Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).

Filter Total Items: 4047

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate as a potential methanogenic substrate in Mono Lake sediments

A high concentration of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) was found in the water column (0.1–1.8 µM particulate plus dissolved) of Mono Lake, CA, an alkaline, hypersaline waterbody. The dense Artemia monica population contained high levels of DMSP (1.7–2.5 mmol.g-1 wet weight), presumably as an osmolyte. Death of these brine shrimp caused accumulation of DMSP along the shoreline of the lake, where
Authors
P.T. Visscher, J.R. Guidetti, Charles W. Culbertson, Ronald S. Oremland

Microbial cycling of methyl bromide

Environmental concern about brominated halocarbons like methyl bromide (MeBr) is focused on their potential to destroy stratospheric ozone. Photocatalysis of MeBr and other halocarbons in the stratosphere results in the liberation of reactive CI and Br atoms. Because Br atoms are perhaps as much as 100-fold more efficient at attacking ozone than are CI atoms, bromine’s lower abundance is partly co
Authors
Ronald S. Oremland

Investigation of methane production and consumption by use of stable isotopes

No abstract available. 
Authors
Kinga M. Revesz, Tyler B. Coplen, Mary Jo Baedecker, P. D. Glynn, M. F. Hult

Method for the determination of dissolved chloride, nitrate, and sulfate in natural water using ion chromatography

Ion chromatography was used for the determination of dissolved chloride, nitrate and sulfate in natural water where concentrations ranged from a detection limit of 0.02 milligrams per liter to 80 milligrams per liter for chloride, to 18 milligrams per liter for nitrate, and to 280 milligrams per liter for sulfate. Specific conductance was the mode of detection used. Three analytical sample size lo
Authors
Terry I. Brinton, Ronald C. Antweiler, Howard E. Taylor

Using geochemical and statistical tools to identify irrigated areas that might contain high selenium concentrations in surface water

Irrigated agriculture has a long history in the Western United States, beginning with Native American Indians. After passage of the Reclamation Act of 1902, the United States Government began building and subsidizing irrigation projects to foster settlement and development of the arid and semi-arid areas of the Western United States (National Research Council, 1989). Precipitation in the mountaino
Authors
David L. Naftz

Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometric method for the determination of dissolved trace elements in natural water

An inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry method was developed for the determination of dissolved Al, As, B, Ba, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sr, Tl, U, V, and Zn in natural waters. Detection limits are generally in the 50-100 picogram per milliliter (pg/mL) range, with the exception of As which is in the 1 microgram per liter (ug/L) range. Interferences associated with spectral o
Authors
J.R. Garbarino, Howard E. Taylor

Spatial and temporal distribution of specific conductance, boron, and phosphorus in a sewage-contaminated aquifer near Ashumet Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Spatial and temporal distributions of specific conductance, boron, and phosphorus were determined in a sewage-contaminated sand and gravel aquifer near Ashumet Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The source of contamination is secondarily treated sewage that has been discharged onto rapid- infiltration sand beds at the Massachusetts Military Reservation since 1936. Contaminated ground water containing
Authors
K.W. Bussey, D. A. Walter

Concentrations of selected herbicides, herbicide metabolites, and nutrients in outflow from selected midwestern reservoirs, April 1992 through September 1993

This data set consists of digital aquifer boundaries for the High Plains aquifer in the central United States. The High Plains aquifer extends from south of 32 degrees to almost 45 degrees north latitude and from 96 degrees 30 minutes to almost 104 degrees west longitude. The area covers 174,000 square miles and is present in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming, and So
Authors
E.A. Scribner, D. A. Goolsby, E. M. Thurman, M. T. Meyer, W.A. Battaglin

Transport of agricultural chemicals in surface flow, tileflow, and streamflow of Walnut Creek Watershed near Ames, Iowa, April 1991-September 1993

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Soil Tilth Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, conducted a study as part of the multi-scale, inter-agency Management Systems Evaluation Area (MSEA) program to evaluate the effects of agricultural management (farming) systems on water quality. Data on surface flow, tileflow, and streamflow in t
Authors
P. J. Soenksen