Michael T Wright

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May 7, 2024

Land-use interactions, Oil-Field infrastructure, and natural processes control hydrocarbon and arsenic concentrations in groundwater, Poso Creek Oil Field, California, USA

Like many hydrocarbon production areas in the U.S., the Poso Creek Oil Field in California includes and is adjacent to other land uses (agricultural and other developed lands) that affect the hydrology and geochemistry of the aquifer overlying and adjacent to oil development. We hypothesize that the distributions of hydrocarbons and arsenic in groundwater in such areas will be controlled...

Authors

Peter B. McMahon, Matthew K. Landon, Michael J. Stephens, Kimberly A. Taylor, Michael Wright, Angela Hansen, Tamara E. C. Kraus, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, David H. Shimabukuro, Theron A. Sowers, Justin T. Kulongoski, Andrew G. Hunt, Ruta Karolyte, Darren J. Hillegonds, Chris J. Ballentine

By

Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, California Water Science Center

August 18, 2021

Noble gas signatures constrain oil-field water as the carrier phase of hydrocarbons occurring in shallow aquifers in the San Joaquin Basin, USA

Noble gases record fluid interactions in multiphase subsurface environments through fractionation processes during fluid equilibration. Water in the presence of hydrocarbons at the subsurface acquires a distinct elemental signature due to the difference in solubility between these two fluids. We find the atmospheric noble gas signature in produced water is partially preserved after...

Authors

Ruta Karolyte, Peter H. Barry, Andrew G. Hunt, Justin T. Kulongoski, R. L. Tyne, Tracy Davis, Michael Wright, Peter B. McMahon, C. J. Ballentine

By

Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center

June 5, 2021

Relative risk of groundwater-quality degradation near California (USA) oil fields estimated from 3H, 14C, and 4He

Relative risks of groundwater-quality degradation near selected California oil fields are estimated by examining spatial and temporal patterns in chemical and isotopic data in the context of groundwater-age categories defined by tritium and carbon-14. In the Coastal basins, western San Joaquin Valley (SJV), and eastern SJV; 82, 76, and 0% of samples are premodern (pre-1953 recharge)...

Authors

Peter B. McMahon, Matthew K. Landon, Tracy Davis, Michael Wright, Celia Z. Rosecrans, Robert Anders, Michael Land, Justin T. Kulongoski, Andrew G. Hunt

By

Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

June 1, 2021

A multi-tracer and well-bore flow profile approach to determine occurrence, movement, and sources of perchlorate in groundwater

The purpose of this study is to determine the occurrence, movement and sources of perchlorate in groundwater using a comprehensive set of environmental tracers coupled with discreet borehole data. Potential sources of perchlorate to groundwater at the study site have been attributed to waste disposal and industrial activities as well as to past agricultural operations. Perchlorate...

Authors

Michael Wright, John A. Izbicki, Bryant C. Jurgens

By

Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center

August 7, 2019

Occurrence and sources of radium in groundwater associated with oil fields in the southern San Joaquin Valley, California

Geochemical data from 40 water wells were used to examine the occurrence and sources of radium (Ra) in groundwater associated with three oil fields in California (Fruitvale, Lost Hills, South Belridge). 226Ra+228Ra activities (range=0.010-0.51 Bq/L) exceeded the 0.185 Bq/L drinking-water standard in 18% of the wells (not drinking-water wells). Radium activities were correlated with TDS...

Authors

Peter B. McMahon, Avner Vengosh, Tracy Davis, Matthew K. Landon, Rebecca L. Tyne, Michael Wright, Justin T. Kulongoski, Andrew G. Hunt, Peter H. Barry, A.J. Kondash, Z. Wang, Christopher J. Ballentine

By

Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

May 13, 2019

Groundwater quality of a public supply aquifer in proximity to oil development, Fruitvale Oil Field, Bakersfield, California

Due to concerns over the effects of oil production activities on groundwater quality in California, chemical, isotopic, dissolved gas and age-dating tracers were analyzed in samples collected from public-supply wells and produced-water sites in the Fruitvale oil field (FVOF). A combination of newly collected and historical data was used to determine whether oil formation fluids have...

Authors

Michael Wright, Peter B. McMahon, Matthew K. Landon, Justin T. Kulongoski

By

Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center

June 20, 2018

Origin of methane and sources of high concentrations in Los Angeles groundwater

In 2014, samples from 37 monitoring wells at 17 locations, within or near oil fields, and one site >5 km from oil fields, in the Los Angeles Basin, California, were analyzed for dissolved hydrocarbon gas isotopes and abundances. The wells sample a variety of depths of an aquifer system composed of unconsolidated and semiconsolidated sediments under various conditions of confinement...

Authors

Justin T. Kulongoski, Peter B. McMahon, Michael Land, Michael Wright, Theodore Johnson, Matthew K. Landon

By

Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center

May 30, 2018

Status and understanding of groundwater quality in the Monterey-Salinas Shallow Aquifer Study Unit, 2012–13: California GAMA Priority Basin Project

Groundwater quality in the approximately 7,820-square-kilometer (km2) Monterey-Salinas Shallow Aquifer (MS-SA) study unit was investigated from October 2012 to May 2013 as part of the second phase of the Priority Basin Project of the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The study unit is in the central coast region of California in the counties of Santa Cruz...

