Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
Filter Total Items: 3787
Aqueous geochemistry and diagenesis in the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer system, Idaho
Water budget and isotopic analyses of water in the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer system confirm that most, if not all, of the water is local meteoric in origin. Solute mass-balance arguments suggest that ∼5 × 109 moles of calcite and 2.6 × 109 moles of silica are precipitated annually in the aquifer. Isotopic evaluations of calcite and petrographic observation of silica support the low-tempera
Authors
Warren W. Wood, Walton H. Low
Influence of irrigation on salinity and nitrate in a stream-aquifer system
Changes in salinity and nitrate concentration in groundwater and surface water in the semiarid Arkansas River valley of southeastern Colorado, USA were related primarily to irrigation practices. Water is applied to fields by flood irrigation through ditches and furrows. Irrigation water is derived in nearly equal amounts from surface water and groundwater pumped from the shallow alluvial aquifer.
Authors
Leonard F. Konikow, M.A. Person
Application of the Flory-Huggins theory to the solubility of solids in glyceryl trioleate
The conventional thermodynamic deviation for ideal solid–liquid solubilities is modified by substituting the Flory–Huggins model for Raoult's law. A comparison of published data for eleven solides in glyceryl trioleate with the predictions of the conventional and modified equations shows that the significantly higher athermal solubilities from the modified equation are in much better agreement wit
Authors
Cary T. Chiou, Milton Manes
Transport of chloride ion in a water-unsaturated soil exhibiting anion exclusion
Miscible displacement techniques were used to create Cl- concentration profiles in unsaturated laboratory columns of Delhi sand (Typic Xeropsamments), each having a nearly uniform water content. The three steady flow rates used resulted in three different, average water contents. Chloride concentrations near the top of the column were smaller and penetration of Cl- in the column was deeper than ex
Authors
Ronald V. James, Jacob Rubin
Effect of seasonally changing tissue weight on trace metal concentrations in the bivalve Macoma balthica in San Francisco Bay
The influence of seasonal changes in the weight of soft tissues on temporal fluctuations in tissue concentrations of Cu and Zn was examined in 4 populations of the clam Macoma balthica sampled in San Francisco Bay for a period of 2 to 5 yr. Fluctuations in metal concentration expected from changes in tissue weight between sampling dates were estimated by assuming that whole body metal burden was c
Authors
Daniel J. Cain, Samuel N. Luoma
U.S. Geological Survey toxic Waste-Groundwater Contamination Program, fiscal year 1985
In fiscal year 1982, the U S Geological Survey began an interdisciplinary research thrust entitled Toxic Waste-Groundwater Contamination Program The objective of the thrust was to provide earth sciences information necessary to evaluate and mitigate existing groundwater contamination problems resulting from the planned or inadvertant disposal of wastes and from certain land-use practices, and to i
Authors
S.E. Ragone
The modification of an estuary
The San Francisco Bay estuary has been rapidly modified by human activity. Diking and filling of most of its wetlands have eliminated habitats for fish and waterfowl; the introduction of exotic species has transformed the composition of its aquatic communities; reduction of freshwater inflow by more than half has changed the dynamics of its plant and animal communities; and wastes have contaminate
Authors
F.H. Nichols, James E. Cloern, Samuel N. Luoma, D.H. Peterson
A comparison of two methods for determining copper partitioning in oxidized sediments
Model estimations of the proportion of Cu in oxidized sediments associated with extractable organic materials show some agreement with the proportion of Cu extracted from those sediments with ammonium hydroxide. Data were from 17 estuaries of widely differing sediment chemistry. The modelling and extraction methods agreed best where concentrations of organic materials were either in very high conc
Authors
Samuel N. Luoma
Determination of selected azaarenes in water by bonded-phase extraction and liquid chromatography
A method for the rapid and simple quantitative determination of quinoline, isoquinoline, and five selected three-ring azaarenes in water has been developed. The azaarene fraction is separated from its carbon analogues on n-octadecyl packing material by edition with acidified water/acetonitrile. Concentration as great as 1000-fold is achieved readily. Instrumental analysis involves high-speed liqui
Authors
T.R. Steinheimer, M.G. Ondrus
Snow chemistry of the Cascade-Sierra Nevada Mountains
This investigation assesses geographic variations in atmospheric deposition in Washington, Oregon, and California using snow cores from the Cascade-Sierra Nevada Mountains, collected from late February to mid-March 1983. A statistical analysis of the analytical and sampling precision was made. The snowpack in the higher Cascades and Sierra Nevada is not strongly influenced by anthropogenic activit
Authors
L.B. Laird, Howard E. Taylor, V. C. Kennedy
Limitations in the use of commercial humic acids in water and soil research
Seven samples of commercial "humic acids", purchased from five different suppliers, were studied, and their characteristics were compared with humic and fulvic acids isolated from streams, soils, peat, leonardite, and a dopplerite sample. Cross-polarization and magic-angle spinning 13C NMR spectroscopy clearly shows pronounced differences between the commercial materials and all other samples. Ele
Authors
R. L. Malcolm, P. MacCarthy
Simulation of fluid flow and energy transport processes associated with high-level radioactive waste disposal in unsaturated alluvium
Many parts of the Great Basin have thick zones of unsaturated alluvium which might be suitable for disposing of high-level radioactive wastes. A mathematical model accounting for the coupled transport of energy, water (vapor and liquid), and dry air was used to analyze one-dimensional, vertical transport above and below an areally extensive repository. Numerical simulations were conducted for a hy
Authors
David W. Pollock