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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

Balloon and core sampling for determining bulk density of alluvial desert soil

Samples were collected from major strata in the upper 5 m of an alluvial soil profile in the Amargosa Desert of southern Nevada to compare rubber-balloon and drive-core bulk-density measurement methods. For strate where the fine soil was <82% sand and <15% clay, differences between total and fine-soil bulk-density values determined by the two methods were typically <10 and 15%, respectively, even
Authors
Brian J. Andraski

The chemistry of iron, aluminum, and dissolved organic material in three acidic, metal-enriched, mountain streams, as controlled by watershed and in-stream processes

Several studies were conducted in three acidic, metal-enriched, mountain streams, and the results are discussed together in this paper to provide a synthesis of watershed and in-stream processes controlling Fe, Al, and DOC (dissolved organic carbon) concentrations. One of the streams, the Snake River, is naturally acidic; the other two, Peru Creek and St. Kevin Gulch, receive acid mine drainage. A
Authors
Diane M. McKnight, Kenneth E. Bencala

Use of tree-ring chemistry to document historical ground-water contamination events

The annual growth rings of tulip trees (Liriodendron tulipifera L.) appear to preserve a chemical record of ground-water contamination at a landfill in Maryland. Zones of elevated iron and chlorine concentrations in growth rings from trees immediately downgradient from the landfill are closely correlated temporally with activities in the landfill expected to generate iron and chloride contaminatio
Authors
Don A. Vroblesky, Thomas M. Yanosky

Solute transport with multisegment, equilibrium-controlled reactions: A feed forward simulation method

The feed forward method (FF method) is one of the ways of formulating operational equations which simulate transport of solutes influenced by equilibrium-controlled reaction networks. The FF method provides increased solution efficiency by adapting its formulations to some of the network's fundamental features. In this study the FF method is further developed by adapting and testing it for a varie
Authors
Jacob Rubin

Measurement of in situ rates of selenate removal by dissimilatory bacterial reduction in sediments

A radioisotope method for measurement of bacteria respiratory reduction of selenate to elemental selenium in aquatic sediments was devised. Sediments were labeled with [75Se]selenate, incubated, and washed, and 75Se0(s) was determined as counts remaining in the sediments. Core profiles of selenate reduction, sulfate reduction, and denitrification were made simultaneously in the sediments of an agr
Authors
Ronald S. Oremland, Nisan A. Steinberg, Ann S. Maest, Laurence G. Miller, James T. Hollibaugh

Application of the Stefan-Maxwell Equations to determine limitations of Fick's law when modeling organic vapor transport in sand columns

The organic component of the vapor phase of a porous medium contaminated by an immiscible organic liquid can be significant enough to violate the condition of a dilute species diffusing in a bulk phase assumed by Fick's law. The Stefan-Maxwell equations provide a more comprehensive model for quantifying steady state transport for a vapor phase composed of arbitrary proportions of its constituents.
Authors
Arthur L. Baehr, Clifford J. Bruell

A method for testing whether model predictions fall within a prescribed factor of true values, with an application to pesticide leaching

A quantitative method is described for testing whether model predictions fall within a specified factor of true values. The technique is based on classical theory for confidence regions on unknown population parameters and can be related to hypothesis testing in both univariate and multivariate situations. A capability index is defined that can be used as a measure of predictive capability of a mo
Authors
Rudolph S. Parrish, Charles N. Smith

Effects of benthic flora on arsenic transport

Chemical and biological interactions involving arsenic (As) and phosphorus (P) appear to affect significantly As transport and distribution in Whitewood Creek, South Dakota. Data (first‐order uptake rate constants, standing crop, and accumulation factors) that can be used to predict As transport have been determined using algae collected in the creek along a transect from upstream of mine discharg
Authors
James S. Kuwabara, Cecily C.Y. Chang, Sofie P. Pasilis