Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
Filter Total Items: 4094
Establishing a pre-mining geochemical baseline at a uranium mine near Grand Canyon National Park, USA
During 2012, approximately 404,000 ha of Federal Land in northern Arizona was withdrawn from consideration of mineral extraction for a 20-year period to protect the Grand Canyon watershed from potentially adverse effects of U mineral exploration and development. The development, operation, and reclamation of the Canyon Mine during the withdrawal period provide an excellent field site to understand
Authors
David L. Naftz, Katherine Walton-Day
Maternal transfer of contaminants in birds: Mercury and selenium concentrations in parents and their eggs
We conducted a detailed assessment of the maternal transfer of mercury and selenium to eggs in three bird species (n = 107 parents and n = 339 eggs), and developed predictive equations linking contaminant concentrations in eggs to those in six tissues of the mother (blood, muscle, liver, kidney, breast feathers, and head feathers). Mercury concentrations in eggs were positively correlated with mer
Authors
Joshua T. Ackerman, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Mark P. Herzog, C. Alex Hartman
Mercury transformation and release differs with depth and time in a contaminated riparian soil during simulated flooding
Riparian soils are an important environment in the transport of mercury in rivers and wetlands, but the biogeochemical factors controlling mercury dynamics under transient redox conditions in these soils are not well understood. Mercury release and transformations in the Oa and underlying A horizons of a contaminated riparian soil were characterized in microcosms and an intact soil core under satu
Authors
Brett Poulin, George R. Aiken, Kathryn L. Nagy, Alain Manceau, David P. Krabbenhoft, Joseph N. Ryan
Breeding sites and winter site fidelity of Piping Plovers wintering in The Bahamas, a previously unknown major wintering area
Most of the known wintering areas of Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) are along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States and into Mexico, and in the Caribbean. However, 1066 threatened/endangered Piping Plovers were recently found wintering in The Bahamas, an area not previously known to be important for the species. Although representing about 27% of the birds counted during the 2011
Authors
Cheri Gratto-Trevor, Susan M. Haig, Mark P. Miller, Thomas D. Mullins, Sidney Maddock, Erin A. Roche, Predensa Moore
Surface-air mercury fluxes across Western North America: A synthesis of spatial trends and controlling variables
Mercury (Hg) emission and deposition can occur to and from soils, and are an important component of the global atmospheric Hg budget. This paper focuses on synthesizing existing surface-air Hg flux data collected throughout the Western North American region and is part of a series of geographically focused Hg synthesis projects. A database of existing Hg flux data collected using the dynamic flux
Authors
Chris S. Eckley, Michael T. Tate, Che-Jen Lin, Mae S. Gustin, Stephen Dent, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Michelle A. Lutz, Kimberly Wickland, Bronwen Wang, John E. Gray, Grant Edwards, David P. Krabbenhoft, David B. Smith
Groundwater
Introduction
Groundwater represents the terrestrial subsurface component of the hydrologic cycle. As such, groundwater is generally in motion, moving from elevated areas of recharge to lower areas of discharge. Groundwater usually moves in accordance with Darcy’s law (Dalmont, Paris: Les Fontaines Publiques de la Ville de Dijon, 1856). Groundwater residence times can be under a day in small upland
Authors
David A. Stonestrom
Hydraulic and biochemical gradients limit wetland mercury supply to an Adirondack stream
Net fluxes (change between upstream and downstream margins) for water, methylmercury (MeHg), total mercury (THg), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and chloride (Cl) were assessed twice in an Adirondack stream reach (Sixmile Brook, USA), to test the hypothesized importance of wetland-stream hydraulic and chemical gradients as fundamental controls on fluvial mercury (Hg) supply. The 500 m study reach
Authors
Paul M. Bradley, Douglas A. Burns, Judson Harvey, Celeste A. Journey, Mark E. Brigham, Karen Riva-Murray
Experimental studies and model analysis of noble gas fractionation in porous media
The noble gases, which are chemically inert under normal terrestrial conditions but vary systematically across a wide range of atomic mass and diffusivity, offer a multicomponent approach to investigating gas dynamics in unsaturated soil horizons, including transfer of gas between saturated zones, unsaturated zones, and the atmosphere. To evaluate the degree to which fractionation of noble gases i
Authors
Xin Ding, B. Mack. Kennedy, William C. Evans, David A. Stonestrom
Mercury remediation in wetland sediment using zero-valent iron and granular activated carbon
Wetlands are hotspots for production of toxic methylmercury (MeHg) that can bioaccumulate in the food web. The objective of this study was to determine whether the application of zero-valent iron (ZVI) or granular activated carbon (GAC) to wetland sediment could reduce MeHg production and bioavailability to benthic organisms. Field mesocosms were installed in a wetland fringing Hodgdon Pond (Maine
Authors
Ariel S. Lewis, Thomas G. Huntington, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Aria Amirbahman
Bioaccessibility tests accurately estimate bioavailability of lead to quail
Hazards of soil-borne Pb to wild birds may be more accurately quantified if the bioavailability of that Pb is known. To better understand the bioavailability of Pb to birds, we measured blood Pb concentrations in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) fed diets containing Pb-contaminated soils. Relative bioavailabilities were expressed by comparison with blood Pb concentrations in quail fed a Pb aceta
Authors
W. Nelson Beyer, Nicholas T Basta, Rufus L. Chaney, Paula F. P. Henry, David Mosby, Barnett A. Rattner, Kirk G. Scheckel, Dan Sprague, John Weber
Spatial and temporal variation in microcystins occurrence in wadeable streams in the southeastern USA
Despite historical observations of potential microcystin-producing cyanobacteria (including Leptolyngbya,Phormidium, Pseudoanabaena, and Anabaena species) in 74% of headwater streams in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina (USA) from 1993 to 2011, fluvial cyanotoxin occurrence has not been systematically assessed in the southeastern United States. To begin to address this data gap,
Authors
Keith A. Loftin, Jimmy M. Clark, Celeste A. Journey, Dana W. Kolpin, Peter C. Van Metre, Paul M. Bradley
Evaluating a portable cylindrical bait trap to capture diamondback terrapins in salt marsh
Diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) are currently in decline across much of their historical range, and demographic data on a regional scale are needed to identify where their populations are at greatest risk. Because terrapins residing in salt marshes are difficult to capture, we designed a cylindrical bait trap (CBT) that could be deployed in shallow tidal waters. From 2003 to 2006, tria
Authors
Paula F. P. Henry, G. Michael Haramis, Daniel D. Day