Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
Filter Total Items: 4094
Crude oil in a shallow sand and gravel aquifer—I. Hydrogeology and inorganic geochemistry
Changes in the distribution of inorganic solutes in a shallow ground water contaminated by crude oil document a series of geochemical reactions initiated by biodegradation of the oil. Upgradient of an oil body floating on the water table, oxidation of oil to carbonic acid dissolves carbonate minerals in the aquifer matrix. In this oxidized zone pH is depressed ∼1 pH unit, and the concentrations of
Authors
P.C. Bennett, D.E. Siegel, M.J. Baedecker, M. F. Hult
Using borehole geophysics and cross-borehole flow testing to define hydraulic connections between fracture zones in bedrock aquifers
Nearly a decade of intensive geophysical logging at fractured rock hydrology research sites indicates that geophysical logs can be used to identify and characterize fractures intersecting boreholes. However, borehole-to-borehole flow tests indicate that only a few of the apparently open fractures found to intersect boreholes conduct flow under test conditions. This paper presents a systematic appr
Authors
Frederick L. Paillet
A brief history of the American radium industry and its ties to the scientific community of its early twentieth century
Federally funded remedial action projects are presently underway in New Jersey and Colorado at sites containing 226Ra and other radionuclides from radium-uranium ore extraction plants that operated during the early twentieth century. They are but the latest chapter in the story of an American industry that emerged and perished in the span of three decades. Major extraction plants were established
Authors
E. R. Landa
Crude oil in a shallow sand and gravel aquifer-II. Organic geochemistry
Crude oil spilled from a pipeline break in a remote area of north-central Minnesota has contaminated a shallow glacial outwash aquifer. Part of the oil was sprayed over a large area to the west of the pipeline and part of it accumulated in an oil body that floats at the water table to the east of the point of discharge. Total dissolved organic carbon (TDOC) concentrations in shallow groundwater co
Authors
R.P. Eganhouse, M.J. Baedecker, I.M. Cozzarelli, G. R. Aiken, K. A. Thorn, T.F. Dorsey
Analysis of flow in an observation well intersecting a single fracture
A semi-analytical model is developed to determine transmissivity and storativity from the interpretation of transient flow in an observation well due to pumping in a source well where the two wells are connected by a single fracture. Flow rate can be determined using a heat-pulse flowmeter located above the intersection of the fracture in the observation well. The results of a field experiment wer
Authors
P.A. Lapcevic, K.S. Novakowski, Frederick L. Paillet
Distribution and significance of dicarboxylic acid anions in oil field waters
No abstract available.
Authors
Y.K. Kharaka, G. Ambats, J.J. Thordsen
Dissolved sulfides in the oxic water column of San Francisco Bay, California
Trace contaminants enter major estuaries such as San Francisco Bay from a variety of point and nonpoint sources and may then be repartitioned between solid and aqueous phases or altered in chemical speciation. Chemical speciation affects the bioavailability of metals as well as organic ligands to planktonic and benthic organisms, and the partitioning of these solutes between phases. Our previous,
Authors
J.S. Kuwabara, G.W. Luther
Trace metals (Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn) and nutrients in coastal waters adjacent to San Francisco Bay, California
Samples collected in December 1990 and July 1991 show that dissolved Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn distributions in the Gulf of the Farallones are dominated by mixing of two end-members: (1) metal-enriched San Francisco Bay water and (2) offshore California Current water. The range of dissolved metal concentrations observed is 0.2–0.9 nmol kg−1 for Cd, 1–20 nmol kg−1 for Cu, 4–16 nmol kg−1 for Ni, and 0.2–20
Authors
A. VanGeen, Samuel N. Luoma
Computation of type curves for flow to partially penetrating wells in water-table aquifers
Evaluation of Neuman's analytical solution for flow to a well in a homogeneous, anisotropic, water-table aquifer commonly requires large amounts of computation time and can produce inaccurate results for selected combinations of parameters. Large computation times occur because the integrand of a semi-infinite integral involves the summation of an infinite series. Each term of the series requires
Authors
Allen F. Moench
Trace contaminants and nutrients in estuaries: The importance of process interdependence
No abstract available.
Authors
J.S. Kuwabara, J.E. Baker
Distributions of pesticides and organic contaminants between water and suspended sediment, San Francisco Bay, California
Suspended-sediment and water samples were collected from San Francisco Bay in 1991 during low river discharge and after spring rains. All samples were analyzed for organophosphate, carbamate, and organochlorine pesticides; petroleum hydrocarbons; biomarkers; and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. The objectives were to determine the concentrations of these contaminants in water and suspended sedim
Authors
Joseph L. Domagalski, K.M. Kuivila