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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

A framework for assessing the sustainability of monitored natural attenuation

The sustainability of monitored natural attenuation (MNA) over time depends upon (1) the presence of chemical/biochemical processes that transform wastes to innocuous byproducts, and (2) the availability of energy to drive these processes to completion. The presence or absence of contaminant-transforming chemical/biochemical processes can be determined by observing contaminant mass loss over time
Authors
Francis H. Chapelle, John Novak, John Parker, Bruce G. Campbell, Mark A. Widdowson

Geochemical effects of induced stream-water and artificial recharge on the Equus Beds Aquifer, South-Central Kansas, 1995-2004

Artificial recharge of the Equus Beds aquifer is part of a strategy implemented by the city of Wichita, Kansas, to preserve future water supply and address declining water levels in the aquifer of as much as 30 feet caused by withdrawals for water supply and irrigation since the 1940s. Water-level declines represent a diminished water supply and also may accelerate migration of saltwater from the
Authors
Heather C. Ross Schmidt, Andrew C. Ziegler, David L. Parkhurst

Ground-water recharge in humid areas of the United States: A summary of Ground-Water Resources Program studies, 2003-2006

Increased demands on water resources by a growing population and recent droughts have raised awareness about the adequacy of ground-water resources in humid areas of the United States. The spatial and temporal variability of ground-water recharge are key factors that need to be quantified to determine the sustainability of ground-water resources. Ground-water recharge is defined herein as the entr
Authors
Geoffrey N. Delin, Dennis W. Risser

Use of borehole-radar methods to monitor a steam-enhanced remediation pilot study at a quarry at the former Loring Air Force Base, Maine

Single-hole radar reflection and crosshole radar tomography surveys were used in conjunction with conventional borehole-geophysical methods to evaluate the effectiveness of borehole-radar methods for monitoring the movement of steam and heat through fractured bedrock. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), conducted surveys in an abandoned lim
Authors
Colette Gregoire, Peter K. Joesten, John W. Lane

Vertical gradients in water chemistry and age in the Northern High Plains Aquifer, Nebraska, 2003

The northern High Plains aquifer is the primary source of water used for domestic, industrial, and irrigation purposes in parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Despite the aquifer’s importance to the regional economy, fundamental ground-water characteristics, such as vertical gradients in water chemistry and age, remain poorly defined. As part of the U.S. Geological Surve
Authors
P. B. McMahon, J.K. Böhlke, C. P. Carney

Chemical and hydrologic data from the Cement Creek and upper Animas River confluence and mixing zone, Silverton, Colorado, September 1997

Cement Creek, an acidic tributary, discharges into the circum-neutral Animas River (pH>7) in Silverton, Colorado located in the high-elevation San Juan Mountains. Mixing of Animas River water with acidic metal rich Cement Creek water raises water pH and produces metal precipitates. This report presents selected anion, cation, chloride, and sulfate data along with hydrologic data highlighting the m
Authors
Laurence E. Schemel, Marisa H. Cox

Methods of analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey Organic Geochemistry Research Group--Determination of dissolved isoxaflutole and its sequential degradation products, diketonitrile and benzoic acid, in water using solid-phase extraction and liquid chroma

An analytical method for the determination of isoxaflutole and its sequential degradation products, diketonitrile and a benzoic acid analogue, in filtered water with varying matrices was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey Organic Geochemistry Research Group in Lawrence, Kansas. Four different water-sample matrices fortified at 0.02 and 0.10 ug/L (micrograms per liter) are extracted by vacuum
Authors
Michael T. Meyer, Edward A. Lee, Elisabeth A. Scribner

Floodwater chemistry in the Yolo Bypass during winter and spring, 1998

A preliminary investigation of temporal and spatial variations in floodwater chemistry was conducted during winter and spring 1998 in the Yolo Bypass floodplain of the Sacramento River system. Samples were collected at locations along the eastern margin of the floodplain over the duration of the study and across the floodplain during major periods of inundation. Specific conductance and dissolved
Authors
Laurence E. Schemel, Marisa H. Cox

Streamflow and nutrient fluxes of the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin and subbasins for the period of record through 2005

U.S. Geological Survey has monitored streamflow and water quality systematically in the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB) for more than five decades. This report provides streamflow and estimates of nutrient delivery (flux) to the Gulf of Mexico from both the Atchafalaya River and the main stem of the Mississippi River. This report provides streamflow and nutrient flux estimates for nine
Authors
Brent T. Aulenbach, Herbert T. Buxton, William A. Battaglin, Richard H. Coupe

Dichloroethene and vinyl chloride degradation potential in wetland sediments at Twin Lakes and Pen Branch, Savannah River National Laboratory, South Carolina

A series of 14C-radiotracer-based microcosm experiments was conducted to assess the mechanisms and products of degradation of dichloroethene (DCE) and vinyl chloride (VC) in wetland sediments at the Department of Energy (DOE) Savannah River National Laboratory. This project investigated the potential for biotic and abiotic DCE and VC degradation in wetland sediments from the Twin Lakes area of the
Authors
Paul M. Bradley

Evaluation of tandem offline and online solid-phase extraction with liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry for the analysis of antibiotics in ambient water and comparision to an independent method

This report describes the performance of an offline tandem solid-phase extraction (SPE) method and an online SPE method that use liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry for the analysis of 23 and 35 antibiotics, respectively, as used in several water-quality surveys conducted since 1999. In the offline tandem SPE method, normalized concentrations for the quinolone, macrolide, and sulfonamide antib
Authors
M. T. Meyer, E.A. Lee, G.M. Ferrell, J.E. Bumgarner, Jerry Varns

Alkalilimnicola ehrlichii sp. nov., a novel, arsenite-oxidizing haloalkaliphilic gammaproteobacterium capable of chemoautotrophic or heterotrophic growth with nitrate or oxygen as the electron acceptor

A facultative chemoautotrophic bacterium, strain MLHE-1T, was isolated from Mono Lake, an alkaline hypersaline soda lake in California, USA. Cells of strain MLHE-1T were Gram-negative, short motile rods that grew with inorganic electron donors (arsenite, hydrogen, sulfide or thiosulfate) coupled with the reduction of nitrate to nitrite. No aerobic growth was attained with arsenite or sulfide, but
Authors
Shelley E. Hoeft, Jodi Switzer Blum, John F. Stolz, F. Robert Tabita, Brian Witte, Gary M. King, Joanne M. Santini, Ron Oremland