Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
GeoHEALTH-USGS Newsletter
GeoHEALTH-USGS Newsletter
The GeoHEALTH–USGS Newsletter—published since 2004—provides information on USGS science activities pertinent to safeguarding the health of fish, wildlife, domesticated animals, and people from environmental exposures to contaminants and pathogens.
Featured Science Activities
Featured Science Activities
Learn about our Featured Science Activities through our pages that highlight studies, publications, and results.
Filter Total Items: 4047
Understanding the hydrologic impacts of wastewater treatment plant discharge to shallow groundwater: Before and after plant shutdown
Effluent-impacted surface water has the potential to transport not only water, but wastewater-derived contaminants to shallow groundwater systems. To better understand the effects of effluent discharge on in-stream and near-stream hydrologic conditions in wastewater-impacted systems, water-level changes were monitored in hyporheic-zone and shallow-groundwater piezometers in a reach of Fourmile Cre
Authors
Laura E. Hubbard, Steffanie H. Keefe, Dana W. Kolpin, Larry B. Barber, Joseph W. Duris, Kasey J. Hutchinson, Paul M. Bradley
Saharan dust nutrients promote Vibrio bloom formation in marine surface waters
Vibrio is a ubiquitous genus of marine bacteria, typically comprising a small fraction of the total microbial community in surface waters, but capable of becoming a dominant taxon in response to poorly characterized factors. Iron (Fe), often restricted by limited bioavailability and low external supply, is an essential micronutrient that can limit Vibrio growth. Vibrio species have robust metaboli
Authors
Jason R. Westrich, Alina M. Ebling, William M. Landing, Jessica L. Joyner, Keri M. Kemp, Dale W. Griffin, Erin K. Lipp
Molecular detection of airborne Coccidioides in Tucson, Arizona
Environmental surveillance of the soil-dwelling fungus Coccidioides is essential for the prevention of Valley fever, a disease primarily caused by inhalation of the arthroconidia. Methods for collecting and detectingCoccidioides in soil samples are currently in use by several laboratories; however, a method utilizing current air sampling technologies has not been formally demonstrated for the capt
Authors
Nancy A. Chow, Dale W. Griffin, Bridget M. Barker, Vladimir N. Loparev, Anastasia P. Litvintseva
The new Landsat 8 potential for remote sensing of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM)
Due to a combination of factors, such as a new coastal/aerosol band and improved radiometric sensitivity of the Operational Land Imager aboard Landsat 8, the atmospherically-corrected Surface Reflectance product for Landsat data, and the growing availability of corrected fDOM data from U.S. Geological Survey gaging stations, moderate-resolution remote sensing of fDOM may now be achievable. This pa
Authors
E. Terrence Slonecker, Daniel Jones, Brian A. Pellerin
Seasonal Variability in Vadose zone biodegradation at a crude oil pipeline rupture site
Understanding seasonal changes in natural attenuation processes is critical for evaluating source-zone longevity and informing management decisions. The seasonal variations of natural attenuation were investigated through measurements of surficial CO2 effluxes, shallow soil CO2 radiocarbon contents, subsurface gas concentrations, soil temperature, and volumetric water contents during a 2-yr period
Authors
Natasha J. Sihota, Jared J. Trost, Barbara Bekins, Andrew M. Berg, Geoffrey N. Delin, Brent E. Mason, Ean Warren, K. Ulrich Mayer
Spatiotemporal patterns of mercury accumulation in lake sediments of western North America
For the Western North America Mercury Synthesis, we compiled mercury records from 165 dated sediment cores from 138 natural lakes across western North America. Lake sediments are accepted as faithful recorders of historical mercury accumulation rates, and regional and sub-regional temporal and spatial trends were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Mercury accumulation rates in s
Authors
Paul Drevnick, Colin A. Cooke, Daniella Barraza, Jules M. Blais, Kenneth Coale, Brian F. Cumming, Chris Curtis, Biplob Das, William F. Donahue, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Daniel R. Engstrom, William F. Fitzgerald, Chad V. Furl, John R. Gray, Roland I. Hall, Togwell A. Jackson, Kathleen R. Laird, W. Lyle Lockhart, Robie W. Macdonald, Alisa Mast, Callie Mathieu, Derek C.G. Muir, Peter Outridge, Scott Reinemann, Sarah E. Rothenberg, Ana Carolina Ruiz-Fernandex, V.L. St. Louis, Rhea Sanders, Hamed Sanei, Elliott Skierszkan, Peter C. Van Metre, Timothy Veverica, Johan A. Wiklund, Brent B. Wolfe
