Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
Filter Total Items: 4094
Fate and transport of petroleum hydrocarbons in the subsurface near Cass Lake, Minnesota
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) investigated the natural attenuation of subsurface petroleum hydrocarbons leaked over an unknown number of years from an oil pipeline under the Enbridge Energy Limited Partnership South Cass Lake Pumping Station, in Cass Lake, Minnesota. Three weeks of field work conducted between May 2007 and July 2008 delineated a dissolved plume of aromatic hydrocarbons and cha
Authors
Dina M. Drennan, Barbara A. Bekins, Ean Warren, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Mary Jo Baedecker, William N. Herkelrath, Geoffrey N. Delin, Robert J. Rosenbauer, Pamela L. Campbell
Method description, quality assurance, environmental data, and other Information for analysis of pharmaceuticals in wastewater-treatment-plant effluents, streamwater, and reservoirs, 2004-2009
Abstract
Wastewater-treatment-plant (WWTP) effluents are a demonstrated source of pharmaceuticals to the environment. During 2004-09, a study was conducted to identify pharmaceutical compounds in effluents from WWTPs (including two that receive substantial discharges from pharmaceutical formulation facilities), streamwater, and reservoirs. The methods used to determine and quantify concentrations
Authors
Patrick J. Phillips, Steven G. Smith, Dana W. Kolpin, Steven D. Zaugg, Herbert T. Buxton, Edward T. Furlong
Source and fate of inorganic solutes in the Gibbon River, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA: I. Low-flow discharge and major solute chemistry
The Gibbon River in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) is an important natural resource and habitat for fisheries and wildlife. However, the Gibbon River differs from most other mountain rivers because its chemistry is affected by several geothermal sources including Norris Geyser Basin, Chocolate Pots, Gibbon Geyser Basin, Beryl Spring, and Terrace Spring. Norris Geyser Basin is one of the most dyna
Authors
R. Blaine McCleskey, D. Kirk Nordstrom, David D. Susong, James W. Ball, JoAnn M. Holloway
A comparison of methods for estimating open-water evaporation in small wetlands
We compared evaporation measurements from a floating pan, land pan, chamber, and the Priestley-Taylor (PT) equation. Floating pan, land pan, and meteorological data were collected from June 6 to July 21, 2005, at a small wetland in the Canadian River alluvium in central Oklahoma, USA. Evaporation measured with the floating pan compared favorably to 12 h chamber measurements. Differences between ch
Authors
Jason R. Masoner, David I. Stannard
USGS Toxic Substances Hydrology Program, 2010
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Toxic Substances Hydrology Program adapts research priorities to address the most important contamination issues facing the Nation and to identify new threats to environmental health. The Program investigates two major types of contamination problems: * Subsurface Point-Source Contamination, and * Watershed and Regional Contamination. Research objectives include d
Authors
Herbert T. Buxton
Bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of selenium
No abstract available.
Authors
A. Robin Stewart, M. Grosell, David B. Buchwalter, Nicholas S. Fisher, S. N. Luoma, T. Matthews, P. Orr, W.-X. Wang
Evaluating the behavior of gadolinium and other rare earth elements through large metropolitan sewage treatment plants
A primary pathway for emerging contaminants (pharmaceuticals, personal care products, steroids, and hormones) to enter aquatic ecosystems is effluent from sewage treatment plants (STP), and identifying technologies to minimize the amount of these contaminants released is important. Quantifying the flux of these contaminants through STPs is difficult. This study evaluates the behavior of gadolinium
Authors
Philip L. Verplanck, Edward T. Furlong, James L. Gray, Patrick J. Phillips, Ruth E. Wolf, Kathleen Esposito
Evaluating remediation alternatives for mine drainage, Little Cottonwood Creek, Utah, USA
The vast occurrence of mine drainage worldwide, documented in descriptive studies, presents a staggering challenge for remediation. Any tool that can move beyond descriptive study and helps to evaluate options for remediation in a way that maximizes improvements to the water quality of streams and minimizes cost of remediation could save valuable resources and time. A reactive solute transport mod
Authors
Briant A. Kimball, Robert L. Runkel
Effect of diet on fecal and urinary estrogenic activity
The United States Environmental Protection Agency has identified estrogens from animal feeding operations as a major environmental concern, but few data are available to quantify the excretion of estrogenic compounds by dairy cattle. The objectives of this study were to quantify variation in estrogenic activity in feces and urine due to increased dietary inclusion of phytoestrogens. Ten Holstein h
Authors
H.A. Tucker, K.F. Knowlton, Michael T. Meyer, W.O Khunjar, N.G. Love
Modeling the production, decomposition, and transport of dissolved organic carbon in boreal soils
The movement of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) through boreal ecosystems has drawn increased attention because of its potential impact on the feedback of OC stocks to global environmental change in this region. Few models of boreal DOC exist. Here we present a one-dimensional model with simultaneous production, decomposition, sorption/desorption, and transport of DOC to describe the behavior of DO
Authors
Zhaosheng Fan, Jason C. Neff, Kimberly P. Wickland
A macroinvertebrate assessment of Ozark streams located in lead-zinc mining areas of the Viburnum Trend in southeastern Missouri, USA
The Viburnum Trend lead-zinc mining subdistrict is located in the southeast Missouri portion of the Ozark Plateau. In 2003 and 2004, we assessed the ecological effects of mining in several watersheds in the region. We included macroinvertebrate surveys, habitat assessments, and analysis of metals in sediment, pore water, and aquatic biota. Macroinvertebrates were sampled at 21 sites to determine a
Authors
Barry C. Poulton, Ann L. Allert, John M. Besser, Christopher J. Schmitt, William G. Brumbaugh, James F. Fairchild
Source identification of Florida Bay's methylmercury problem: Mainland runoff versus atmospheric deposition and in situ production
The first advisory to limit consumption of Florida Bay fish due to mercury was issued in 1995. Studies done by others in the late 1990s found elevated water column concentrations of both total Hg (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) in creeks discharging from the Everglades, which had its own recognized mercury problem. To investigate the significance of allochthonous MeHg discharging from the upstream
Authors
Darren G. Rumbold, David W. Evans, Sharon Niemczyk, Larry E. Fink, Krysten A. Laine, Nicole Howard, David P. Krabbenhoft, Mark Zucker