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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

Modeling contamination of shallow unconfined aquifers through infiltration beds

We model the transport of a simply reactive contaminant through an infiltration bed and underlying shallow, one-dimensional, unconfined aquifer with a plane, steeply sloping bottom in the assumed absence of dispersion and downgradient dilution. The effluent discharge and ambient groundwater flow under the infiltration beds are presumed to form a vertically mixed plume marked by an appreciable radi
Authors
D.W. Ostendorf

Predictive accuracy of a ground-water model--Lessons from a postaudit

Hydrogeologic studies commonly include the development, calibration, and application of a deterministic simulation model. To help assess the value of using such models to make predictions, a postaudit was conducted on a previously studied area in the Salt River and lower Santa Cruz River basins in central Arizona. A deterministic, distributed-parameter model of the ground-water system in these all
Authors
Leonard F. Konikow

Physio-chemical processes affecting copper, tin and zinc toxicity to algae: A review

This chapter focuses on the physic-chemical processes affecting copper, zinc, and tin toxicity to algae. Both Cu and Zn are essential algal micronutrients, cofactors in numerous biochemical processes. The availability of a nutrient or toxic substance can be significantly affected by precipitation. Methods for modeling the effects of adsorption–desorption reactions have been previously reviewed. Us
Authors
James S. Kuwabara

Metabolism of reduced methylated sulfur compounds in anaerobic sediments and by a pure culture of an estuarine methanogen

Addition of dimethylsulfide (DMS), dimethyldisulfide (DMDS), or methane thiol (MSH) to a diversity of anoxic aquatic sediments (e.g., fresh water, estuarine, alkaline/hypersaline) stimulated methane production. The yield of methane recovered from DMS was often 52 to 63%, although high concentrations of DMS (as well as MSH and DMDS) inhibited methanogenesis in some types of sediments. Production o
Authors
R.P. Kiene, Ronald S. Oremland, Anthony Catena, Laurence G. Miller, D.G. Capone

Variability in the fractionation of Cu, Ag, and Zn among cytosolic proteins in the bivalve Macoma balthica

Gel filtration chromatographs of cytosols from the clam Macorna balthica analysed from both field and laboratory treated specimens showed that uptake of Cu, Ag, and Zn in the metallothionein-like protein (MLP) pool follows exposure both in nature and in the laboratory. Specimens collected from San Francisco Bay over 18 mo showed strong temporal variability in the fractionation of the metals among
Authors
C. Johansson, Daniel J. Cain, Samuel N. Luoma

Digital image measurement of the area and anatomical structure of tree rings

A microcomputer coupled to a video digitizer was used to develop methods for measuring areas of tree rings and for delineating and measuring microscopic anatomical features. Digitally imaged areas of individual rings of a loblolly pine cross section were within 2.6% of areas measured with a planimeter and were more accurate than areas calculated from radius widths. Various anatomical features were
Authors
Thomas M. Yanosky, Charles J. Robinove

Aqueous geochemistry and diagenesis in the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer system, Idaho

Water budget and isotopic analyses of water in the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer system confirm that most, if not all, of the water is local meteoric in origin. Solute mass-balance arguments suggest that ∼5 × 109 moles of calcite and 2.6 × 109 moles of silica are precipitated annually in the aquifer. Isotopic evaluations of calcite and petrographic observation of silica support the low-tempera
Authors
Warren W. Wood, Walton H. Low

Influence of irrigation on salinity and nitrate in a stream-aquifer system

Changes in salinity and nitrate concentration in groundwater and surface water in the semiarid Arkansas River valley of southeastern Colorado, USA were related primarily to irrigation practices. Water is applied to fields by flood irrigation through ditches and furrows. Irrigation water is derived in nearly equal amounts from surface water and groundwater pumped from the shallow alluvial aquifer.
Authors
Leonard F. Konikow, M.A. Person

Application of the Flory-Huggins theory to the solubility of solids in glyceryl trioleate

The conventional thermodynamic deviation for ideal solid–liquid solubilities is modified by substituting the Flory–Huggins model for Raoult's law. A comparison of published data for eleven solides in glyceryl trioleate with the predictions of the conventional and modified equations shows that the significantly higher athermal solubilities from the modified equation are in much better agreement wit
Authors
Cary T. Chiou, Milton Manes

Transport of chloride ion in a water-unsaturated soil exhibiting anion exclusion

Miscible displacement techniques were used to create Cl- concentration profiles in unsaturated laboratory columns of Delhi sand (Typic Xeropsamments), each having a nearly uniform water content. The three steady flow rates used resulted in three different, average water contents. Chloride concentrations near the top of the column were smaller and penetration of Cl- in the column was deeper than ex
Authors
Ronald V. James, Jacob Rubin