Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
GeoHEALTH-USGS Newsletter
GeoHEALTH-USGS Newsletter
The GeoHEALTH–USGS Newsletter—published since 2004—provides information on USGS science activities pertinent to safeguarding the health of fish, wildlife, domesticated animals, and people from environmental exposures to contaminants and pathogens.
Featured Science Activities
Featured Science Activities
Learn about our Featured Science Activities through our pages that highlight studies, publications, and results.
Filter Total Items: 4047
A mass balance approach to investigating geochemical controls on secondary water quality impacts at a crude oil spill site near Bemidji, MN
Secondary water quality impacts can result from a broad range of coupled reactions triggered by primary groundwater contaminants. Data from a crude-oil spill research site near Bemidji, MN provide an ideal test case for investigating the complex interactions controlling secondary impacts, including depleted dissolved oxygen and elevated organic carbon, inorganic carbon, CH4, Mn, Fe, and other diss
Authors
Gene-Hua Crystal Ng, Barbara A. Bekins, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Mary Jo Baedecker, Philip C. Bennett, Richard T. Amos
Integrated assessment of runoff from livestock farming operations: analytical chemistry, in vitro bioassays, and in vivo fish exposures
Animal waste from livestock farming operations can contain varying levels of natural and synthetic androgens and/or estrogens, which can contaminate surrounding waterways. In the present study, surface stream water was collected from 6 basins containing livestock farming operations. Aqueous concentrations of 12 hormones were determined via chemical analyses. Relative androgenic and estrogenic acti
Authors
Jenna E. Cavallin, Elizabeth J. Durhan, Nicola Evans, Kathleen M. Jensen, Michael D. Kahl, Dana W. Kolpin, Edward P. Kolodziej, William T. Foreman, Carlie A. LaLone, Elizabeth A. Makynen, Sara M. Seidl, Linnea M. Thomas, Daniel L. Villeneuve, Matthew A. Weberg, Vickie S. Wilson, Gerald T. Ankley
Incorporation of inorganic mercury (Hg2+) in pelagic food webs of ultraoligotrophic and oligotrophic lakes: the role of different plankton size fractions and species assemblages
In lake food webs, pelagic basal organisms such as bacteria and phytoplankton incorporate mercury (Hg2+) from the dissolved phase and pass the adsorbed and internalized Hg to higher trophic levels. This experimental investigation addresses the incorporation of dissolved Hg2+ by four plankton fractions (picoplankton: 0.2–2.7 μm; pico + nanoplankton: 0.2–20 μm; microplankton: 20–50 μm; and mesoplank
Authors
Carolina Soto Cárdenas, Maria C. Diéguez, Sergio Ribeiro Guevara, Mark Marvin-DiPasquale, Claudia P. Queimaliños
Detecting well casing leaks in Bangladesh using a salt spiking method
We apply fluid-replacement logging in arsenic-contaminated regions of Bangladesh using a low-cost, down-well fluid conductivity logging tool to detect leaks in the cased section of wells. The fluid-conductivity tool is designed for the developing world: it is lightweight and easily transportable, operable by one person, and can be built for minimal cost. The fluid-replacement test identifies leaki
Authors
M.O. Stahl, J.B. Ong, C.F. Harvey, C. D. Johnson, A.B.M. Badruzzaman, M.H. Tarek, A. VanGeen, J.A. Anderson, J. W. Lane
Widespread occurrence of neonicotinoid insecticides in streams in a high corn and soybean producing region, USA
Neonicotinoid insecticides are of environmental concern, but little is known about their occurrence in surface water. An area of intense corn and soybean production in the Midwestern United States was chosen to study this issue because of the high agricultural use of neonicotinoids via both seed treatments and other forms of application. Water samples were collected from nine stream sites during t
Authors
Michelle Hladik, Dana W. Kolpin, Kathryn Kuivila
Riverbank filtration potential of pharmaceuticals in a wastewater-impacted stream
