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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

Stochastic analysis of virus transport in aquifers

A large-scale model of virus transport in aquifers is derived using spectral perturbation analysis. The effects of spatial variability in aquifer hydraulic conductivity and virus transport (attachment, detachment, and inactivation) parameters on large-scale virus transport are evaluated. A stochastic mean model of virus transport is developed by linking a simple system of local-scale free-virus tr
Authors
Linda L. Campbell Rehmann, Claire Welty, Ronald W. Harvey

Historical trends of metals in the sediments of San Francisco Bay, California

Concentrations of Ag, Al, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, V and Zn were determined in six sediment cores from San Francisco Bay (SFB) and one sediment core in Tomales Bay (TB), a reference estuary. SFB cores were collected from between the head of the estuary and its mouth (Grizzly Bay, GB; San Pablo Bay, SP; Central Bay, CB; Richardson Bay, RB, respectively) and ranged in length from 150 to 250 cm. C
Authors
Michelle I. Hornberger, S. N. Luoma, A. VanGeen, C. Fuller, R. Anima

Constraints on the sedimentation history of San Francisco Bay from 14C and 10Be

Industrialization and urbanization around San Francisco Bay as well as mining and agriculture in the watersheds of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers have profoundly modified sedimentation patterns throughout the estuary. We provide some constraints on the onset of these erosional disturbances with 10Be data for three sediment cores: two from Richardson Bay, a small embayment near the mouth of
Authors
A. VanGeen, N. J. Valette-Silver, S. N. Luoma, C. C. Fuller, M. Baskaran, F. Tera, J. Klein

Quantification of aerobic biodegradation and volatilization rates of gasoline hydrocarbons near the water table under natural attenuation conditions

Aerobic biodegradation and volatilization near the water table constitute a coupled pathway that contributes significantly to the natural attenuation of hydrocarbons at gasoline spill sites. Rates of hydrocarbon biodegradation and volatilization were quantified by analyzing vapor transport in the unsaturated zone at a gasoline spill site in Beaufort, South Carolina. Aerobic biodgradation rates dec
Authors
Matthew A. Lahvis, Arthur L. Baehr, Ronald J. Baker

Carbon isotopic constraints on the contribution of plant material to the natural precursors of trihalomethanes

The δ13C values of individual trihalomethanes (THM) formed on reaction of chlorine with dissolved organic carbon (DOC) leached from maize (corn; Zea maize L.) and Scirpus acutus(an aquatic bulrush), and with DOC extracted from agricultural drainage waters were determined using purge and trap introduction into a gas chromatograph-combustion-isotope ratio monitoring mass spectrometer. We observed a
Authors
B.A. Bergamaschi, M.S. Fram, C. Kendall, S. R. Silva, G. R. Aiken, R. Fujii

Stable lead isotopic analyses of historic and contemporary lead contamination of San Francisco Bay estuary

Variations in stable lead isotopic composition (240Pb, 206Pb, 207Pb, 208Pb) in three sediment cores from the San Francisco Bay estuary document temporal changes in sources of lead during the past two centuries. Sediment, with lead from natural geologic sources, and relatively homogeneous lead isotopic compositions are overlain by sediments whose isotopic compositions indicate change in the sources
Authors
P.I. Ritson, R. M. Bouse, A.R. Flegal, Samuel N. Luoma

Binding of polychlorinated biphenyls to aquatic humic substances: The role of substrate and sorbate properties on partitioning

Two ortho- (2,2‘,5 and 2,2‘,5,6‘) and a non-ortho- (3,3‘,4,4‘) substituted polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners were used to study the effects of sorbate structure in binding processes to two lacustrine fulvic acids. Binding constants were determined by solubility enhancement of the solutes by the fulvic acids. The binding of the ortho-trichlorobiphenyl was significantly less than the non-orth
Authors
M.E. Uhle, Y.-P. Chin, G. R. Aiken, Diane M. McKnight

Use of cosmogenic 35S for comparing ages of water from three alpine-subalpine basins in the Colorado Front Range

High-elevation basins in Colorado are a major source of water for the central and western United States; however, acidic deposition may affect the quality of this water. Water that is retained in a basin for a longer period of time may be less impacted by acidic deposition. Sulfur-35 (35S), a short-lived isotope of sulfur (t( 1/2 ) = 87 days), is useful for studying short-time scale hydrologic pro
Authors
J.K. Sueker, J.T. Turk, R. L. Michel

Chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in sediment cores from San Francisco Bay

Sediment cores of known chronology from Richardson and San Pablo Bays in San Francisco Bay, CA, were analyzed for a suite of chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls to reconstruct a historic record of inputs. Total DDTs (DDT = 2,4'- and 4,4'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and the metabolites, 2,4'- and 4,4'-DDE, -DDD) range in concentration from 4-21 ng/g and constitute a
Authors
M.I. Venkatesan, R. P. De Leon, A. VanGeen, Samuel N. Luoma

GIXAFS study of Fe3+ sorption and precipitation on natural quartz surfaces

Grazing-incidence EXAFS has been used to characterize the structure of Fe3+ sorbed onto natural single crystal quartz surfaces. Fe3+ sorption at ca. 5% monolayer coverage on a natural crystal allowed to equilibrate in air resulted in formation of hematite nuclei with strong texturing on r-and m-planes. EXAFS calculations suggests that both O and Fe backscattering is necessary to yield acceptable s
Authors
G. Waychunas, J. Davis, R. Reitmeyer

The relative importance of light and nutrient limitation of phytoplankton growth: A simple index of coastal ecosystem sensitivity to nutrient enrichment

Anthropogenic nutrient enrichment of the coastal zone is now a well-established fact. However, there is still uncertainty about the mechanisms through which nutrient enrichment can disrupt biological communities and ecosystem processes in the coastal zone. For example, while some estuaries exhibit classic symptoms of acute eutrophication, including enhanced production of algal biomass, other nutri
Authors
J. E. Cloern

Cu(II) binding by a pH-fractionated fulvic acid

The relationship between acidity, Cu(II) binding and sorption to XAD resin was examined using Suwannee River fulvic acid (SRFA). The work was based on the hypothesis that fractions of SRFA eluted from an XAD column at various pH's from 1.0 to 12.0 would show systematic variations in acidity and possibly aromaticity which in turn would lead to different Cu(II) binding properties. We measured equili
Authors
G.K. Brown, S.E. Cabaniss, P. MacCarthy, J. A. Leenheer