Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
GeoHEALTH-USGS Newsletter
GeoHEALTH-USGS Newsletter
The GeoHEALTH–USGS Newsletter—published since 2004—provides information on USGS science activities pertinent to safeguarding the health of fish, wildlife, domesticated animals, and people from environmental exposures to contaminants and pathogens.
Featured Science Activities
Featured Science Activities
Lean about our Featured Science Activities through our pages that highlight science studies, publications, and results.
Filter Total Items: 3785
Data on selected herbicides and two triazine metabolites in precipitation of the Midwestern and Northeastern United States, 1990-91 Data on selected herbicides and two triazine metabolites in precipitation of the Midwestern and Northeastern United States, 1990-91
Weekly precipitation (rain and snow) samples were collected from 81 National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network sites in the Midwestern and Northeastern United States for the analysis of herbicides. In addition, five high- elevation background sites along the Rocky Mountains and in Alaska were sampled to provide data on herbicides in precipitation at sites far from...
Authors
D. A. Goolsby, E.A. Scribner, E.M. Thurman, M.L. Pomes, M. T. Meyer
Concentration and transport data for dissolved inorganic constituents in water collected during seven cruises on the Mississippi River and some of its tributaries, July 1987-June 1990 Concentration and transport data for dissolved inorganic constituents in water collected during seven cruises on the Mississippi River and some of its tributaries, July 1987-June 1990
No abstract available.
Authors
T.I. Brinton, J.R. Barbarino, D.B. Peartt, Howard E. Taylor, Ronald C. Antweiler
Hydrogeology and water quality at the management systems evaluation area near Piketon, Ohio Hydrogeology and water quality at the management systems evaluation area near Piketon, Ohio
This report presents the results of a study by the U.S. Geological Survey, The Ohio State University, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to describe the hydrology, water quality, and geochemical factors controlling water quality at the Ohio Management Systems Evaluation Area (MSEA). The Ohio MSEA is located on a 650-acre farm in the Scioto River Valley in Pike County, south-central...
Authors
Martha L. Jagucki, Christopher D. Finton, Abraham E. Springer, E. Scott Bair
Studies of the San Francisco Bay, California, estuarine ecosystem: Pilot regional monitoring program results, 1994 Studies of the San Francisco Bay, California, estuarine ecosystem: Pilot regional monitoring program results, 1994
No abstract available.
Authors
Jody L. Edmunds, B.E. Cole, J. E. Cloern, J.M. Caffrey, A.D. Jassby
Documentation of AIR3D, an adaptation of the ground-water-flow code MODFLOW to simulate three-dimensional air flow in the unsaturated zone Documentation of AIR3D, an adaptation of the ground-water-flow code MODFLOW to simulate three-dimensional air flow in the unsaturated zone
No abstract available.
Authors
C.J. Joss, A. L. Baehr
Interpretation of prematurely terminated air-pressurized slug tests Interpretation of prematurely terminated air-pressurized slug tests
An air-pressurized slug test consists of applying a constant pressure to the column of air in a well, monitoring the declining water level, and then releasing the air pressure and monitoring the recovering water level. Such tests offer a means of estimating formation transmissivity and storativity without extensive downhole equipment and the associated safety risks. This paper analyzes...
Authors
Allen M. Shapiro, Earl A. Greene
How wet is wet? Precipitation constraints on late Quaternary climate in the southern Arabian Peninsula How wet is wet? Precipitation constraints on late Quaternary climate in the southern Arabian Peninsula
It is generally recognized that the southern Arabian Peninsula has had two wet periods in the late Quaternary. To quantify ‘wet’ a 28 000 year old capillary surface associated with a paleowater-table was mapped and used as a surrogate for the water table in a ground-water model. Analysis of this model suggests 1.4 mm year−1 of recharge is necessary to support the water table at the...
Authors
W.W. Wood, Jeffrey L. Imes
Pb2+ and Zn2+ adsorption by a natural aluminum- and iron-bearing surface coating on an aquifer sand Pb2+ and Zn2+ adsorption by a natural aluminum- and iron-bearing surface coating on an aquifer sand
Pb2+ and Zn2+ adsorption was studied in batch experiments with material collected from a shallow, unconfined aquifer of glacial outwash sand and gravel in Falmouth, Massachusetts, USA. The aquifer solids contain primarily quartz (95% w/w), with minor amounts of alkali feldspars and ferromagnetic minerals. Pb2+ and Zn2+ adsorption experiments with various grain size and mineral fractions...
Authors
J.A. Coston, C. C. Fuller, J.A. Davis
User's guide to PHREEQC, a computer program for speciation, reaction-path, advective-transport, and inverse geochemical calculations User's guide to PHREEQC, a computer program for speciation, reaction-path, advective-transport, and inverse geochemical calculations
PHREEQC is a computer program written in the C programming language that is designed to perform a wide variety of aqueous geochemical calculations. PHREEQC is based on an ion-association aqueous model and has capabilities for (1) speciation and saturation-index calculations, (2) reaction-path and advective-transport calculations involving specified irreversible reactions, mixing of...
Authors
D.L. Parkhurst
Determination of water retention in stratified porous materials Determination of water retention in stratified porous materials
Predicted and measured water-retention values,θ(ψ), were compared for repacked, stratified core samples consisting of either a sand with a stone-bearing layer or a sand with a clay loam layer in various spatial orientations. Stratified core samples were packed in submersible pressure outflow cells, then water-retention measurements were performed between matric potentials,ψ, of 0 to -100...
Authors
J. Constantz
Year-to-year fluctuation of the spring phytoplankton bloom in south San Francisco Bay: An example of ecological variability at the land-sea interface Year-to-year fluctuation of the spring phytoplankton bloom in south San Francisco Bay: An example of ecological variability at the land-sea interface
Estuaries are transitional ecosystems at the interface of the terrestrial and marine realms. Their unique physiographic position gives rise to large spatial variability, and to dynamic temporal variability resulting, in part, from a variety of forces and fluxes at the oceanic and terrestrial boundaries. River flow, in particular, is an important mechanism for delivering watershed-derived...
Authors
James E. Cloern, Alan D. Jassby
Fluxes of water and solute in a coastal wetland sediment. 2. Effect of macropores on solute exchange with surface water Fluxes of water and solute in a coastal wetland sediment. 2. Effect of macropores on solute exchange with surface water
Chloride was highly concentrated relative to seawater in matrix porewater but was comparatively dilute in macropores. Concentration differences in pore-size classes declined with depth until indistinguishable below 10 cm. The segregated chloride distribution can be explained if recharge to the sediment occurred by downward infiltration in macropores and discharge occurred by an upward...
Authors
J. W. Harvey, W.K. Nuttle