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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

Influence of gut content in immature aquatic insects on assessments of environmental metal contamination Influence of gut content in immature aquatic insects on assessments of environmental metal contamination

We evaluated the effect of metal associated with the gut content in immature aquatic insects (larvae and nymphs) on spatial and interspecific comparisons of whole-body metal concentrations. Four species, common to cobble-bottom rivers and streams, were collected along an established contamination gradient in the Clark Fork River, and from tributaries of the Clark Fork. Metal...
Authors
D.J. Cain, S. N. Luoma, E.V. Axtmann

Concentrations, transport and biological effects of dormant spray pesticides in the San Francisco Estuary, California Concentrations, transport and biological effects of dormant spray pesticides in the San Francisco Estuary, California

The transport and biological effects of dormant spray pesticides were examined in the San Francisco Estuary, California, by measuring dissolved- pesticide concentrations and estimating toxicity using bioassays at a series of sites in January and February 1993. Distinct pulses of pesticides, including diazinon, methidathion, and chlorpyrifos, were detected in the San Joaquin River in...
Authors
K.M. Kuivila, C.G. Foe

Pesticides in near-surface aquifers: An assessment using highly sensitive analytical methods and tritium Pesticides in near-surface aquifers: An assessment using highly sensitive analytical methods and tritium

In 1992, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) determined the distribution of pesticides in near-surface aquifers of the midwestern USA to be much more widespread than originally determined during a 1991 USGS study. The frequency of pesticide detection increased from 28.4% during the 1991 study to 59.0% during the 1992 study. This increase in pesticide detection was primarily the result of a...
Authors
D.W. Kolpin, D. A. Goolsby, E.M. Thurman

Strong-acid, carboxyl-group structures in fulvic acid from the Suwannee River, Georgia. 1. Minor structures Strong-acid, carboxyl-group structures in fulvic acid from the Suwannee River, Georgia. 1. Minor structures

An investigation of the strong-acid characteristics (pKa 3.0 or less) of fulvic acid from the Suwannee River, Georgia, was conducted. Quantitative determinations were made for amino acid and sulfur-containing acid structures, oxalate half-ester structures, malonic acid structures, keto acid structures, and aromatic carboxyl-group structures. These determinations were made by using a...
Authors
J.A. Leenheer, R.L. Wershaw, M.M. Reddy

Fate of microbial metabolites of hydrocarbons in a coastal plain aquifer: The role of electron acceptors Fate of microbial metabolites of hydrocarbons in a coastal plain aquifer: The role of electron acceptors

A combined field and laboratory study was undertaken to understand the distribution and geochemical conditions that influence the prevalence of low molecular weight organic acids in groundwater of a shallow aquifer contaminated with gasoline. Aromatic hydrocarbons from gasoline were degraded by microbially mediated oxidation-reduction reactions, including reduction of nitrate, sulfate...
Authors
I.M. Cozzarelli, J.S. Herman, M. Jo Baedecker

Strong-acid, carboxyl-group structures in fulvic acid from the Suwannee River, Georgia. 2. Major structures Strong-acid, carboxyl-group structures in fulvic acid from the Suwannee River, Georgia. 2. Major structures

Polycarboxylic acid structures that account for the strong-acid characteristics (pKa1 near 2.0) were examined for fulvic acid from the Suwannee River. Studies of model compounds demonstrated that pKa values near 2.0 occur only if the a-ether or a-ester groups were in cyclic structures with two to three additional electronegative functional groups (carboxyl, ester, ketone, aromatic groups...
Authors
J.A. Leenheer, R.L. Wershaw, M.M. Reddy

Partition of nonpolar organic pollutants from water to soil and sediment organic matters Partition of nonpolar organic pollutants from water to soil and sediment organic matters

The partition coefficients (Koc) of carbon tetrachloride and 1,2-dichlorobenzene between normal soil/sediment organic matter and water have been determined for a large set of soils, bed sediments, and suspended solids from the United States and the People's Republic of China. The Koc values for both solutes are quite invariant either for the soils or for the bed sediments; the values on...
Authors
Daniel E. Kile, C. T. Chiou, H. Zhou

Seasonal/yearly salinity variations in San Francisco Bay Seasonal/yearly salinity variations in San Francisco Bay

The ability of resource agencies to manage fish, wildlife and freshwater supplies of San Francisco Bay estuary requires an integrated knowledge of the relations between the biota and their physical environment. A key factor in these relations is the role of salinity in determining both the physical and the biological character of the estuary. The saltiness of the water, and particularly...
Authors
David H. Peterson, Daniel R. Cayan, Michael D. Dettinger, Jeanne Sandra DiLeo, Stephen E. Hager, Noah Knowles, Frederic H. Nichols, Laurence E. Schemel, Richard E. Smith, Reginald J. Uncles

Waste burial in arid environments - Application of Information from a field laboratory in the Mojave Desert, Southern Nevada Waste burial in arid environments - Application of Information from a field laboratory in the Mojave Desert, Southern Nevada

Because of the potentially harmful effect of improper waste disposal on water resources in the arid West, comprehensive laboratory and field studies are critical to identifying likely contaminant-release pathways and the potential for waste migration at arid sites. However, the quandary for those charged with assessment of the suitability of potential disposal sites is that site...
Authors
Brian J. Andraski, David E. Prudic, William D. Nichols

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

Seasonal-to-interannual fluctuations in surface temperature over the Pacific: effects of monthly winds and heat fluxes Seasonal-to-interannual fluctuations in surface temperature over the Pacific: effects of monthly winds and heat fluxes

Monthly heat fluxes and wind stresses are used to force the Oberhuber isopycnic ocean general-circulation (OPYC) model of the Pacific basin over a two-decade period from 1970 to 1988. The surface forcings are constructed from COADS marine observations via bulk formulae. Monthly anomalies of the fluxes and stresses are superimposed upon model climatological means of these variables, which...
Authors
Daniel R. Cayan, Arthur J. Miller, Tim P. Barnett, Nicholas E. Graham, Jack N. Ritchie, Josef M. Oberhuber
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