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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

Complexation of copper by aquatic humic substances from different environments

The copper-complexing properties of aquatic humic substances isolated from eighteen different environments were characterized by potentiometric titration, using a cupric ion selective electrode. Potentiometric data were analyzed using FITEQL, a computer program for the determination of chemical equilibrium constants from experimental data. All the aquatic humic substances could be modelled as havi
Authors
Diane M. McKnight, Gerald L. Feder, E. Michael Thurman, Robert L. Wershaw

Adsorption of natural dissolved organic matter at the oxide/water interface

Natural organic matter is readily adsorbed by alumina and kaolinite in the pH range of natural waters. Adsorption occurs by complex formation between surface hydroxyls and the acidic functional groups of the organic matter. Oxides with relatively acidic surface hydroxyls, e.g. silica, do not react strongly with the organic matter. Under conditions typical for natural waters, almost complete surfac
Authors
James A. Davis

Degradation of phenolic contaminants in ground water by anaerobic bacteria: St. Louis Park, Minnesota

Coal-tar derivatives from a coal-tar distillation and wood-treating plant that operated from 1918 to 1972 at St. Louis Park, Minnesota contaminated the near-surface ground water. Solutions of phenolic compounds and a water-immiscible mixture of polynuclear aromatic compounds accumulated in wetlands near the plant site and entered the aquifer. The concentration of phenolic compounds in the aqueous
Authors
G. G. Ehrlich, D.F. Goerlitz, E.M. Godsy, M. F. Hult

Mechanisms for trace metal enrichment at the surface microlayer in an estuarine salt marsh

The relative contributions of adsorption to particulate surfaces, complexation with surface-active organic ligands and uptake by micro-organisms were evaluated with respect to their importance in the surface microlayer enrichment (‘partitioning’) of Cd, Pb and Cu. The contributions of each process were inferred from field data in which partitioning of the dissolved and particulate forms of Cd, Pb
Authors
Leonard W. Lion

Volatilization of ketones from water

The overall mass-transfer coefficients for the volatilization from water of acetone, 2-butanone, 2-pentanone, 3-pentanone, 4-methyl-2-pentanone, 2-heptanone, and 2-octanone were measured simultaneously with the oxygen-absorption coefficient in a laboratory stirred water bath. The liquid-film and gas-film coefficients of the two-film model were determined for the ketones from the overall coefficien
Authors
R. E. Rathbun, D. Y. Tai

On conducting the modified ‘Slug’ test in tight formations

The method introduced by Bredehoeft and Papadopulos (1980) for conducting a modified ‘slug’ test in tight formations does not assure the condition of approximate equilibrium necessary at the start of the test. In addition, compressibility in the shut-in well can be significantly larger than the compressibility of water, which Bredehoeft and Papadopulos indicate should be used in the calculations.
Authors
C.E. Neuzil

Does the benthos control phytoplankton biomass in South San Francisco Bay?

South San Francisco Bay, USA, is a shallow coastal embayment that receives large inputs of nutrients (N. P, Si) and small local inputs of freshwater. Phytoplankton dynamics are typically characterized by a spring bloom when surface chlorophyll a increases from < 5 to > 40 mg m-3. The bloom persists for 2 to 4 wk, and then dissipates. Phytoplankton biomass remains low (chlorophyll a < 5 mg m-3) fro
Authors
James E. Cloern

Volatilization of organic compounds from streams

Mass-transfer coefficients for the volatilization of ethylene and propane were correlated with the hydraulic and geometric properties of seven streams, and predictive equations were developed. The equations were evaluated using a normalized root-mean-square error as the criterion of comparison. The two best equations were a two-variable equation containing the energy dissipated per unit mass per u
Authors
Ronald E. Rathburn, D. Y. Tai

Acid rain, air pollution, and tree growth in southeastern New York

Whether dendroecological analyses could be used to detect changes in the relationship of tree growth to climate that might have resulted from chronic exposure to components of the acid rain-air pollution complex was determined. Tree-ring indices of white pine (Pinus strobus L.), eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Cart.), pitch pine (Pinus rigida Mill.), and chestnut oak (Quercus prinus L.) wer
Authors
L.J. Puckett