Pharmaceutical contamination of shallow groundwater is a substantial concern in effluent-dominated streams, due to high aqueous mobility, designed bioactivity, and effluent-driven hydraulic gradients. In October and December 2012, effluent contributed approximately 99% and 71%, respectively, to downstream flow in Fourmile Creek, Iowa, USA. Strong hydrologic connectivity was observed between surfac
Authors
Paul M. Bradley, Larry B. Barber, Joseph W. Duris, William T. Foreman, Edward T. Furlong, Laura E. Hubbard, Kasey J. Hutchinson, Steffanie H. Keefe, Dana W. Kolpin
Temporal variation in fish mercury concentrations within lakes from the western Aleutian Archipelago, Alaska
We assessed temporal variation in mercury (Hg) concentrations of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) from Agattu Island, Aleutian Archipelago, Alaska. Total Hg concentrations in whole-bodied stickleback were measured at two-week intervals from two sites in each of two lakes from June 1 to August 10, 2011 during the time period when lakes were ice-free. Across all sites and sampling eve
Authors
Leah A. Kenney, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Joshua T. Ackerman, Frank A. von Hippel
Mercury bioaccumulation in estuarine wetland fishes: Evaluating habitats and risk to coastal wildlife
Estuaries are globally important areas for methylmercury bioaccumulation because of high methylmercury production rates and use by fish and wildlife. We measured total mercury (THg) concentrations in ten fish species from 32 wetland and open bay sites in San Francisco Bay Estuary (2005–2008). Fish THg concentrations (μg/g dry weight ± standard error) differed by up to 7.4× among estuary habitats.
Authors
Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Joshua T. Ackerman
The persistent problem of lead poisoning in birds from ammunition and fishing tackle
Lead (Pb) is a metabolic poison that can negatively influence biological processes, leading to illness and mortality across a large spectrum of North American avifauna (>120 species) and other organisms. Pb poisoning can result from numerous sources, including ingestion of bullet fragments and shot pellets left in animal carcasses, spent ammunition left in the field, lost fishing tackle, Pb-based
Authors
Susan M. Haig, Jesse D'Elia, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Jeanne M. Fair, Jennifer Gervais, Garth Herring, James W. Rivers, John H. Schulz
Spatial and temporal patterns in concentrations of perfluorinated compounds in bald eagle nestlings in the Upper Midwestern United States
Perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) are of concern due to their widespread use, persistence in the environment, tendency to accumulate in animal tissues, and growing evidence of toxicity. Between 2006 and 2011 we collected blood plasma from 261 bald eagle nestlings in six study areas from the upper Midwestern United States. Samples were assessed for levels of 16 different PFCs. We used regression anal
Authors
William T. Route, Robin E. Russell, Andrew B. Lindstrom, Mark J. Strynor, Rebecca L. Key
Scaling up watershed model parameters: flow and load simulations of the Edisto River Basin, South Carolina, 2007-09
As part of an ongoing effort by the U.S. Geological Survey to expand the understanding of relations among hydrologic, geochemical, and ecological processes that affect fish-tissue mercury concentrations within the Edisto River Basin, analyses and simulations of the hydrology of the Edisto River Basin were made using the topography-based hydrological model (TOPMODEL). A primary focus of the investi
Authors
Toby D. Feaster, Stephen T. Benedict, Jimmy M. Clark, Paul M. Bradley, Paul Conrads
Methylmercury-induced changes in gene transcription associated with neuroendocrine disruption in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)
Methyl-mercury (MeHg) is a potent neuroendocrine disruptor that impairs reproductive processes in fish. The objectives of this study were to (1) characterize transcriptomic changes induced by MeHg exposure in the female largemouth bass (LMB) hypothalamus under controlled laboratory conditions, (2) investigate the health and reproductive impacts of MeHg exposure on male and female largemouth bass (
Authors
Catherine A. Richter, Christopher J. Martyniuk, Mandy L. Annis, William G. Brumbaugh, Lia C. Chasar, Nancy D. Denslow, Donald E. Tillitt