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
Explaining differences between bioaccumulation measurements in laboratory and field data through use of a probabilistic modeling approach
In the regulatory context, bioaccumulation assessment is often hampered by substantial data uncertainty as well as by the poorly understood differences often observed between results from laboratory and field bioaccumulation studies. Bioaccumulation is a complex, multifaceted process, which calls for accurate error analysis. Yet, attempts to quantify and compare propagation of error in bioaccumula
Authors
Henriette Selck, Ken Drouillard, Karen Eisenreich, Albert A. Koelmans, Annemette Palmqvist, Anders Ruus, Daniel Salvito, Irv Schultz, A. Robin Stewart, Annie Weisbrod, Nico W. van den Brink, Martine van den Heuvel-Greve
Exposure and effects of perfluoroalkyl compounds on tree swallows nesting at Lake Johanna in east central Minnesota, USA
Tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) samples were collected at a reference lake and a nearby lake (Lake Johanna) in east central Minnesota, USA contaminated with perfluorinated carboxylic and sulfonic acids. Tissues were analyzed for a suite of 13 perfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) to quantify exposure and to determine if there was an association between egg concentrations of PFCs and reproductive succ
Authors
Christine M. Custer, Thomas W. Custer, Heiko L. Schoenfuss, Beth H. Poganski, Laura Solem
Arsenic and life: bacterial redox reactions associated with arsenic oxyanions
No abstract available.
Authors
Ronald S. Oremland
Chiral pesticides: Identification, description, and environmental implications
Anthropogenic chemicals, including pesticides, are a major source of contamination and pollution in the environment. Pesticides have many positive uses: increased food production, decreased damage to crops and structures, reduced disease vector populations, and more. Nevertheless, pesticide exposure can pose risks to humans and the environment, so various mitigation strategies are exercised to mak
Authors
Elin M. Ulrich, Candice N. Morrison, Michael R. Goldsmith, William T. Foreman
Quantifying components of the hydrologic cycle in Virginia using chemical hydrograph separation and multiple regression analysis
This study by the U.S. Geological Survey, prepared in cooperation with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, quantifies the components of the hydrologic cycle across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Long-term, mean fluxes were calculated for precipitation, surface runoff, infiltration, total evapotranspiration (ET), riparian ET, recharge, base flow (or groundwater discharge) and net total
Authors
Ward E. Sanford, David L. Nelms, Jason P. Pope, David L. Selnick
The Colorado Plateau V: research, environmental planning, and management for collaborative conservation
Roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States, the Colorado Plateau covers some 130,000 square miles of sparsely vegetated plateaus, mesas, canyons, arches, and cliffs in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. With elevations ranging from 3,000 to 14,000 feet, the natural systems found within the plateau are dramatically varied, from desert to alpine conditions.Th
Well network installation and hydrogeologic data collection, Assateague Island National Seashore, Worcester County, Maryland, 2010
The U.S. Geological Survey, as part of its Climate and Land Use Change Research and Development Program, is conducting a multi-year investigation to assess potential impacts on the natural resources of Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland that may result from changes in the hydrologic system in response to projected sea-level rise. As part of this effort, 26 monitoring wells were installe
Authors
William S.L. Banks, John P. Masterson, Carole D. Johnson
Watershed scale response to climate change--East River Basin, Colorado
General Circulation Model simulations of future climate through 2099 project a wide range of possible scenarios. To determine the sensitivity and potential effect of long-term climate change on the freshwater resources of the United States, the U.S. Geological Survey Global Change study, "An integrated watershed scale response to global change in selected basins across the United States" was start
Authors
William A. Battaglin, Lauren E. Hay, Steven L. Markstrom
Watershed scale response to climate change--Yampa River Basin, Colorado
General Circulation Model simulations of future climate through 2099 project a wide range of possible scenarios. To determine the sensitivity and potential effect of long-term climate change on the freshwater resources of the United States, the U.S. Geological Survey Global Change study, "An integrated watershed scale response to global change in selected basins across the United States" was start
Authors
Lauren E. Hay, William A. Battaglin, Steven L. Markstrom
Comparative risk assessment of the first-generation anticoagulant rodenticide diphacinone to raptors
New regulatory restrictions have been placed on the use of some second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides in the United States, and in some situations this action may be offset by expanded use of first-generation compounds. We have recently conducted several studies with captive adult American kestrels and eastern screech-owls examining the toxicity of diphacinone (DPN) using both acute oral an
Authors
Barnett A. Rattner, Rebecca S. Lazarus, Karen M. Eisenreich, Katherine E. Horak, Steven F. Volker, Christopher M. Campton, John D. Eisemann, Carol U. Meteyer, John J. Johnson
Deepwater Program: Studies of Gulf of Mexico lower continental slope communities related to chemosynthetic and hard substrate habitats
This report summarizes research funded by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in collaboration with the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) on the ecology of deep chemosynthetic communities in the Gulf of Mexico. The research was conducted at the request of the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE; formerly Minerals Management Service) to complemen
Authors
Steve W. Ross, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Christina A. Kellogg, Cheryl L. Morrison, Martha S. Nizinski, Cheryl L. Ames, Tara L. Casazza, Daniel Gualtieri, Kaitlin Kovacs, Jennifer P. McClain, Andrea M. Quattrini, Adela Y. Roa-Varon, Andrew D. Thaler
Anaerobic oxidation of arsenite by autotrophic bacteria: The view from Mono Lake, California
Introduction
The phenomenon of arsenite [As(III)] oxidation by aerobic bacteria was first reported by Green (1918), and the many subsequent discoveries made in this realm, most occurring over the past three decades, are the primary focus of this book. In contrast, the fact that select anaerobes can also achieve this feat was an entirely serendipitous discovery. As often occurs in science, the inte
Authors
Ronald S. Oremland, John F. Stolz, Chad W. Saltikov