Publications

The prevalence of organic wastewater compounds in surface waters of the United States has been reported in a number of recent studies. In karstic areas, surface contaminants might be transported to groundwater and, ultimately, cave ecosystems, where they might impact resident biota. In this study, polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCISs) and semipermeable membrane devices...

We tested three models of mixing between old interbasin groundwater flow (IGF) and young, locally derived groundwater in a lowland rain forest in Costa Rica using a large suite of environmental tracers. We focus on the young fraction of water using the transient tracers CFC‐11, CFC‐12, CFC‐113, SF6, 3H, and bomb 14C. We measured 3He, but 3H/3He dating is generally problematic due to the...

This study assessed the efficacy for removing Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts of poorly sorted, Fe- and Al-rich, subsurface sediments collected from 0.9 to 4.9 and 1.7–13.9 m below land surface at an operating riverbank filtration (RBF) site (Russian River, Sonoma County, CA). Both formaldehyde-killed oocysts and oocyst-sized (3 μm) microspheres were employed in sediment-packed flow...

Bioaccumulation rates of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) for the marine polychaete Neanthes arenaceodentata were characterized, including PCB uptake rates from water and sediment, and the effect of sorbent amendment to the sediment on PCB bioavailability, organism growth, and lipid content. Physiological parameters were incorporated into a biodynamic model to predict contaminant uptake...

Organic intermediates in coal fluids produced by anaerobic biodegradation of geopolymers in coal play a key role in the production of methane in natural gas reservoirs. Laboratory biodegradation experiments on sub-bituminous coal from Texas, USA, were conducted using bioreactors to examine the organic intermediates relevant to methane production. Production of methane in the bioreactors...

Terrestrial plants are powerful climate sentinels because their annual cycles of growth, reproduction and senescence are finely tuned to the annual climate cycle having a period of one year. Consistency in the seasonal phasing of terrestrial plant activity provides a relatively low-noise background from which phenological shifts can be detected and attributed to climate change. Here, we...

Isolated wetlands in the Southeastern United States are dynamic habitats subject to fluctuating environmental conditions. Wetlands located near marine environments are subject to alterations in water chemistry due to storm surge during hurricanes. The objective of our study was to evaluate the effect of storm surge overwash on wetland amphibian communities. Thirty-two wetlands in...

Contaminant attenuation processes in the vadose zone of a crude oil spill site near Bemidji, MN have been simulated with a reactive transport model that includes multicomponent gas transport, solute transport, and the most relevant biogeochemical reactions. Dissolution and volatilization of oil components, their aerobic and anaerobic degradation coupled with sequential electron acceptor

A three-dimensional model of the aquifer system of the Eastern Shore of Virginia, USA was calibrated to reproduce historical water levels and forecast the potential for saltwater intrusion. Future scenarios were simulated with two pumping schemes to predict potential areas of saltwater intrusion. Simulations suggest that only a few wells would be threatened with detectable salinity...

How groundwater flow varies when long-term external conditions change is little documented. Geochemical evidence shows that sea-level rise at the end of the last glacial period led to a shift in the flow patterns of coastal groundwater beneath Florida.

This study evaluated the chemical fractionation of Cu and Zn from source to deposition in a stormwater system. Cu and Zn concentrations and chemical fractionation were determined for roadway dust, roadway runoff and pond sediments. Stormwater Cu and Zn concentrations were used to generate cumulative frequency distributions to characterize potential exposure to pond-dwelling organisms...

Environmental releases of antibiotics from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are of increasing regulatory concern. This study investigates the use and occurrence of antibiotics in dairy CAFOs and their potential transport into first-encountered groundwater. On two dairies we conducted four seasonal sampling campaigns, each across 13 animal production and waste management...