Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
GeoHEALTH-USGS Newsletter
GeoHEALTH-USGS Newsletter
The GeoHEALTH–USGS Newsletter—published since 2004—provides information on USGS science activities pertinent to safeguarding the health of fish, wildlife, domesticated animals, and people from environmental exposures to contaminants and pathogens.
Featured Science Activities
Featured Science Activities
Lean about our Featured Science Activities through our pages that highlight science studies, publications, and results.
Filter Total Items: 3746
Presence of the Corexit component dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate in Gulf of Mexico waters after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Between April 22 and July 15, 2010, approximately 4.9 million barrels of oil were released into the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon oil well. Approximately 16% of the oil was chemically dispersed, at the surface and at 1500 m depth, using Corexit 9527 and Corexit 9500, which contain dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate (DOSS) as a major surfactant component. This was the largest documented rele
Authors
James L. Gray, Leslie K. Kanagy, Edward T. Furlong, Chris J. Kanagy, Jeff W. McCoy, Andrew Mason, Gunnar Lauenstein
Sampling considerations in the mining environment
No abstract available.
Authors
Kathleen S. Smith, Virginia T. McLemore, Carol C. Russell
Data management, assessment, and analysis for decision-making
No abstract available.
Authors
Carol C. Russell, Kathleen S. Smith, Virginia T. McLemore
Decision making, risk, and uncertainty
No abstract available.
Authors
Carol C. Russell, Kathleen S. Smith, Virginia T. McLemore
Sampling and monitoring program implementation
No abstract available.
Authors
Carol C. Russell, Virginia T. McLemore, Kathleen S. Smith
Borehole radar interferometry revisited
Single-hole, multi-offset borehole-radar reflection (SHMOR) is an effective technique for fracture detection. However, commercial radar system limitations hinder the acquisition of multi-offset reflection data in a single borehole. Transforming cross-hole transmission mode radar data to virtual single-hole, multi-offset reflection data using a wave interferometric virtual source (WIVS) approach ha
Authors
Lanbo Liu, Chunguang Ma, John W. Lane, Peter K. Joesten
Identifying non-point sources of endocrine active compounds and their biological impacts in freshwater lakes
Contaminants of emerging concern, particularly endocrine active compounds (EACs), have been identified as a threat to aquatic wildlife. However, little is known about the impact of EACs on lakes through groundwater from onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS). This study aims to identify specific contributions of OWTS to Sullivan Lake, Minnesota, USA. Lake hydrology, water chemistry, caged blue
Authors
Beth H. Baker, Dalma Martinovic-Weigelt, Mark L. Ferrey, Larry B. Barber, Jeffrey H. Writer, Donald O. Rosenberry, Richard L. Kiesling, James R. Lundy, Heiko L. Schoenfuss
Transcriptomic effects-based monitoring for endocrine active chemicals: Assessing relative contribution of treated wastewater to downstream pollution
The present study investigated whether a combination of targeted analytical chemistry information with unsupervised, data-rich biological methodology (i.e., transcriptomics) could be utilized to evaluate relative contributions of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents to biological effects. The effects of WWTP effluents on fish exposed to ambient, receiving waters were studied at three locati
Authors
Dalma Martinovic-Weigelt, Alvine C. Mehinto, Gerald T. Ankley, Nancy D. Denslow, Larry B. Barber, Kathy Lee, Ryan J. King, Heiko L. Schoenfuss, Anthony L. Schroeder, Daniel L. Villeneuve
Spatial distribution of mercury in southeastern Alaskan streams influenced by glaciers, wetlands, and salmon
Southeastern Alaska is a remote coastal-maritime ecosystem that is experiencing increased deposition of mercury (Hg) as well as rapid glacier loss. Here we present the results of the first reported survey of total and methyl Hg (MeHg) concentrations in regional streams and biota. Overall, streams draining large wetland areas had higher Hg concentrations in water, mayflies, and juvenile salmon than
Authors
Sonia A. Nagorski, Daniel R. Engstrom, John P. Hudson, David P. Krabbenhoft, Eran Hood, John F. DeWild, George R. Aiken
The planning process
No abstract available.
Authors
Carol C. Russell, Kathleen S. Smith, Virginia T. McLemore
The environmental geochemistry of Arsenic – An overview
Arsenic is one of the most prevalent toxic elements in the environment. The toxicity, mobility, and fate of arsenic in the environment are determined by a complex series of controls dependent on mineralogy, chemical speciation, and biological processes. The element was first described by Theophrastus in 300 B.C. and named arsenikon (also arrhenicon; Caley and Richards 1956) referring to its “poten
Authors
Robert J. Bowell, Charles N. Alpers, Heather E. Jamieson, D. Kirk Nordstrom, Juraj Majzlan
Arsenic speciation and sorption in natural environments
Aqueous arsenic speciation, or the chemical forms in which arsenic exists in water, is a challenging, interesting, and complicated aspect of environmental arsenic geochemistry. Arsenic has the ability to form a wide range of chemical bonds with carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur, resulting in a large variety of compounds that exhibit a host of chemical and biochemical properties. Besides the int
Authors
Kate M. Campbell, D. Kirk Nordstrom