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Publications

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

Filter Total Items: 4047

Variations in water balance and recharge potential at three western desert sites

Radioactive and hazardous waste landfills exist at numerous desert locations in the USA. At these locations, annual precipitation is low and soils are generally dry, yet little is known about recharge of water and transport of contaminants to the water table. Recent water balance measurements made at three desert locations, Las Cruces, NM, Beatty, NV, and the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Si
Authors
G.W. Gee, P.J. Wierenga, Brian J. Andraski, M.H. Young, M.J. Fayer, M.L. Rockhold

Anaerobic biodegradation of methyl esters by Acetobacterium woodii and Eubacterium limosum

The ability ofAcetobacterium woodii andEubacterium limosum to degrade methyl esters of acetate, propionate, butyrate, and isobutyrate was examined under growing and resting-cell conditions. Both bacteria hydrolyzed the esters to the corresponding carboxylates and methanol under either condition. Methanol was further oxidized to formate under growing but not resting conditions. Unlike the metabolis
Authors
Shi Liu, Joseph M. Suflita

Notes on a Mesodinium rubrum red tide in San Francisco Bay (California, USA)

Discrete red patches of water were observed in South San Francisco Bay (USA) on 30 April 1993, and examination of live samples showed that this red tide was caused by surface accumulations of the pigmented ciliate Mesodinium rubrum . Vertical profiles showed strong salinity and temperature stratification in the upper 5 m, peak chlorophyll fluorescence in the upper meter, and differences in the sma
Authors
James E. Cloern, Brian E. Cole, Stephen W. Hager

Methanolobus taylorii sp nov, a new methylotropic, estuarine methanogen

Previously published phylogenetic studies of 16S rRNA showed that methylotrophic, slightly halophilic, methanogenic strain GS-16T (T = type strain) represents a new species of bacterium. We propose the name Methanolobus taylorii for this species; strain GS-16 is the type strain.
Authors
Ronald S. Oremland, David R. Boone

Geochemical interactions between constituents in acidic groundwater and alluvium in an aquifer near Globe, Arizona

Acidic water from a copper-mining area has contaminated an alluvial aquifer and stream near Globe, Arizona. The most contaminated groundwater has a pH of 3.3, and contains about 100 mmol/1 SO4, 50 mmol/1 Fe, 11 mmol/1 Al and 3 mmol/1 Cu. Reactions between alluvium and acidic groundwater were first evaluated in laboratory column experiments. A geochemical model was developed and used in the equilib
Authors
Kenneth G. Stollenwerk

Ammonium sorption to channel and riparian sediments: A transient storage pool for dissolved inorganic nitrogen

Sediment (0.5 mm–2.0 mm grain size) was incubated in nylon bags (200 μm mesh) below the water table in the channel and in two transects of shallow wells perpendicular to the banks (to 18 m) of a third-order stream during August, 1987. One transect of wells drained steep old-growth forest, and the other a steep 23 year-old clear-cut partially regenerated in alder. At approximately 6-week intervals
Authors
Frank J. Triska, Alan P. Jackman, John H. Duff, Ronald J. Avanzino

Microbial transformation of nitroaromatics in surface soils and aquifer materials

Microorganisms indigenous to surface soils and aquifer materials collected at a munitions-contaminated site transformed 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT), and 2,6-dinitrotoluene (2,6-DNT) to amino-nitro intermediates within 20 to 70 days. Carbon mineralization studies with both unlabeled (TNT, 2,4-DNT, and 2,6-DNT) and radiolabeled ([14C]TNT) substrates indicated that a sig
Authors
P. M. Bradley, F. H. Chapelle, J. E. Landmeyer, J.G. Schumacher

Dating of shallow groundwater: Comparison of the transient tracers 3H/3He, chlorofluorocarbons, and 85Kr

This paper describes a direct comparison of apparent ages derived from 3H/3He, chlorofluorocarbons (CCl3F and CCl2F2), and 85Kr measurements in shallow groundwater. Wells chosen for this study are completed in the unconfined surficial aquifers in late Cenozoic Atlantic Coastal Plain sediments of the Delmarva Peninsula, on the east coast of the United States. Most of the apparent tracer ages agree
Authors
Brenda Ekwurzel, Peter Schlosser, William M. Smethie, Niel Plummer, Eurybiades Busenberg, Robert L. Michel, Ralf Weppernig, Martin Stute

Chemistry of dissolved organic matter in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs

Recent investigations provide new insight on the structural chemistry of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in freshwater environments and the role of these structures in contaminant binding. Molecular models of DOM derived from allochthonous and autochthonous sources show that short-chain, branched, and alicyclic structures are terminated by carboxyl or methyl groups in DOM from both sources. Allocht
Authors
J. A. Leenheer

Humic and fulvic acids: sink or source in the availability of metals to the marine bivalves Macoma balthicaand Potamocorbula amurensis?

Humic acids (HA) and fulvic acids (FA) are common forms of organic matter in marine sedirnents, and are routinely ingested by deposit- and suspension-feeding animals. These compounds may be a sink for metals, implying that once metals are bound to humic substances they are no longer available to food webs. A series of experiments was conducted to quantitatively examine this premise using 2 estuari
Authors
Alan Decho, Samuel N. Luoma

Interpretation of surface flux measurements in heterogeneous terrain during the Monsoon '90 experiment

A network of 9-m-tall surface flux measurement stations were deployed at eight sparsely vegetated sites during the Monsoon '90 experiment to measure net radiation, Q, soil heat flux, G, sensible heat flux, H (using eddy correlation), and latent heat flux, λE (using the energy balance equation). At four of these sites, 2-m-tall eddy correlation systems were used to measure all four fluxes directly.
Authors
D.I. Stannard, J.H. Blanford, William P. Kustas, W.D. Nichols, S.A. Amer, T.J. Schmugge, M.A. Weltz

Use of ground-based remotely sensed data for surface energy balance evaluation of a semiarid rangeland

An interdisciplinary field experiment was conducted to study the water and energy balance of a semiarid rangeland watershed in southeast Arizona during the summer of 1990. Two subwatersheds, one grass dominated and the other shrub dominated, were selected for intensive study with ground-based remote sensing systems and hydrometeorological instrumentation. Surface energy balance was evaluated at bo
Authors
M. S. Moran, William P. Kustas, A. Vidal, D.I. Stannard, J.H. Blanford, W.D. Nichols