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.
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Zinc isotopic composition of particulate matter generated during the combustion of coal and coal + tire-derived fuels
Atmospheric Zn emissions from the burning of coal and tire-derived fuel (TDF) for power generation can be considerable. In an effort to lay the foundation for tracking these contributions, we evaluated the Zn isotopes of coal, a mixture of 95 wt % coal + 5 wt % TDF, and the particulate matter (PM) derived from their combustion in a power-generating plant. The average Zn concentrations and δ(66)Zn
Authors
D.M. Borrok, R. Gieré, M. Ren, E. R. Landa
The annual cycles of phytoplankton biomass
Terrestrial plants are powerful climate sentinels because their annual cycles of growth, reproduction and senescence are finely tuned to the annual climate cycle having a period of one year. Consistency in the seasonal phasing of terrestrial plant activity provides a relatively low-noise background from which phenological shifts can be detected and attributed to climate change. Here, we ask whethe
Authors
Monika Winder, James E. Cloern
Wintering area DDE source to migratory white-faced ibis revealed by satellite telemetry and prey sampling
Locations of contaminant exposure for nesting migratory species are difficult to fully understand because of possible additional sources encountered during migration or on the wintering grounds. A portion of the migratory white-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi) nesting at Carson Lake, Nevada continues to be exposed to dichloro-diphenyldichloro-ethylene (DDE) with no change, which is unusual, observed in
Authors
M.A. Yates, Mark R. Fuller, Charles J. Henny, W.S. Seegar, Jorge H. Garcia
Influence of organic carbon loading, sediment associated metal oxide content and sediment grain size distributions upon Cryptosporidium parvum removal during riverbank filtration operations, Sonoma County, CA
This study assessed the efficacy for removing Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts of poorly sorted, Fe- and Al-rich, subsurface sediments collected from 0.9 to 4.9 and 1.7–13.9 m below land surface at an operating riverbank filtration (RBF) site (Russian River, Sonoma County, CA). Both formaldehyde-killed oocysts and oocyst-sized (3 μm) microspheres were employed in sediment-packed flow-through and sta
Authors
D.W. Metge, R.W. Harvey, G. R. Aiken, R. Anders, G. Lincoln, James Jasperse
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil of the Canadian River floodplain in Oklahoma
The accumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in soil, plants, and water may impart negative effects on ecosystem and human health. We quantified the concentration and distribution of 41 PAH (n = 32), organic C, total N, and S (n = 140) and investigated PAH sources using a chronosequence of floodplain soils under a natural vegetation succession. Soil samples were collected between 0-
Authors
F. Sartori, T.L. Wade, J.L. Sericano, B.P. Mohanty, Karen A. Smith
Vadose zone attenuation of organic compounds at a crude oil spill site - Interactions between biogeochemical reactions and multicomponent gas transport
Contaminant attenuation processes in the vadose zone of a crude oil spill site near Bemidji, MN have been simulated with a reactive transport model that includes multicomponent gas transport, solute transport, and the most relevant biogeochemical reactions. Dissolution and volatilization of oil components, their aerobic and anaerobic degradation coupled with sequential electron acceptor consumptio
Authors
S. Molins, K.U. Mayer, R.T. Amos, Barbara A. Bekins
A shallow subsurface controlled release facility in Bozeman, Montana, USA, for testing near surface CO2 detection techniques and transport models
A controlled field pilot has been developed in Bozeman, Montana, USA, to study near surface CO2 transport and detection technologies. A slotted horizontal well divided into six zones was installed in the shallow subsurface. The scale and CO2 release rates were chosen to be relevant to developing monitoring strategies for geological carbon storage. The field site was characterized before injection,
Authors
L.H. Spangler, L.M. Dobeck, K.S. Repasky, A.R. Nehrir, S.D. Humphries, C.J. Keith, J.A. Shaw, J.H. Rouse, A.B. Cunningham, S.M. Benson, C.M. Oldenburg, J.L. Lewicki, A.W. Wells, J.R. Diehl, B.R. Strazisar, J.E. Fessenden, T.A. Rahn, J.E. Amonette, J.L. Barr, W.L. Pickles, J.D. Jacobson, E. A. Silver, E.J. Male, H.W. Rauch, K.S. Gullickson, R. Trautz, Yousif K. Kharaka, J. Birkholzer, L. Wielopolski
Phosphorus dynamics in soils irrigated with reclaimed waste water or fresh water - A study using oxygen isotopic composition of phosphate
Transformations of phosphate (Pi) in different soil fractions were tracked using the stable isotopic composition of oxygen in phosphate (δ18Op) and Pi concentrations. Clay soil from Israel was treated with either reclaimed waste water (secondary, low grade) or with fresh water amended with a chemical fertilizer of a known isotopic signature. Changes of δ18Opand Pi within different soil fractions,
Authors
I. Zohar, A. Shaviv, M. Young, Carol Kendall, Steven R. Silva, A. Paytan
Anthropogenic tracers, endocrine disrupting chemicals, and endocrine disruption in Minnesota lakes
Concentrations of endocrine disrupting chemicals and endocrine disruption in fish were determined in 11 lakes across Minnesota that represent a range of trophic conditions and land uses (urban, agricultural, residential, and forested) and in which wastewater treatment plant discharges were absent. Water, sediment, and passive polar organic integrative samplers (POCIS) were analyzed for steroidal h
Authors
J.H. Writer, L. B. Barber, G.K. Brown, Howard E. Taylor, R.L. Kiesling, M.L. Ferrey, N.D. Jahns, S.E. Bartell, H.L. Schoenfuss
Persistence of canine distemper virus in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem's carnivore community
Canine distemper virus (CDV) is an acute, highly immunizing pathogen that should require high densities and large populations of hosts for long-term persistence, yet CDV persists among terrestrial carnivores with small, patchily distributed groups. We used CDV in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem's (GYE) wolves (Canis lupus) and coyotes (Canis latrans) as a case study for exploring how metapopulat
Authors
Emily S. Almberg, Paul C. Cross, D.W. Smith
A methodology for ecosystem-scale modeling of selenium
The main route of exposure for selenium (Se) is dietary, yet regulations lack biologically based protocols for evaluations of risk. We propose here an ecosystem-scale model that conceptualizes and quantifies the variables that determinehow Se is processed from water through diet to predators. This approach uses biogeochemical and physiological factors from laboratory and field studies and consider
Authors
Theresa S. Presser, Samuel N. Luoma
Hurricane storm surge and amphibian communities in coastal wetlands of northwestern Florida
Isolated wetlands in the Southeastern United States are dynamic habitats subject to fluctuating environmental conditions. Wetlands located near marine environments are subject to alterations in water chemistry due to storm surge during hurricanes. The objective of our study was to evaluate the effect of storm surge overwash on wetland amphibian communities. Thirty-two wetlands in northwestern Flor
Authors
Margaret S. Gunzburger, William B. Hughes, William J. Barichivich, Jennifer S. Staiger