Discharges of produced waters from oil and gas extraction via wastewater treatment plants are sources of disinfection by-products to receiving streams
Michelle Hladik, Michael J. Focazio, Mark Engle
2014, Science of the Total Environment (466-467) 1085-1093
Fluids co-produced with oil and gas production (produced waters) are often brines that contain elevated concentrations of bromide. Bromide is an important precursor of several toxic disinfection by-products (DBPs) and the treatment of produced water may lead to more brominated DBPs. To determine if wastewater treatment plants that accept produced...
Characterizing the distribution of particles in urban stormwater: advancements through improved sampling technology
William R. Selbig
2014, Urban Water Journal (12) 111-119
A new sample collection system was developed to improve the representation of sediment in stormwater by integrating the entire water column. The depth-integrated sampler arm (DISA) was able to mitigate sediment stratification bias in storm water, thereby improving the characterization of particle size distribution from urban source areas. Collector streets...
Chapter A5. Section 2.2B. Syringe-Filter Procedure for Processing Samples for Analysis of Organic Compounds by DAI LC-MS/MS
Mark W. Sandstrom, Franceska D. Wilde
2014, Techniques and Methods 5.2.2.B
This section of chapter 5 of the National Field Manual for the Collection of Water-Quality Data (NFM) describes the field procedures for collecting small-volume samples using a syringe-tip filtration method. The samples are sent to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Quality Laboratory (NWQL) for analysis of organic compounds...
Improvement of the R-SWAT-FME framework to support multiple variables and multi-objective functions
Yiping Wu, Shu-Guang Liu
2014, Science of the Total Environment (466-467) 455-466
Application of numerical models is a common practice in the environmental field for investigation and prediction of natural and anthropogenic processes. However, process knowledge, parameter identifiability, sensitivity, and uncertainty analyses are still a challenge for large and complex mathematical models such as the hydrological/water quality model, Soil and Water Assessment...
Mercury cycling in agricultural and managed wetlands of California: experimental evidence of vegetation-driven changes in sediment biogeochemistry and methylmercury production
Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Mark Marvin-DiPasquale, Craig A. Stricker, Jennifer L. Agee, Le H. Kieu, Evangelos Kakouros
2014, Science of the Total Environment (484) 300-307
The role of live vegetation in sediment methylmercury (MeHg) production and associated biogeochemistry was examined in three types of agricultural wetlands (domesticated or white rice, wild rice, and fallow fields) and adjacent managed natural wetlands (cattail- and bulrush or tule-dominated) in the Yolo Bypass region of California's Central Valley, USA....
Modeling the effects of naturally occurring organic carbon on chlorinated ethene transport to a public supply well
Francis H. Chapelle, Leon J. Kauffman, Mark A. Widdowson
2014, Ground Water (52) 76-89
The vulnerability of public supply wells to chlorinated ethene (CE) contamination in part depends on the availability of naturally occurring organic carbon to consume dissolved oxygen (DO) and initiate reductive dechlorination. This was quantified by building a mass balance model of the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer, which is widely used for public...
Response of walleye and yellow perch to water-level fluctuations in glacial lakes
D.J. Dembkowski, Steven R. Chipps, B. G. Blackwell
2014, Fisheries Management and Ecology (21) 89-95
The influence of water levels on population characteristics of yellow perch, Perca flavescens (Mitchill), and walleye, Sander vitreus (Mitchill), was evaluated across a range of glacial lakes in north-eastern South Dakota, USA. Results showed that natural variation in water levels had an important influence on frequently measured fish population characteristics. Yellow perch abundance was...
Long-distance transport of Hg, Sb, and As from a mined area, conversion of Hg to methyl-Hg, and uptake of Hg by fish on the Tiber River basin, west-central Italy
John E. Gray, Valentina Rimondi, Pilario Costagliola, Orlando Vaselli, Pierfranco Lattanzi
2014, Environmental Geochemistry and Health (36) 145-157
Stream sediment, stream water, and fish were collected from a broad region to evaluate downstream transport and dispersion of mercury (Hg) from inactive mines in the Monte Amiata Hg District (MAMD), Tuscany, Italy. Stream sediment samples ranged in Hg concentration from 20 to 1,900 ng/g, and only 5 of the...
