Publications

Silent Spring was fulfilled in the United States with passage of environmental legislation such as the Clean Water Act, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, and the Toxic Substance Control Act in the 1970s. Carson's writings, television interviews, and testimony before Congress alerted a nation and the world to the unintended effects of persistent, bioaccumulative...

The Big River (BGR) drains much of the Old Lead Belt mining district (OLB) in southeastern Missouri, USA, which was historically among the largest producers of lead–zinc (Pb–Zn) ore in the world. We sampled benthic fish and crayfish in riffle habitats at eight sites in the BGR and conducted 56-day in situ exposures to the woodland crayfish (Orconectes hylas) and golden crayfish...

We assessed the quality of plant communities across a range of lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) soil concentrations at a variety of sites associated with Pb mining in southeast Missouri, USA. In a novel application, two standard floristic quality measures, Mean Coefficient of Conservatism (Mean C) and Floristic Quality Index (FQI), were examined in relation to concentrations of Pb and Zn, soil...

We applied Hyperion sensor satellite data acquired by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite in conjunction with reconnaissance surveys to map the occurrences of the invasive Chinese tallow tree (Triadica sebifera) in the Toledo Bend Reservoir study area of northwestern Louisiana and northeastern Texas. The rationale for application of high...

A statewide study was performed to develop regional regression equations for estimating selected annual exceedance-probability statistics for ungaged stream sites in Iowa. The study area comprises streamgages located within Iowa and 50 miles beyond the State’s borders. Annual exceedance-probability estimates were computed for 518 streamgages by using the expected moments algorithm to fit...

The former chloralkali facility in Berlin, New Hampshire, was designated a Superfund site in 2005. Historic paper mill activities resulted in the contamination of groundwater, surface water, and sediments with many organic compounds and mercury (Hg). Hg continues to seep into the Androscoggin River in elemental form through bedrock fractures. The objective of this study was to spatially

The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) funds over 100 wetland restoration projects across Louisiana. Integral to the success of CWPPRA is its long-term monitoring program, which enables State and Federal agencies to determine the effectiveness of each restoration effort. One component of this monitoring program is the classification of high-resolution...

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, identified high-water marks after two floods in Vermont during 2011. Following a snowy winter, new monthly precipitation records were set in Burlington, Vermont, in April and May 2011, causing extensive flooding from April through June. The spring 2011 flooding resulted in a new record for stage (103...

To expand the utility of the Mussel Watch Program, local, regional and state agencies in California partnered with NOAA to design a pilot study that targeted contaminants of emerging concern (CECs). Native mussels (Mytilus spp.) from 68 stations, stratified by land use and discharge scenario, were collected in 2009–10 and analyzed for 167 individual pharmaceuticals, industrial and...

A multiagency pilot study on mussels (Mytilus spp.) collected at 68 stations in California revealed that 98% of targeted contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) were infrequently detectable at concentrations ⩽1 ng/g. Selected chemicals found in commercial and consumer products were more frequently detected at mean concentrations up to 470 ng/g dry wt. The number of CECs detected and...

Salt marshes are ecosystems that provide many important ecological functions in the Gulf of Maine. The U.S. Geological Survey investigated salt marshes in and around Acadia National Park from Penobscot Bay to the Schoodic Peninsula to map the potential for landward migration of marshes using a static inundation model of a sea-level rise scenario of 60 centimeters (cm; 2 feet). The...

The Rhode Island Water Resources Board is considering use of groundwater resources from the Big River Management Area in central Rhode Island because increasing water demands in Rhode Island may exceed the capacity of current sources. Previous water-resources investigations in this glacially derived, valley-fill aquifer system have focused primarily on the effects of potential...