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U.S. Geological Survey
Data Series 165

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Concentration of Selected Herbicides, Herbicide Degradation Products, and Nutrients in the Lower Mississippi River, Louisiana, April 1991 through December 2003

By Elisabeth A. Scribner, Donald A. Goolsby, William A. Battaglin, Michael T. Meyer, and E.M. Thurman

Abstract

Water-quality samples were collected from three sites in the lower Mississippi River in Louisiana during April 1991 through December 2003 by the U.S. Geological Survey and analyzed for selected herbicides, herbicide degradation products, and nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and silica). When this study first began in April 1991, water samples were analyzed for selected herbicides and herbicide degradation products by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. As the study progressed, there were changes and additions to the herbicide compounds analyzed, which resulted in lower analytical reporting levels or the quantification of additional herbicides or herbicide degradation products. Alachlor ethanesulfonic acid was analyzed by solid-phase extraction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay from 1993 through 1998. In March 1998, analyses for the acetamide degradation products, ethanesulfonic acid and oxanilic acid, by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection, were added. This method was replaced by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry in August 1999.

The data were collected to help determine the occurrence and transport of selected herbicides, their degradation products, and nutrients in the lower Mississippi River Basin and their delivery to the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to results of sample analysis, this report includes a description of the study area, sample-collection schedule and methods, laboratory analytical methods, and quality-assurance procedures.


Contents

Scribner, E.A., Goolsby, D.A., Battaglin, W.A., Meyer, M.T., and Thurman, E.M., 2006, Concentrations of selected herbicides, herbicide degradation products, and nutrients in the lower Mississippi River, Louisiana, April 1991 through December 2003: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 165, 83 p.


Report Availability

A limited number of printed copies of the full report are available free from:

U.S. Geological Survey
Kansas Water Science Center
4821 Quail Crest Place
Lawrence, KS 66049
Phone: 785-842-9909

Printed reports also are available for a nominal fee from:

U.S. Geological Survey
Information Services
P.O. Box 25286
Federal Center
Denver, CO 80225
Phone: 1-888-ASK-USGS

NOTE: When ordering the report, please supply the report title and number, your name, and your mailing address. Thank you.

For more information about studies by the USGS Organic Geochemistry Research Laboratory contact:

Michael T. Meyer
U.S. Geological Survey
Kansas Water Science Center
4821 Quail Crest Place
Lawrence, KS 66049-3839
Telephone: (785) 832-3544
Fax: (785) 832-3500
Email: mmeyer@usgs.gov

For more information about USGS water resources studies in Kansas, visit the USGS Kansas Water Science Center home page: http://ks.water.usgs.gov



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