Mercury risk to avian piscivores across western United States and Canada
The widespread distribution of mercury (Hg) threatens wildlife health, particularly piscivorous birds. Western North America is a diverse region that provides critical habitat to many piscivorous bird species, and also has a well-documented history of mercury contamination from legacy mining and atmospheric deposition. The diversity of landscapes in the west limits the distribution of avian pisciv
Authors
Allyson K. Jackson, David C. Evers, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Joshua T. Ackerman, James J. Willacker, John E. Elliott, Jesse M. Lepak, Stacy S. Vander Pol, Colleen E. Bryan
Pre/post-closure assessment of groundwater pharmaceutical fate in a wastewater‑facility-impacted stream reach
Pharmaceutical contamination of contiguous groundwater is a substantial concern in wastewater-impacted streams, due to ubiquity in effluent, high aqueous mobility, designed bioactivity, and to effluent-driven hydraulic gradients. Wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) closures are rare environmental remediation events; offering unique insights into contaminant persistence, long-term wastewater impac
Authors
Paul M. Bradley, Larry B. Barber, Jimmy M. Clark, Joseph W. Duris, William T. Foreman, Edward T. Furlong, Carrie E. Givens, Laura E. Hubbard, Kasey J. Hutchinson, Celeste A. Journey, Steffanie H. Keefe, Dana W. Kolpin
A comparison of three macroinvertebrate sampling devices for use in conducting rapid-assessment procedures of Delmarva Peninsula wetlands
Three types of macroinvertebrate collecting devices, Gerking box traps, D-shaped sweep nets, and activity traps, have commonly been used to sample macroinvertebrates when conducting rapid biological assessments of North American wetlands. We compared collections of macroinvertebrates identified to the family level made with these devices in 6 constructed and 2 natural wetlands on the Delmarva Peni
Authors
T. Peter Lowe, Kerry Tebbs, Donald W. Sparling
Spatial modeling of wild bird risk factors to investigate highly pathogenic A(H5N1) avian influenza virus transmission
One of the longest-persisting avian influenza viruses in history, highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) A(H5N1), continues to evolve after 18 years, advancing the threat of a global pandemic. Wild waterfowl (family Anatidae), are reported as secondary transmitters of HPAIV, and primary reservoirs for low-pathogenic avian influenza viruses, yet spatial inputs for disease risk modeling for
Authors
Diann J. Prosser, Laura L. Hungerford, R. Michael Erwin, Mary Ann Ottinger, John Y. Takekawa, Scott H. Newman, Xianming Xiao, Erie C. Ellis
Resetting the bar: Establishing baselines for persistent contaminants after Hurricane Sandy in the coastal environments of New Jersey and New York, USA
In the immediate aftermath of natural disasters, public health officials and other first responders engage in many activities to protect the public and ecosystems in the affected area. These activities include critical tasks designed to minimize adverse consequences resulting from chemical and microbial contaminant exposures, such as acute disease incidence and transmission. However, once these ur
Authors
Timothy J. Reilly, Michael J. Focazio, Dale L. Simmons
Mercury in western North America: A synthesis of environmental contamination, fluxes, bioaccumulation, and risk to fish and wildlife
Western North America is a region defined by extreme gradients in geomorphology and climate, which support a diverse array of ecological communities and natural resources. The region also has extreme gradients in mercury (Hg) contamination due to a broad distribution of inorganic Hg sources. These diverse Hg sources and a varied landscape create a unique and complex mosaic of ecological risk from
Authors
Collin A. Eagles-Smith, James G. Wiener, Chris S. Eckley, James J. Willacker, David C. Evers, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Daniel Obrist, Jacob Fleck, George R. Aiken, Jesse M. Lepak, Allyson K. Jackson, Jackson Webster, A. Robin Stewart, Jay Davis, Charles N. Alpers, Joshua T. Ackerman