Authors

Carmen A. Burton, Michael Wright

By

Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center

August 3, 2016

Preliminary results from exploratory sampling of wells for the California oil, gas, and groundwater program, 2014–15

Introduction In 2014 and 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) sampled water wells in the Los Angeles Basin and southern San Joaquin Valley, California, and oil wells in the San Joaquin Valley for analysis of multiple chemical, isotopic, and groundwater-age tracers. The purpose of this reconnaissance sampling was to evaluate the utility of tracers for assessing the effects of oil and...

Authors

Peter B. McMahon, Justin T. Kulongoski, Michael T. Wright, Michael T. Land, Matthew K. Landon, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Avner Vengosh, George R. Aiken

By

Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, Reston Biogeochemical Processes in Groundwater Laboratory

January 1, 2016

Data from exploratory sampling of groundwater in selected oil and gas areas of coastal Los Angeles County and Kern and Kings Counties in southern San Joaquin Valley, 2014–15: California oil, gas, and groundwater project

Exploratory sampling of groundwater in coastal Los Angeles County and Kern and Kings Counties of the southern San Joaquin Valley was done by the U.S. Geological Survey from September 2014 through January 2015 as part of the California State Water Resources Control Board’s Water Quality in Areas of Oil and Gas Production Regional Groundwater Monitoring Program. The Regional Groundwater...

Authors

David B. Dillon, Tracy A. Davis, Matthew K. Landon, Michael T. Land, Michael T. Wright, Justin T. Kulongoski

By

Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center

November 24, 2015

Hydrogeology, hydrologic effects of development, and simulation of groundwater flow in the Borrego Valley, San Diego County, California

Executive Summary The Borrego Valley is a small valley (110 square miles) in the northeastern part of San Diego County, California. Although the valley is about 60 miles northeast of city of San Diego, it is separated from the Pacific Ocean coast by the mountains to the west and is mostly within the boundaries of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. From the time the basin was first settled...

Authors

Claudia C. Faunt, Christina L. Stamos, Lorraine E. Flint, Michael T. Wright, Matthew K. Burgess, Michelle Sneed, Justin T. Brandt, Peter Martin, Alissa L. Coes

By

Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center

January 30, 2015

Geochemical conditions and the occurrence of selected trace elements in groundwater basins used for public drinking-water supply, Desert and Basin and Range hydrogeologic provinces, 2006-11: California GAMA Priority Basin Project

The geochemical conditions, occurrence of selected trace elements, and processes controlling the occurrence of selected trace elements in groundwater were investigated in groundwater basins of the Desert and Basin and Range (DBR) hydrogeologic provinces in southeastern California as part of the Priority Basin Project (PBP) of the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA)...

Authors

Michael T. Wright, Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz

By

Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Michael T. Wright, David R. Parker, and Christopher Amrhein 2003 Critical Evaluation of the Ability of Sequential Extraction Procedures to Quantify Discrete Forms of Selenium in Sediments and Soils Environmental Science & Technology 37 (20), 4709-4716

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

blooming field of yellow and purple wildflowers in the Borrego Valley

January 28, 2019

Borrego Valley Groundwater Conditions

Groundwater is effectively the sole source of water supply for Borrego Valley, California. By the mid-2000s, agriculture, recreation (predominantly golf courses), municipal uses, and the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park required about four times more water than is available through natural recharge. As a result, the U.S. Geological Survey began a cooperative study of the Borrego Valley with the...

By

California Water Science Center

January 28, 2019

Borrego Valley Groundwater Conditions

Groundwater is effectively the sole source of water supply for Borrego Valley, California. By the mid-2000s, agriculture, recreation (predominantly golf courses), municipal uses, and the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park required about four times more water than is available through natural recharge. As a result, the U.S. Geological Survey began a cooperative study of the Borrego Valley with the...

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October 24, 2018

Perchlorate Source Attribution Study in Zones 1-4 of the Stringfellow Superfund Site, Jurupa Valley, Riverside County, California

Between 1956 and 1972, the Stringfellow Hazardous Waste Site, Riverside County, Calif., discharged approximately 34 million gallons of industrial wastes to unlined surface impoundments located at the head of Pyrite Canyon. Contaminants from the site have been detected as far as 4 miles downgradient near the Santa Ana River. Perchlorate in excess of the California Maximum Contaminant Level of 6...

By

California Water Science Center

October 24, 2018

Perchlorate Source Attribution Study in Zones 1-4 of the Stringfellow Superfund Site, Jurupa Valley, Riverside County, California

Between 1956 and 1972, the Stringfellow Hazardous Waste Site, Riverside County, Calif., discharged approximately 34 million gallons of industrial wastes to unlined surface impoundments located at the head of Pyrite Canyon. Contaminants from the site have been detected as far as 4 miles downgradient near the Santa Ana River. Perchlorate in excess of the California Maximum Contaminant Level of 6...

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A Day in the Life: Groundwater Sampling in Jurupa Valley

A Day in the Life: Groundwater Sampling in Jurupa Valley

U.S. Geological Survey

U.S. Department of the Interior

Michael T Wright

Science and Products

Non-USGS Publications**

Borrego Valley Groundwater Conditions

Perchlorate Source Attribution Study in Zones 1-4 of the Stringfellow Superfund Site, Jurupa Valley, Riverside County, California

A Day in the Life: Groundwater Sampling in Jurupa Valley

Science and Products

Non-USGS Publications**

Borrego Valley Groundwater Conditions

Perchlorate Source Attribution Study in Zones 1-4 of the Stringfellow Superfund Site, Jurupa Valley, Riverside County, California

A Day in the Life: Groundwater Sampling in Jurupa Valley