho Changes in soil hydraulic properties caused by construction of a simulated waste trench at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho

In order to assess the effect of filled waste disposal trenches on transport-governing soil properties, comparisons were made between profiles of undisturbed soil and disturbed soil in a simulated waste trench. The changes in soil properties induced by the construction of a simulated waste trench were measured near the Radioactive Waste Management Complex at the Idaho National...
Authors
S. M. Shakofsky

Growth of strain SES-3 with arsenate and other diverse electron acceptors Growth of strain SES-3 with arsenate and other diverse electron acceptors

The selenate-respiring bacterial strain SES-3 was able to use a variety of inorganic electron acceptors to sustain growth. SES-3 grew with the reduction of arsenate to arsenite, Fe(III) to Fe(II), or thiosulfate to sulfide. It also grew in medium in which elemental sulfur, Mn(IV), nitrite, trimethylamine N-oxide, or fumarate was provided as an electron acceptor. Growth on oxygen was
Authors
A.M. Laverman, J.S. Blum, J.K. Schaefer, Elizabeth J.P. Phillips, Derek R. Lovley, R.S. Oremland

Fluxes of water and solute in a coastal wetland sediment. l. The contribution of regional groundwater discharge Fluxes of water and solute in a coastal wetland sediment. l. The contribution of regional groundwater discharge

Upward discharge of fresh groundwater into a mid-Atlantic intertidal wetland contributed 62% of the water needed to replace evapotranspiration losses from the sediment during an 11 day period in September. Infiltration during flooding by tides provided most of the balance; thus there was a net advection of salt into the sediment. The amount of groundwater discharge was estimated from...
Authors
William K. Nuttle, Judson W. Harvey

Molecular and isotopic tracers used to examine sources of organic matter and its incorporation into the food webs of San Francisco Bay Molecular and isotopic tracers used to examine sources of organic matter and its incorporation into the food webs of San Francisco Bay

Multiple indicators (Chl a, C : N ratios, [δ13C]POC, and two classes of lipid biomarker compounds- sterols and phospholipid ester-linked fatty acids) were used to evaluate spatial and temporal variations in the origin of particulate organic matter (POM) in the San Francisco Bay (SFB) estuary. Comparisons were made between the northern and southern subestuaries of SFB, as well as along...
Authors
Elizabeth A. Canuel, James E. Cloern, David B. Ringelberg, James B. Guckert, Greg H. Rau

A computer model of long-term salinity in San Francisco Bay: Sensitivity to mixing and inflows A computer model of long-term salinity in San Francisco Bay: Sensitivity to mixing and inflows

A two-level model of the residual circulation and tidally-averaged salinity in San Francisco Bay has been developed in order to interpret long-term (days to decades) salinity variability in the Bay. Applications of the model to biogeochemical studies are also envisaged. The model has been used to simulate daily-averaged salinity in the upper and lower levels of a 51-segment...
Authors
R.J. Uncles, D. H. Peterson

Mercury cycling in the Allequash Creek watershed, northern Wisconsin Mercury cycling in the Allequash Creek watershed, northern Wisconsin

Although there have been recent significant gains in our understanding of mercury (Hg) cycling in aquatic environments, few studies have addressed Hg cycling on a watershed scale in particular, attention to Hg species transfer between watershed components (upland soils, groundwater, wetlands, streams, and lakes) has been lacking. This study describes spatial and temporal distributions of...
Authors
D. P. Krabbenhoft, J.M. Benoit, Christopher L. Babiarz, J.P. Hurley, A.W. Andren

Sewage contamination in the upper Mississippi River as measured by the fecal sterol, coprostanol Sewage contamination in the upper Mississippi River as measured by the fecal sterol, coprostanol

The molecular sewage indicator, coprostanol, was measured in bed sediments of the Mississippi River for the purpose of determining sewage contamination. Coprostanol is a non-ionic, non-polar, organic molecule that associates with sediments in surface waters, and concentrations of coprostanol in bed sediments provide an indication of long-term sewage loads. Because coprostanol...
Authors
J.H. Writer, J.A. Leenheer, L. B. Barber, G.L. Amy, S.C. Chapra

The structural and geochemical evolution of the continental crust: Support for the oceanic plateau model of continental growth The structural and geochemical evolution of the continental crust: Support for the oceanic plateau model of continental growth

The problem of the origin of the continental crust can be resolved into two fundamental questions: (1) the location and mechanisms of initial mantle extraction of the primitive crust and (2) the processes by which this primitive crust is converted into the continental crust that presently exists. We know that Archean continental crust is compositionally distinct from younger continental...
Authors
D. Abbott, Walter D. Mooney

Preliminary results from the hydrodynamic element of the 1994 entrapment zone study Preliminary results from the hydrodynamic element of the 1994 entrapment zone study

This article discusses preliminary results from analyses of USGS hydrodynamic data collected as part of the 1994 Interagency Ecological Program entrapment zone study. The USGS took part in three 30-hour cruises and deployed instruments for measuring currents and salinity from April to June. This article primarily focuses on the analysis of data from five Acoustic Doppler Current ProUers...
Authors
J.R. Burau, M. Stacey, J. W. Gartner

Diagnostic modeling of trace metal partitioning in south San Francisco Bay Diagnostic modeling of trace metal partitioning in south San Francisco Bay

The two-dimensional numerical model ELAmet was used to investigate the effect of adsorption kinetics on the apparent distribution coefficients of Cu, Cd, and Zn in south San Francisco Bay, California. The numerical experiments were designed to determine whether adsorption kinetics can control the basin-scale variability of the observed partitioning and to define the conditions under...
Authors
T. W. Wood, A. M. Baptista, J.S. Kuwabara, A.R. Flegal
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