Status of rainbow smelt in the U.S. waters of Lake Ontario, 2013
Brian Weidel, Michael J. Connerton
2014, NYSDEC Lake Ontario Annual Report 2013-12
Rainbow Smelt Osmerus mordax are the second most abundant pelagic prey fish in Lake Ontario after Alewife Alosa psuedoharengus. The 2013, USGS/NYSDEC bottom trawl assessment indicated the abundance of Lake Ontario age-1 and older Rainbow Smelt decreased by 69% relative to 2012. Length frequency-based age analysis indicated that age-1 Rainbow...
Surface-water and groundwater interactions in an extensively mined watershed, upper Schuylkill River, Pennsylvania, USA
Charles A. Cravotta III,, Daniel J. Goode, Michael D. Bartles, Dennis W. Risser, Daniel G. Galeone
2014, Hydrological Processes (28) 3574-3601
Streams crossing underground coal mines may lose flow, while abandoned mine drainage (AMD) restores flow downstream. During 2005-12, discharge from the Pine Knot Mine Tunnel, the largest AMD source in the upper Schuylkill River Basin, had near-neutral pH and elevated concentrations of iron, manganese, and sulfate. Discharge from the tunnel...
The Mussel Watch California pilot study on contaminants of emerging concern (CECs): synthesis and next steps
Keith A. Maruya, Nathan G. Dodder, Stephen B. Weisberg, Dominic Gregorio, Jonathan S. Bishop, Susan Klosterhaus, David A. Alvarez, Edward T. Furlong, Suzanne B. Bricker, Kimani L. Kimbrough, Gunnar G. Lauenstein
2014, Marine Pollution Bulletin (81) 355-363
A multiagency pilot study on mussels (Mytilus spp.) collected at 68 stations in California revealed that 98% of targeted contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) were infrequently detectable at concentrations ⩽1 ng/g. Selected chemicals found in commercial and consumer products were more frequently detected at mean concentrations up to 470 ng/g dry wt. The...
Remote biopsy darting and marking of polar bears
Anthony M. Pagano, Elizabeth L. Peacock, Melissa A. McKinney
2014, Marine Mammal Science (30) 169-183
Remote biopsy darting of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) is less invasive and time intensive than physical capture and is therefore useful when capture is challenging or unsafe. We worked with two manufacturers to develop a combination biopsy and marking dart for use on polar bears. We had an 80% success...
A stakeholder project to model water temperature under future climate scenarios in the Satus and Toppenish watersheds of the Yakima River Basinin Washington, USA
D. Graves, A. Maule
2014, Climatic Change (124) 399-411
The goal of this study was to support an assessment of the potential effects of climate change on select natural, social, and economic resources in the Yakima River Basin. A workshop with local stakeholders highlighted the usefulness of projecting climate change impacts on anadromous steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), a...
Groundwater flow cycling between a submarine spring and an inland fresh water spring
J. Hal Davis, Richard Verdi
2014, Ground Water (52) 705-716
Spring Creek Springs and Wakulla Springs are large first magnitude springs that derive water from the Upper Floridan Aquifer. The submarine Spring Creek Springs are located in a marine estuary and Wakulla Springs are located 18 km inland. Wakulla Springs has had a consistent increase in flow from the 1930s to...
Glyphosate and its degradation product AMPA occur frequently and widely in U.S. soils, surface water, groundwater, and precipitation
William A. Battaglin, Michael T. Meyer, Kathryn Kuivila, Julie E. Dietze
2014, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (50) 275-290
Glyphosate use in the United States increased from less than 5,000 to more than 80,000 metric tons/yr between 1987 and 2007. Glyphosate is popular due to its ease of use on soybean, cotton, and corn crops that are genetically modified to tolerate it, utility in no-till farming practices, utility in urban...
Macroinvertebrate community change associated with the severity of streamflow alteration
Daren M. Carlisle, Ken Eng, S. M. Nelson
2014, River Research and Applications (30) 29-39
Natural streamflows play a critical role in stream ecosystems, yet quantitative relations between streamflow alteration and stream health have been elusive. One reason for this difficulty is that neither streamflow alteration nor ecological responses are measured relative to their natural expectations. We assessed macroinvertebrate community condition in 25 mountain streams...
