Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
Filter Total Items: 3784
Evaluating remediation alternatives for mine drainage, Little Cottonwood Creek, Utah, USA Evaluating remediation alternatives for mine drainage, Little Cottonwood Creek, Utah, USA
The vast occurrence of mine drainage worldwide, documented in descriptive studies, presents a staggering challenge for remediation. Any tool that can move beyond descriptive study and helps to evaluate options for remediation in a way that maximizes improvements to the water quality of streams and minimizes cost of remediation could save valuable resources and time. A reactive solute...
Authors
Briant A. Kimball, Robert L. Runkel
Effect of diet on fecal and urinary estrogenic activity Effect of diet on fecal and urinary estrogenic activity
The United States Environmental Protection Agency has identified estrogens from animal feeding operations as a major environmental concern, but few data are available to quantify the excretion of estrogenic compounds by dairy cattle. The objectives of this study were to quantify variation in estrogenic activity in feces and urine due to increased dietary inclusion of phytoestrogens. Ten...
Authors
H.A. Tucker, K.F. Knowlton, Michael T. Meyer, W.O Khunjar, N.G. Love
Modeling the production, decomposition, and transport of dissolved organic carbon in boreal soils Modeling the production, decomposition, and transport of dissolved organic carbon in boreal soils
The movement of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) through boreal ecosystems has drawn increased attention because of its potential impact on the feedback of OC stocks to global environmental change in this region. Few models of boreal DOC exist. Here we present a one-dimensional model with simultaneous production, decomposition, sorption/desorption, and transport of DOC to describe the...
Authors
Zhaosheng Fan, Jason C. Neff, Kimberly P. Wickland
Source identification of Florida Bay's methylmercury problem: Mainland runoff versus atmospheric deposition and in situ production Source identification of Florida Bay's methylmercury problem: Mainland runoff versus atmospheric deposition and in situ production
The first advisory to limit consumption of Florida Bay fish due to mercury was issued in 1995. Studies done by others in the late 1990s found elevated water column concentrations of both total Hg (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) in creeks discharging from the Everglades, which had its own recognized mercury problem. To investigate the significance of allochthonous MeHg discharging from the...
Authors
Darren G. Rumbold, David W. Evans, Sharon Niemczyk, Larry E. Fink, Krysten A. Laine, Nicole Howard, David P. Krabbenhoft, Mark Zucker
Assessment of soil-gas, surface-water, and soil contamination at the Installation Railhead, Fort Gordon, Georgia, 2008-2009 Assessment of soil-gas, surface-water, and soil contamination at the Installation Railhead, Fort Gordon, Georgia, 2008-2009
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of the Army Environmental and Natural Resources Management Office of the U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon, assessed soil gas, surface water, and soil for contaminants at the Installation Railhead (IR) at Fort Gordon, Georgia, from October 2008 to September 2009. The assessment included delineation of organic...
Authors
James Landmeyer, Larry G. Harrelson, W. Hagan Ratliff, John B. Wellborn
The transition of benthic nutrient sources after planned levee breaches adjacent to upper Klamath and Agency Lakes, Oregon The transition of benthic nutrient sources after planned levee breaches adjacent to upper Klamath and Agency Lakes, Oregon
Four sampling trips were coordinated after planned levee breaches that hydrologically reconnected both Upper Klamath Lake and Agency Lake, Oregon, to adjacent wetlands. Sets of nonmetallic pore-water profilers were deployed during these trips in November 2007, June 2008, May 2009, and July 2009. Deployments temporally spanned the annual cyanophyte bloom of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA)...
Authors
James S. Kuwabara, Brent R. Topping, James L. Carter, Francis Parchaso, Jason M. Cameron, Jessica R. Asbill, Steven V. Fend, John H. Duff, Anita C. Engelstad
Fate of estrogenic compounds during municipal sludge stabilization and dewatering Fate of estrogenic compounds during municipal sludge stabilization and dewatering
This project brought together a team of experts in the fields of environmental engineering, analytical chemistry and hydrogeology, and biological assay analysis to evaluate the occurrence and fate of estrogenic compounds and the estrogenicity of biosolids derived from wastewater treatment. The primary objective of the study was to provide key baseline information concerning the...
Authors
Edward T. Furlong, James L. Gray, David M. Quanrud, S.E. Teske, K.J. Esposito, Jeremy Marine, Wendell P. Ela, Patrick J. Phillips, Dana W. Kolpin, B. Stinson
Biogeochemistry: NO connection with methane Biogeochemistry: NO connection with methane
No abstract available.
Authors
Ronald S. Oremland
Biogeochemical redox processes and their impact on contaminant dynamics Biogeochemical redox processes and their impact on contaminant dynamics
Life and element cycling on Earth is directly related to electron transfer (or redox) reactions. An understanding of biogeochemical redox processes is crucial for predicting and protecting environmental health and can provide new opportunities for engineered remediation strategies. Energy can be released and stored by means of redox reactions via the oxidation of labile organic carbon or...
Authors
Thomas Borch, Ruben Kretzschmar, Andreas Kappler, Philippe Van Cappellen, Matthew Ginder-Vogel, Kate M. Campbell
Changes in the chemistry of shallow groundwater related to the 2008 injection of CO2 at the ZERT field site, Bozeman, Montana Changes in the chemistry of shallow groundwater related to the 2008 injection of CO2 at the ZERT field site, Bozeman, Montana
Approximately 300 kg/day of food-grade CO2 was injected through a perforated pipe placed horizontally 2–2.3 m deep during July 9–August 7, 2008 at the MSU-ZERT field test to evaluate atmospheric and near-surface monitoring and detection techniques applicable to the subsurface storage and potential leakage of CO2. As part of this multidisciplinary research project, 80 samples of water...
Authors
Yousif K. Kharaka, James J. Thordsen, Evangelos Kakouros, Gil Ambats, William N. Herkelrath, Sarah R. Beers, J.T. Birkholzer, J. A. Apps, Nicholas F. Spycher, Liange Zheng, Robert C. Trautz, Henry W. Rauch, K.S. Gullickson
Patterns and scales of phytoplankton variability in estuarine: Coastal ecosystems Patterns and scales of phytoplankton variability in estuarine: Coastal ecosystems
Phytoplankton variability is a primary driver of chemical and biological dynamics in the coastal zone because it directly affects water quality, biogeochemical cycling of reactive elements, and food supply to consumer organisms. Much has been learned about patterns of phytoplankton variability within individual ecosystems, but patterns have not been compared across the diversity of...
Authors
James E. Cloern, Alan D. Jassby
Representing pump-capacity relations in groundwater simulation models Representing pump-capacity relations in groundwater simulation models
The yield (or discharge) of constant-speed pumps varies with the total dynamic head (or lift) against which the pump is discharging. The variation in yield over the operating range of the pump may be substantial. In groundwater simulations that are used for management evaluations or other purposes, where predictive accuracy depends on the reliability of future discharge estimates, model
Authors
Leonard F. Konikow