Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
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Antidepressants at environmentally relevant concentrations affect predator avoidance behavior of larval fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas).
The effects of embryonic and larval exposure to environmentally relevant (ng/L) concentrations of common antidepressants, fluoxetine, sertraline, venlafaxine, and bupropion (singularly and in mixture) on C-start escape behavior were evaluated in fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas). Embryos (postfertilization until hatching) were exposed for 5 d and, after hatching, were allowed to grow in contro
Authors
Edward T. Furlong, Larry B. Barber, Meghan R. McGee, Megan A. Buerkley, Matthew L. Julius, Alan M. Vajda, Heiko L. Schoenfuss, Melissa M. Schultz, David O. Norris
Tritium concentrations in environmental samples and transpiration rates from the vicinity of Mary's Branch Creek and background areas, Barnwell, South Carolina, 2007-2009
Tritium in groundwater from a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility near Barnwell, South Carolina, is discharging to Mary's Branch Creek. The U.S. Geological Survey conducted an investigation from 2007 to 2009 to examine the tritium concentration in trees and air samples near the creek and in background areas, in groundwater near the creek, and in surface water from the creek. Tritium was
Authors
Don A. Vroblesky, Judy L. Canova, Paul M. Bradley, James Landmeyer
Assessment of contaminant exposure and effects on ospreys nesting along the Lower Duwamish River, Washington, 2006-07
We evaluated the effects of contaminants on osprey (Pandion haliaetus) nesting along the lower Duwamish River (LDR), Washington, and used the upper reach of the Willamette River (WR), Oregon, as a reference site. Osprey eggs and nestling blood (plasma) were collected at nests along the LDR (11 eggs, 7 plasmas) and WR (10 eggs, 6 plasmas) in 2006-07 and analyzed for contaminants. Additionally, hema
Authors
Branden L. Johnson, Charles J. Henny, James L. Kaiser, Jay W. Davis, Edmund P. Schulz
Sources and distribution of organic compounds using passive samplers in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada and Arizona, and their implications for potential effects on aquatic biota.
Th e delineation of lateral and vertical gradients of organic contaminants in lakes is hampered by low concentrations and nondetection of many organic compounds in water. Passive samplers (semipermeable membrane devices [SPMDs] and polar organic chemical integrative samplers [POCIS]) are well suited for assessing gradients because they can detect synthetic organic compounds (SOCs) at pg L-1 concen
Authors
Michael R. Rosen, David A. Alvarez, Steven L. Goodbred, Thomas J. Leiker, Reynaldo Patiño
Total selenium in irrigation drain inflows to the Salton Sea, California, April 2009
This report presents the results for the final sampling period (April 2009) of a 4-year monitoring program to characterize selenium concentrations in selected irrigation drains flowing into the Salton Sea, California. Total selenium and total suspended solids were determined in water samples. Total selenium, percent total organic carbon, and particle size were determined in sediments. Mean total s
Authors
Thomas W. May, Michael J. Walther, Michael K. Saiki, William G. Brumbaugh
Water-quality, bed-sediment, and biological data (October 2007 through September 2008) and statistical summaries of long-term data for streams in the Clark Fork Basin, Montana
Water, bed sediment, and biota were sampled in streams from Butte to near Missoula as part of a long-term monitoring program in the upper Clark Fork basin; additional water samples were collected in the Clark Fork basin from sites near Missoula downstream to near the confluence of the Clark Fork and Flathead River as part of a supplemental sampling program. The sampling programs were conducted in
Authors
Kent A. Dodge, Michelle I. Hornberger, Jessica Dyke
Near-field receiving water monitoring of trace metals and a benthic community near the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant in South San Francisco Bay, California: 2008
Results reported herein include trace element concentrations in sediment and in the clam Macoma petalum (formerly reported as Macoma balthica (Cohen and Carlton, 1995)), clam reproductive activity, and benthic macroinvertebrate community structure for a mudflat one kilometer south of the discharge of the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (PARWQCP) in South San Francisco Bay. This repo
Authors
Daniel J. Cain, Janet K. Thompson, Jessica Dyke, Francis Parcheso, Samuel N. Luoma, Michelle I. Hornberger
Mercury, methylmercury, and other constituents in sediment and water from seasonal and permanent wetlands in the Cache Creek settling basin and Yolo Bypass, Yolo County, California, 2005-06
This report presents surface water and surface (top 0-2 cm) sediment geochemical data collected during 2005-2006, as part of a larger study of mercury (Hg) dynamics in seasonal and permanently flooded wetland habitats within the lower Sacramento River basin, Yolo County, California. The study was conducted in two phases. Phase I represented reconnaissance sampling and included three locations with
Authors
Mark Marvin-DiPasquale, Charles N. Alpers, Jacob A. Fleck
Polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins, furans, and organochlorine pesticides in belted kingfisher eggs from the upper Hudson River basin, New York, USA
Nesting belted kingfishers (hereafter kingfishers, Ceryle alcyon) were studied on the Hudson River near Fort Edward south to New Baltimore (NY, USA) and three nearby river drainages in 2004. Concentrations of 28 organochlorine pesticides, 160 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners, and 17 dioxin and furan (PCDD‐F) congeners were quantified in kingfisher eggs. The pattern of organochlorine pestic
Authors
Thomas W. Custer, Christine M. Custer, Brian R. Gray
Determination of glyphosate, its degradation product aminomethylphosphonic acid, and glufosinate, in water by isotope dilution and online solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry
The U.S. Geological Survey method (0-2141-09) presented is approved for the determination of glyphosate, its degradation product aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), and glufosinate in water. It was was validated to demonstrate the method detection levels (MDL), compare isotope dilution to standard addition, and evaluate method and compound stability. The original method USGS analytical method 0-213
Authors
Michael T. Meyer, Keith A. Loftin, Edward A. Lee, Gary H. Hinshaw, Julie E. Dietze, Elisabeth A. Scribner
Benthic oxygen demand in three former salt ponds adjacent to south San Francisco Bay, California
Sampling trips were coordinated in the second half of 2008 to examine the interstitial water in the sediment and the overlying bottom waters of three shallow (average depth 2 meters). The water column at all deployment sites was monitored with dataloggers for ancillary water-quality parameters (including dissolved oxygen, salinity, specific conductance, temperature, and pH) to facilitate the inte
Authors
Brent R. Topping, James S. Kuwabara, Nicole D. Athearn, John Y. Takekawa, Francis Parcheso, Kathleen D. Henderson, Sara Piotter
Geochemical investigation of the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer, South-Central Oklahoma, 2004-06
A geochemical reconnaissance investigation of the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer in south-central Oklahoma was initiated in 2004 to characterize the ground-water quality at an aquifer scale, to describe the chemical evolution of ground water as it flows from recharge areas to discharge in wells and springs, and to determine the residence time of ground water in the aquifer. Thirty-six water samples were
Authors
Scott Christenson, Andrew G. Hunt, David L. Parkhurst