Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Columbia Environmental Research Center

Welcome to the Columbia Environmental Research Center. Our research focuses on environmental contaminants and the effects of habitat alterations on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. 

News

USGS Friday's Findings - August 9, 2024

USGS Friday's Findings - August 9, 2024

Event: Explore USGS Careers in the Southeast 2024

Event: Explore USGS Careers in the Southeast 2024

Friday's Findings - January 26, 2024

Friday's Findings - January 26, 2024

Publications

Amphibian monitoring in hardwood forests: Optimizing methods for contaminant‐based compensatory restorations

Amphibians such as frogs, toads, and salamanders provide important services in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and have been proposed as useful indicators of progress and success for ecological restoration projects. Limited guidance is available, however, on the costs and benefits of different amphibian monitoring techniques that might be applied to sites restored in compensation for contaminan
Authors
Bethany K. Kunz, Hardin Waddle, Nicholas S. Green

Hyperspectral Image Transects during Transient Events in Rivers (HITTER): Framework development and application to a tracer experiment on the Missouri River, USA

Rivers convey a broad range of materials, such as sediment, nutrients, and contaminants. Much of this transport can occur during or immediately after an episodic, pulsed event like a flood or an oil spill. Understanding the flow processes that influence the motion of these substances is important for managing water resources and conserving aquatic ecosystems. This study introduces a new remote sen
Authors
Carl J. Legleiter, Victoria Mary Scholl, Brandon James Sansom, Matthew Alexander Burgess

Continental-scale nutrient and contaminant delivery by Pacific salmon

The movement of large amounts of nutrients by migrating animals has ecological benefits for recipient food webs1,2 that may be offset by co-transported contaminants3,4. Salmon spawning migrations are archetypal of this process, carrying marine-derived materials to inland ecosystems where they stimulate local productivity but also enhance contaminant exposure5,6,7. Pacific salmon abundance and biom
Authors
Jessica E. Brandt, Jeff S. Wesner, Gregory T. Ruggerone, Timothy D. Jardine, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Gabrielle E. Ruso, Craig A. Stricker, Cristofor A. Voss, David Walters

Science

From Tread to Watershed: How Tire Wear Particle Chemicals 6PPD and 6PPD-quinone Are Impacting Waterways

Tire and road wear particles (TRWPs) are generated during normal driving conditions and contain both rubber and roadway materials. These particles travel from the roadways and urban environments into surrounding ecosystems where there are deleterious impacts from both the TRWPs and leached rubber chemicals. Recent studies have demonstrated the widespread occurrence and toxicity of TRWPs and their...
link

From Tread to Watershed: How Tire Wear Particle Chemicals 6PPD and 6PPD-quinone Are Impacting Waterways

Tire and road wear particles (TRWPs) are generated during normal driving conditions and contain both rubber and roadway materials. These particles travel from the roadways and urban environments into surrounding ecosystems where there are deleterious impacts from both the TRWPs and leached rubber chemicals. Recent studies have demonstrated the widespread occurrence and toxicity of TRWPs and their...
Learn More

Study Finds PFOSA Can Suppress Immune Function in Developing Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

The Stockholm Convention has labeled PFOS a “persistent organic pollutant” due to its long-enduring prevalence, negative toxicological effects, and ability to bioaccumulate in living things. Concerns about PFOSA have been raised due to its similarity to PFOS, its ability to metabolize into PFOS, and its persistent use today
link

Study Finds PFOSA Can Suppress Immune Function in Developing Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

The Stockholm Convention has labeled PFOS a “persistent organic pollutant” due to its long-enduring prevalence, negative toxicological effects, and ability to bioaccumulate in living things. Concerns about PFOSA have been raised due to its similarity to PFOS, its ability to metabolize into PFOS, and its persistent use today
Learn More

Agricultural Pesticides Could Be Impacting the Natural Beauty at Sequoia National Park Through Atmospheric Deposition

High up in the remote alpine and subalpine lakes of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park (SEKI), the crystal-clear lakes appear to be greening with an overpopulation of periphyton. Periphyton is a mixture of various water microbes such as algae, cyanobacteria, and others. Scientists at the USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center and the University of Missouri are working with National Park...
link

Agricultural Pesticides Could Be Impacting the Natural Beauty at Sequoia National Park Through Atmospheric Deposition

High up in the remote alpine and subalpine lakes of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park (SEKI), the crystal-clear lakes appear to be greening with an overpopulation of periphyton. Periphyton is a mixture of various water microbes such as algae, cyanobacteria, and others. Scientists at the USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center and the University of Missouri are working with National Park...
Learn More
Was this page helpful?