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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

Changes in herbicide concentrations in Midwestern streams in relation to changes in use, 1989-1998

Water samples were collected from Midwestern streams in 1994–1995 and 1998 as part of a study to help determine if changes in herbicide use resulted in changes in herbicide concentrations since a previous reconnaissance study in 1989–1990. Sites were sampled during the first significant runoff period after the application of pre-emergent herbicides in 1989–1990, 1994–1995, and 1998. Samples were a
Authors
E.A. Scribner, W.A. Battaglin, D. A. Goolsby, E.M. Thurman

Comparison of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and gas chromatography procedures for the detection of cyanazine and metolachlor in surface water samples

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) data from surface water reconnaissance were compared to data from samples analyzed by gas chromatography for the pesticide residues cyanazine (2-[[4-chloro-6-(ethylamino)-l,3,5-triazin-2-yl]amino]-2-methylpropanenitrile ) and metolachlor (2-chloro-N-(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)-N-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl)acetamide). When ELISA analyses were duplicated, cyanazi
Authors
S.M. Schraer, D.R. Shaw, M. Boyette, R.H. Coupe, E.M. Thurman

Methods of analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey Organic Geochemistry Research Group: Determination of selected herbicides and their degradation products in water using solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

A method for the extraction and analysis of eight herbicides and five degradation products using solid-phase extraction from natural water samples followed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry is presented in this report. This method was developed for dimethenamid; flufenacet; fluometuron and its degradation products, demethylfluometuron (DMFM), 3-(trifluromethyl)phenylurea (TFMPU), 3-(trifluro
Authors
J.L. Kish, E.M. Thurman, E.A. Scribner, L.R. Zimmerman

Measuring stream discharge by non-contact methods: A proof-of-concept experiment

This report describes an experiment to make a completely non-contact open-channel discharge measurement. A van-mounted, pulsed doppler (10GHz) radar collected surface-velocity data across the 183-m wide Skagit River, Washington at a USGS streamgaging station using Bragg scattering from short waves produced by turbulent boils on the surface of the river. Surface velocities were converted to mean ve
Authors
J. E. Costa, K.R. Spicer, R. T. Cheng, F. P. Haeni, N.B. Melcher, E.M. Thurman, W.J. Plant, W.C. Keller

Determination of chloroacetanilide herbicide metabolites in water using high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection and high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

Analytical methods using high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) and high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) were developed for the analysis of the following chloroacetanilide herbicide metabolites in water: alachlor ethanesulfonic acid (ESA); alachlor oxanilic acid; acetochlor ESA; acetochlor oxanilic acid; metolachlor ESA; and metolachlo
Authors
K.A. Hostetler, E.M. Thurman

Occurrence of cotton herbicides and insecticides in playa lakes of the High Plains of West Texas

During the summer of 1997, water samples were collected and analyzed for pesticides from 32 playa lakes of the High Plains that receive drainage from both cotton and corn agriculture in West Texas. The major cotton herbicides detected in the water samples were diuron, fluometuron, metolachlor, norflurazon, and prometryn. Atrazine and propazine, corn and sorghum herbicides, were also routinely dete
Authors
E.M. Thurman, K.C. Bastian, T. Mollhagen

Sources and haloacetic acid/trihalomethane formation potentials of aquatic humic substances in the Wakarusa River and Clinton Lake near Lawrence, Kansas

Gram quantities of aquatic humic substances (AHS) were extracted from the Wakarusa River−Clinton Lake Reservoir system, near Lawrence, KS, to support nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experimental studies, report concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and AHS, define sources of the AHS, and determine if the AHS yield sufficient quantities of haloacetic acids (HAA5) and trihalomethanes (TH
Authors
M.L. Pomes, C.K. Larive, E.M. Thurman, W. R. Green, W. H. Orem, C.E. Rostad, T. B. Coplen, B.J. Cutak, A.M. Dixon

Metal exposure in a benthic macroinvertebrate, Hydropsyche californica, related to mine drainage in the Sacramento River

A biomonitoring technique was employed to complement studies of metal transport in the upper Sacramento River affected by acid mine drainage. Metals (Al, Cd, Cu, Fe, Hg, Pb, and Zn) were determined in a resident invertebrate, Hydropsyche californica (Insecta: Trichoptera), and streambed sediments (<62 µm) to assess metal contamination within a 111-km section of the river downstream of the mining a
Authors
Daniel J. Cain, James L. Carter, Steven V. Fend, Samuel N. Luoma, Charles N. Alpers, Howard E. Taylor

Tritium and plutonium in waters from the Bering and Chukchi Seas

During the summer of 1993, seawater in the Bering and Chukchi Seas was sampled on a joint Russian-American cruise [BERPAC] of the RV Okean to determine concentrations of tritium, 239Pu and 240Pu. Concentrations of tritium were determined by electrolytic enrichment and liquid scintilation counting. Tritium levels ranged up to 420 mBq L-1 showed no evidence of inputs other than those attribute atmos
Authors
E. R. Landa, D. M. Beals, J.E. Halverson, R. L. Michel, G.R. Cefus

Estimation of methanogen biomass via quantitation of coenzyme M

Determination of the role of methanogenic bacteria in an anaerobic ecosystem often requires quantitation of the organisms. Because of the extreme oxygen sensitivity of these organisms and the inherent limitations of cultural techniques, an accurate biomass value is very difficult to obtain. We standardized a simple method for estimating methanogen biomass in a variety of environmental matrices. In
Authors
Dwayne A. Elias, Lee R. Krumholz, Ralph S. Tanner, Joseph M. Suflita

Hydrolysis of tert-butyl formate: Kinetics, products, and implications for the environmental impact of methyl tert-butyl ether

Asessing the environmental fate of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) has become a subject of renewed interest because of the large quantities of this compound that are being used as an oxygenated additive in gasoline. Various studies on the fate of MTBE have shown that it can be degraded to tert-butyl formate (TBF), particularly in the atmosphere. Although it is generally recognized that TBF is subje
Authors
Clinton D. Church, James F. Pankow, Paul G. Tratnyek