From streets to streams: Assessing the toxicity potential of urban sediment by particle size
William R. Selbig, Roger T. Bannerman, Steven Corsi
2014, Science of the Total Environment (444) 381-391
Urban sediment can act as a transport mechanism for a variety of pollutants to move towards a receiving water body. The concentrations of these pollutants oftentimes exceed levels that are toxic to aquatic organisms. Many treatment structures are designed to capture coarse sediment but do not work well to similarly...
A method for estimating spatially variable seepage and hydrualic conductivity in channels with very mild slopes
Margaret Shanafield, Richard G. Niswonger, David E. Prudic, Greg Pohll, Richard Susfalk, Sorab Panday
2014, Hydrological Processes (28) 51-61
Infiltration along ephemeral channels plays an important role in groundwater recharge in arid regions. A model is presented for estimating spatial variability of seepage due to streambed heterogeneity along channels based on measurements of streamflow-front velocities in initially dry channels. The diffusion-wave approximation to the Saint-Venant equations, coupled with Philip's...
Vibrational, X-ray absorption, and Mössbauer spectra of sulfate minerals from the weathered massive sulfide deposit at Iron Mountain, California
Juraj Majzlan, Charles N. Alpers, Christian Bender Koch, R. Blaine McCleskey, Satish B.C. Myneni, John M. Neil
2014, Chemical Geology (284) 296-305
The Iron Mountain Mine Superfund site in California is a prime example of an acid mine drainage (AMD) system with well developed assemblages of sulfate minerals typical for such settings. Here we present and discuss the vibrational (infrared), X-ray absorption, and Mössbauer spectra of a number of these phases, augmented...
The planning process
Carol C. Russell, Kathleen S. Smith, Virginia T. McLemore
Carol C. Russell, Kathleen S. Smith, Virginia T. McLemore, editor(s)
2014, Book chapter, Sampling and monitoring for the mine life cycle: Management technologies for metal mining influenced water
No abstract available. ...
Chapter A2. Selection of equipment for water sampling
Franceska D. Wilde, Mark W. Sandstrom, Stanley C. Skrobialowski
2014, Techniques of Water-Resources Investigations 09-A2
The National Field Manual for the Collection of Water-Quality Data (National Field Manual) describes protocols and provides guidelines for U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) personnel who collect data used to assess the quality of the Nation's surface-water and ground-water resources. This chapter of the manual addresses the selection of equipment commonly...
Chapter A7. Section 7.1. Fecal indicator bacteria
Donna N. Myers, Marc A. Sylvester
2014, Techniques of Water-Resources Investigations 09-A7.1
Fecal indicator bacteria are used to assess the microbiological quality of water because, although not typically disease causing, they are correlated with the presence of several waterborne disease-causing organisms. The concentration of indicator bacteria is a measure of water safety for body-contact recreation or for consumption. This report provides information...
A manual for remote sensing of Maine lake clarity
Ian M. McCullough, Cyndy Loftin, Steven A. Sader
2013, Technical Bulletin of the Maine Agricultural & Forest Experiment Station 207
The purpose of this manual is to support use of satellite-based remote sensing for statewide lake water-quality monitoring in Maine. The authors describe step-by-step methods that combine Landsat and MODIS satellite data with field-collected Secchi disk data for statewide assessment of lake water clarity. Landsat can be simultaneously used to...
Hydrogeology of the Susquehanna River valley-fill aquifer system and adjacent areas in eastern Broome and southeastern Chenango Counties, New York
Paul M. Heisig
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5282
The hydrogeology of the valley-fill aquifer system along a 32-mile reach of the Susquehanna River valley and adjacent areas was evaluated in eastern Broome and southeastern Chenango Counties, New York. The surficial geology, inferred ice-marginal positions, and distribution of stratified-drift aquifers were mapped from existing data. Ice-marginal positions, which represent...
The Shoreline Management Tool—An ArcMap tool for analyzing water depth, inundated area, volume, and selected habitats, with an example for the lower Wood River Valley, Oregon
Daniel T. Snyder, Tana Haluska, Darius Respini-Irwin
2013, Open-File Report 2012-1247
The Shoreline Management Tool is a geographic information system (GIS) based program developed to assist water- and land-resource managers in assessing the benefits and effects of changes in surface-water stage on water depth, inundated area, and water volume. Additionally, the Shoreline Management Tool can be used to identify aquatic or...
