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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

Estimating lake-atmosphere CO2 exchange

Lake‐atmosphere CO2 flux was directly measured above a small, woodland lake using the eddy covariance technique and compared with fluxes deduced from changes in measured lake‐water CO2 storage and with flux predictions from boundary‐layer and surface‐renewal models. Over a 3‐yr period, lake‐atmosphere exchanges of CO2 were measured over 5 weeks in spring, summer, and fall. Observed springtime CO2 
Authors
D.E. Anderson, Robert G. Striegl, D.I. Stannard, C.M. Michmerhuizen, T.A. McConnaughey, J. W. LaBaugh

A method for nitrate collection for δ15N and δ18O analysis from waters with low nitrate concentrations

 Recently, methods have been developed to analyze NO3- for δ15N and δ18O, improving our ability to identify NO3- sources and transformations. However, none of the existing methods are suited for waters with low NO3- concentrations (0.7-10 µM). We describe an improved method for collecting and recovering NO3- on exchange columns. To overcome the lengthy collection loading times imposed by the large
Authors
Cecily C.Y. Chang, J. Langston, M. Riggs, K. Campbell, S. R. Silva, C. Kendall

Reactive solute transport in streams: A surface complexation approach for trace metal sorption

A model for trace metals that considers in-stream transport, metal oxide precipitation-dissolution, and pH-dependent sorption is presented. Linkage between a surface complexation submodel and the stream transport equations provides a framework for modeling sorption onto static and/or dynamic surfaces. A static surface (e.g., an iron- oxide-coated streambed) is defined as a surface with a temporall
Authors
Robert L. Runkel, Briant A. Kimball, Diane M. McKnight, Kenneth E. Bencala

The distribution of, and relation among, mercury and methylmercury, organic carbon, carbonate, nitrogen and phosphorus, in periphyton of the south Florida ecosystem

Periphyton samples from Water Conservation Areas, Big Cypress National Preserve, and Everglades National Park in south Florida were analyzed for concentrations of total mercury, methylmercury, nitrogen, phosphorus, organic carbon, and inorganic carbon. Concentrations of total mercury in periphyton decrease slightly along a gradient from north‐to‐south. Both total mercury and methylmercury are posi
Authors
N.S. Simon, R. Spencer, T. Cox

Inhibition of precipitation and aggregation of metacinnabar (mercuric sulfide) by dissolved organic matter isolated from the Florida Everglades

Precipitation and aggregation of metacinnabar (black HgS) was inhibited in the presence of low concentrations (≥3 mg C/L) of humic fractions of dissolved organic matter (DOM) isolated from the Florida Everglades. At low Hg concentrations (≤5 × 10-8 M), DOM prevented the precipitation of metacinnabar. At moderate Hg concentrations (5 × 10-5 M), DOM inhibited the aggregation of colloidal metacinnaba
Authors
M. Ravichandran, G. R. Aiken, J. N. Ryan, M.M. Reddy

Distribution of microbial physiologic types in an aquifer contaminated by crude oil

We conducted a plume-scale study of the microbial ecology in the anaerobic portion of an aquifer contaminated by crude-oil compounds. The data provide insight into the patterns of ecological succession, microbial nutrient demands, and the relative importance of free-living versus attached microbial populations. The most probable number (MPN) method was used to characterize the spatial distribution
Authors
B.A. Bekins, E.M. Godsy, E. Warren

Comparison of the stable-isotopic composition of soil water collected from suction lysimeters, wick samplers, and cores in a sandy unsaturated zone

Soil water collected from suction lysimeters and wick samplers buried in the unsaturated zone of a sand and gravel aquifer and extracted from soil cores were analyzed for stable oxygen and hydrogen isotope values. Soil water isotopic values differed among the three sampling methods in most cases. However, because each sampling method collected different fractions of the total soil-water reservoir,
Authors
M.K. Landon, G. N. Delin, S.C. Komor, C.P. Regan

Processes governing phytoplankton blooms in estuaries. I: The local production-loss balance

The formation and spatial distribution of phytoplankton blooms in estuaries are controlled by (1) local mechanisms, which determine the production-loss balance for a water column at a particular spatial location (i.e. control if a bloom is possible), and (2) transport-related mechanisms, which govern biomass distribution (i.e. control if and where a bloom actually occurs). In this study, the first
Authors
L.V. Lucas, Jeffrey R. Koseff, J. E. Cloern, Stephen G. Monismith, J.K. Thompson

Modeling impact of storage zones on stream dissolved oxygen

The Streeter-Phelps dissolved oxygen model is modified to incorporate storage zones. A dimensionless number reflecting enhanced decomposition caused by the increased residence time of the biochemical oxygen demand in the storage zone parameterizes the impact. This result provides a partial explanation for the high decomposition rates observed in shallow streams. An application suggests that the st
Authors
S.C. Chapra, R.L. Runkel

High-pressure size exclusion chromatography analysis of dissolved organic matter isolated by tangential-flow ultra filtration

A 1,000-Dalton tangential-flow ultrafiltration (TFUF) membrane was used to isolate dissolved organic matter (DOM) from several freshwater environments. The TFUF unit used in this study was able to completely retain a polystyrene sulfonate 1,800-Dalton standard. Unaltered and TFUF-fractionated DOM molecular weights were assayed by high-pressure size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC). The weight-aver
Authors
C.R. Everett, Y.-P. Chin, G. R. Aiken

Dissolved sulfide distributions in the water column and sediment pore waters of the Santa Barbara Basin

Dissolved sulfide concentrations in the water column and in sediment pore waters were measured by square-wave voltammetry (nanomolar detection limit) during three cruises to the Santa Barbara Basin in February 1995, November–December 1995, and April 1997. In the water column, sulfide concentrations measured outside the basin averaged 3 ± 1 nM (n= 28) in the 0 to 600 m depth range. Inside the basin
Authors
J.S. Kuwabara, A. VanGeen, D.C. McCorkle, J.M. Bernhard

Are shifts in herbicide use reflected in concentration changes in Midwestern rivers?

In many Midwestern rivers, elevated concentrations of herbicides occur during runoff events for 1-3 months following application. The highest or 'peak' herbicide concentration often occurs during one of these runoff events. Herbicide concentrations in rivers are affected by a number of factors, including herbicide use patterns within the associated basin. Changing agricultural practices, reduction
Authors
W.A. Battaglin, D. A. Goolsby