Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
Filter Total Items: 4094
Environmental conditions constrain the distribution and diversity of archaeal merA in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, U.S.A.
The distribution and phylogeny of extant protein-encoding genes recovered from geochemically diverse environments can provide insight into the physical and chemical parameters that led to the origin and which constrained the evolution of a functional process. Mercuric reductase (MerA) plays an integral role in mercury (Hg) biogeochemistry by catalyzing the transformation of Hg(II) to Hg(0). Putati
Authors
Y. Wang, E. Boyd, S. Crane, P. Lu-Irving, David P. Krabbenhoft, S. King, J. Dighton, G. Geesey, T. Barkay
Fluoride geochemistry of thermal waters in Yellowstone National Park: I. Aqueous fluoride speciation
Thermal water samples from Yellowstone National Park (YNP) have a wide range of pH (1–10), temperature, and high concentrations of fluoride (up to 50 mg/l). High fluoride concentrations are found in waters with field pH higher than 6 (except those in Crater Hills) and temperatures higher than 50 °C based on data from more than 750 water samples covering most thermal areas in YNP from 1975 to 2008.
Authors
Y. Deng, D. Kirk Nordstrom, R. Blaine McCleskey
Mercury distribution and lipid oxidation in fish muscle: Effects of washing and isoelectric protein precipitation
Nearly all the mercury (Hg) in whole muscle from whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) and walleye (Sander vitreus) was present as methyl mercury (MeHg). The Hg content in whole muscle from whitefish and walleye was 0.04–0.09 and 0.14–0.81 ppm, respectively. The myofibril fraction contained approximately three-fourths of the Hg in whitefish and walleye whole muscle. The sarcoplasmic protein fraction
Authors
Y. Gong, David P. Krabbenhoft, L. Ren, B. Egelandsdal, M.P. Richards
Loss of volatile hydrocarbons from an LNAPL oil source
The light nonaqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) oil pool in an aquifer that resulted from a pipeline spill near Bemidji, Minnesota, was analyzed for volatile hydrocarbons (VHCs) to determine if the composition of the oil remains constant over time. Oil samples were obtained from wells at five locations in the oil pool in an anaerobic part of the glacial outwash aquifer. Samples covering a 21-year period
Authors
Mary Jo Baedecker, Robert P. Eganhouse, Barbara A. Bekins, Geoffrey N. Delin
Evaluation of influence of sediment on the sensitivity of a unionid mussel (Lampsilis siliquoidea) to ammonia in 28-day water exposures
A draft update of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ambient water quality criteria (AWQC) for ammonia substantially lowers the ammonia AWQC, primarily due to the inclusion of toxicity data for freshwater mussels. However, most of the mussel data used in the updated AWQC were generated from water-only exposures and limited information is available on the potential influence of the presence o
Authors
N. Wang, R.A. Consbrock, C.G. Ingersoll, M.C. Barnhart
Tracking nonpoint source nitrogen pollution in human-impacted watersheds
Nonpoint source nitrogen (N) pollution is a leading contributor to U.S. water quality impairments. We combined watershed N mass balances and stable isotopes to investigate fate and transport of nonpoint N in forest, agricultural, and urbanized watersheds at the Baltimore Long-Term Ecological Research site. Annual N retention was 55%, 68%, and 82% for agricultural, suburban, and forest watersheds,
Authors
Sujay S. Kaushal, Peter M Groffman, Lawrence Band, Emily M. Elliott, Catherine A. Shields, Carol Kendall
Decreasing prevalence of brucellosis in red deer through efforts to control disease in livestock
When a pathogen infects a number of different hosts, the process of determining the relative importance of each host species to the persistence of the pathogen is often complex. Removal of a host species is a potential but rarely possible way of discovering the importance of that species to the dynamics of the disease. This study presents the results of a 12-year programme aimed at controlling bru
Authors
E. Serrano, P.C. Cross, M. Beneria, A. Ficapal, J. Curia, X. Marco, S. Lavin, I. Marco
The challenge of interpreting environmental tracer concentrations in fractured rock and carbonate aquifers
No abstract available.
Authors
Allen M. Shapiro
A comparison of recharge rates in aquifers of the United States based on groundwater-age data
An overview is presented of existing groundwater-age data and their implications for assessing rates and timescales of recharge in selected unconfined aquifer systems of the United States. Apparent age distributions in aquifers determined from chlorofluorocarbon, sulfur hexafluoride, tritium/helium-3, and radiocarbon measurements from 565 wells in 45 networks were used to calculate groundwater rec
Authors
P. B. McMahon, Niel Plummer, J.K. Böhlke, S.D. Shapiro, S.R. Hinkle
Rethinking hyporheic flow and transient storage to advance understanding of stream-catchment connections
Although surface water and groundwater are increasingly referred to as one resource, there remain environmental and ecosystem needs to study the 10 m to 1 km reach scale as one hydrologic system. Streams gain and lose water over a range of spatial and temporal scales. Large spatial scales (kilometers) have traditionally been recognized and studied as river-aquifer connections. Over the last 25 yea
Authors
Kenneth E. Bencala, M.N. Gooseff, Briant A. Kimball
Effects of humic substances on precipitation and aggregation of zinc sulfide nanoparticles
Nanoparticulate metal sulfides such as ZnS can influence the transport and bioavailability of pollutant metals in anaerobic environments. The aim of this work was to investigate how the composition of dissolved natural organic matter (NOM) influences the stability of zinc sulfide nanoparticles as they nucleate and aggregate in water with dissolved NOM. We compared NOM fractions that were isolated
Authors
Amrika Deonarine, Boris L.T. Lau, George R. Aiken, Joseph N. Ryan, Heileen Hsu-Kim
Effects of human-induced alteration of groundwater flow on concentrations of naturally-occurring trace elements at water-supply wells
The effects of human-induced alteration of groundwater flow patterns on concentrations of naturally-occurring trace elements were examined in five hydrologically distinct aquifer systems in the USA. Although naturally occurring, these trace elements can exceed concentrations that are considered harmful to human health. The results show that pumping-induced hydraulic gradient changes and artificial
Authors
J. D. Ayotte, Z. Szabo, M. J. Focazio, S. M. Eberts