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Publications

Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).

Filter Total Items: 3746

A simple method for calculating growth rates of petroleum hydrocarbon plumes

Consumption of aquifer Fe(III) during biodegradation of ground water contaminants may result in expansion of a contaminant plume, changing the outlook for monitored natural attenuation. Data from two research sites contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons show that toluene and xylenes degrade under methanogenic conditions, but the benzene and ethylbenzene plumes grow as aquifer Fe(III) supplies ar
Authors
B.A. Bekins, I.M. Cozzarelli, G.P. Curtis

Modeling and measuring the nocturnal drainage flow in a high-elevation, subalpine forest with complex terrain

The nocturnal drainage flow of air causes significant uncertainty in ecosystem CO2, H2O, and energy budgets determined with the eddy covariance measurement approach. In this study, we examined the magnitude, nature, and dynamics of the nocturnal drainage flow in a subalpine forest ecosystem with complex terrain. We used an experimental approach involving four towers, each with vertical profiling o
Authors
C. Yi, Russell K. Monson, Z. Zhai, D.E. Anderson, B. Lamb, G. Allwine, A.A. Turnipseed, Sean P. Burns

Quasi‐steady centrifuge method for unsaturated hydraulic properties

We have developed the quasi‐steady centrifuge (QSC) method as a variation of the steady state centrifuge method that can be implemented simply and inexpensively with greater versatility in terms of sample size and other features. It achieves these advantages by somewhat relaxing the criterion for steadiness of flow through the sample. This compromise entails an increase in measurement uncertainty
Authors
Maria C. Caputo, John R. Nimmo

Mercury transport in a high-elevation watershed in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Mercury (Hg) was measured in stream water and precipitation in the Loch Vale watershed in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, during 2001–2002 to investigate processes controlling Hg transport in high-elevation ecosystems. Total Hg concentrations in precipitation ranged from 2.6 to 36.2 ng/L and showed a strong seasonal pattern with concentrations that were 3 to 4 times higher during summer mo
Authors
M.A. Mast, K. Campbell, D. P. Krabbenhoft, Howard E. Taylor

Whither or wither geomicrobiology in the era of 'community metagenomics'

Molecular techniques are valuable tools that can improve our understanding of the structure of microbial communities. They provide the ability to probe for life in all niches of the biosphere, perhaps even supplanting the need to cultivate microorganisms or to conduct ecophysiological investigations. However, an overemphasis and strict dependence on such large information-driven endeavours as envi
Authors
R.S. Oremland, D.G. Capone, J.F. Stolz, J. Fuhrman

Pressurized liquid extraction using water/isopropanol coupled with solid-phase extraction cleanup for industrial and anthropogenic waste-indicator compounds in sediment

A broad range of organic compounds is recognized as environmentally relevant for their potential adverse effects on human and ecosystem health. This method was developed to better determine the distribution of 61 compounds that are typically associated with industrial and household waste as well as some that are toxic and known (or suspected) for endocrine-disrupting potential extracted from envir
Authors
M.R. Burkhardt, R.C. ReVello, S.G. Smith, S.D. Zaugg

Radium isotopes in Cayuga Lake, New York: Indicators of inflow and mixing processes

Naturally occurring radium isotopes (223Ra, 224Ra, 226Ra, and 228Ra) were measured in lake and tributary water of Cayuga Lake, New York, during the course of a vernal inflow event in the spring of 2001. A large influx of groundwater, probably from a carbonate aquifer, entered the lake at its extreme southern end early in the vernal inflow event and spread northward, covering an extensive part of t
Authors
T. F. Kraemer

Factors controlling tungsten concentrations in ground water, Carson Desert, Nevada

n investigation of a childhood leukemia cluster by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that residents of the Carson Desert, Nevada, are exposed to high levels of W and this prompted an investigation of W in aquifers used as drinking water sources. Tungsten concentrations in 100 ground water samples from all aquifers used as drinking water sources in the area ranged from 0.27 to
Authors
R. L. Seiler, K.G. Stollenwerk, J.R. Garbarino

A method for the use of landscape metrics in freshwater research and management

Freshwater research and management efforts could be greatly enhanced by a better understanding of the relationship between landscape-scale factors and water quality indicators. This is particularly true in urban areas, where land transformation impacts stream systems at a variety of scales. Despite advances in landscape quantification methods, several studies attempting to elucidate the relationsh
Authors
F.R. Kearns, N.M. Kelly, J.L. Carter, V.H. Resh

Groundwater depletion: A global problem

No abstract available.
Authors
Leonard F. Konikow, E. Kendy

Behavior of a chlorinated ethene plume following source-area treatment with Fenton's reagent

Monitoring data collected over a 6‐year period show that a plume of chlorinated ethene–contaminated ground water has contracted significantly following treatment of the contaminant source area using in situ oxidation. Prior to treatment (1998), concentrations of perchloroethene (PCE) exceeded 4500 μg/L in a contaminant source area associated with a municipal landfill in Kings Bay, Georgia. The plu
Authors
F. H. Chapelle, P. M. Bradley, C.C. Casey

Wave spectral energy variability in the northeast Pacific

The dominant characteristics of wave energy variability in the eastern North Pacific are described from NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) buoy data collected from 1981 to 2003. Ten buoys at distributed locations were selected for comparison based on record duration and data continuity. Long‐period (LP) [T > 12] s, intermediate‐period [6 ≤ T ≤ 12] s, and short‐period [T < 6] s wave spectral ene
Authors
P.D. Bromirski, D.R. Cayan, R.E. Flick