Geology topics

Greg L. Linder

Publications and source records attributed to Greg L. Linder.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2018

Science support for evaluating natural recovery of polychlorinated biphenyl concentrations in fish from Crab Orchard Lake, Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, Illinois

Introduction Crab Orchard Lake in southern Illinois is one of the largest and most popular recreational lakes in the state. Construction of the nearly 7,000-acre reservoir in the late 1930s created employment opportunities through the Works Progress Administration, and the lake itself was intended to supply water, control flooding, and provide recreational opportunities for local communities (Stall, 1954). In 1942, the Department of War appropriated or purchased more than 20,000 acres of land around Crab Orchard Lake and constructed the Illinois Ordnance Plant, which manufactured bombs and anti-tank mines during World War II. After the war, an Act of Congress transferred the property to the U.S. Department of the Interior. Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge was established on August 5, 1947, for the joint purposes of wildlife conservation, agriculture, recreation, and industry. Production of explosives continued, but new industries also moved onsite. More than 200 tenants have held leases with Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge and have operated a variety of manufacturing plants (electrical components, plated metal parts, ink, machined parts, painted products, and boats) on-site. Soils, water, and sediments in several areas of the refuge were contaminated with hazardous substances from handling and disposal methods that are no longer acceptable environmental practice (for example, direct discharge to surface water, use of unlined landfills). Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination at the refuge was identified in the 1970s, and a PCB-based fish-consumption advisory has been in effect since 1988 for Crab Orchard Lake. The present advisory covers common carp ( Cyprinus carpio ) and channel catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus ); see Illinois Department of Public Health (2017). Some of the most contaminated areas of the refuge were actively remediated, and natural ecosystem recovery processes are expected to further reduce residual PCB concentrations in the lake. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sought technical support to understand environmental drivers of current (2017) PCB residues in fish tissue and patterns in PCB residues through time to inform the fish-consumption advisory for Crab Orchard Lake. This project is planned in two phases (Tasks 1 and 2); the first phase is included in this report. Task 1, reported here, includes a review of existing literature and a brief overview focused on environmental and biochemical/physiological processes that drive PCB residues in fish tissue. This review specifically targets processes that are relevant for freshwater lacustrine environments such as those at Crab Orchard Lake. In addition to discussions of environmental fate, metabolism, and accumulation of PCBs, this review includes a brief scientifically based explanation of approaches used to establish fish-consumption advisories. A planned second task (Task 2) will include a compilation and summary of existing data on PCB residues in fish tissue samples from Crab Orchard Lake. This summary will also place Crab Orchard Lake data in a broader geographic context through a comparison with fish data from other Midwestern lakes. When Task 1 and Task 2 are complete, resource managers will have (a) a synthesis of existing literature that characterizes the processes influencing the fate of residual PCBs remaining in systems such as Crab Orchard Lake, (b) a summary of natural PCB attenuation processes for use in risk communication with the public, and (c) a summary of existing data on PCBs in fish tissues from Crab Orchard Lake, including exploratory plots of tissue residues through time. Overall, this project will provide data to help resource managers better understand the ecological and public health consequences of residual PCBs in Crab Orchard Lake.

Illinois↗

USGS2016

Development of ion-exchange collectors for monitoring atmospheric deposition of inorganic pollutants in Alaska parklands

Between 2010 and 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey completed a series of laboratory and field experiments designed to develop methodology to support the National Park Service’s long-term atmospheric pollutant monitoring efforts in parklands of Arctic Alaska. The goals of this research were to develop passive sampling methods that could be used for long-term monitoring of inorganic pollutants in remote areas of arctic parklands and characterize relations between wet and dry deposition of atmospheric pollutants to that of concentrations accumulated by mosses, specifically the stair-step, splendid feather moss, Hylocomium splendens. Mosses and lichens have been used by National Park Service managers as atmospheric pollutant biomonitors since about 1990; however, additional research is needed to better characterize the dynamics of moss bioaccumulation for various classes of atmospheric pollutants. To meet these research goals, the U.S. Geological Survey investigated the use of passive ionexchange collectors (IECs) that were adapted from the design of Fenn and others (2004). Using a modified IEC configuration, mulitple experiments were completed that included the following: (a) preliminary laboratory and development testing of IECs, (b) pilot-scale validation field studies during 2012 with IECs at sites with instrumental monitoring stations, and (c) deployment of IECs in 2014 at sites in Alaska having known or suspected regional sources of atmospheric pollutants where samples of Hylocomium splendens moss also could be collected for comparison. The targeted substances primarily included ammonium, nitrate, and sulfate ions, and certain toxicologically important trace metals, including cadmium, cobalt, copper, nickel, lead, and zinc. Deposition of atmospheric pollutants is comparatively low throughout most of Alaska; consequently, modifications of the original IEC design were needed. The most notable modification was conversion from a single-stage mixed-bed column to a two-stage arrangement. With the modified IEC design, ammonium, nitrate, and sulfate ions were determined with a precision of between 5 and 10 percent relative standard deviation for the low loads that happen in remote areas of Alaska. Results from 2012 field studies demonstrated that the targeted ions were stable and fully retained on the IEC during field deployment and could be fully recovered by extraction in the laboratory. Importantly, measurements of annual loads determined by combining snowpack and IEC sampling at sites near National Atmospheric Deposition Program monitoring stations was comparable to results obtained by the National Atmospheric Deposition Program. Field studies completed in 2014 included snowpack and IEC samples to measure depositional loads; the results were compared to concentrations of similar substances in co-located moss samples. Analyses of constituents in snow and IECs included ammonium, nitrate, and sulfate ions; and a suite of trace metals. Constituent measurements in Hylocomium splendens moss included total nitrogen, phosphorous, and sulfur, and trace metals. To recover ammonium ions and metal ions from the upper cation-exchange column, a two-step extraction procedure was developed from laboratory spiking experiments. The 2014 studies determined that concentrations of certain metals, nitrogen, and sulfur in tissues of Hylocomium splendens moss reflected differences in presumptive deposition from local atmospheric sources. Moss tissues collected from two sites farthest from urban locales had the lowest levels of total nitrogen and sulfur, whereas tissues collected from three of the urban sites had the greatest concentrations of many of the trace metals. Moss tissue concentrations of three trace metals (cobalt, chromium, and nickel) were strongly (positively) Spearman’s rank correlated ( p <0.05) with annual depositional loads of those metals. In addition, moss sulfur concentrations were positively rank correlated with annual depositional loads of sulfate ( p <0.07). Exploratory models indicated linear uptake of the three metals by Hylocomium splendens moss and nonlinear uptake of sulfur from sulfate. Our results provided useful preliminary models for several of the targeted substances; however, our ability to characterize relations between concentrations in moss and loadings for many of the metals was precluded by several factors. The few test sites, small concentration gradients, and generally low concentrations hampered model developments. In addition, the weather was unusually warm throughout Alaska during the winter of 2013–14, which caused intermittent melting of the snowpack at some of the test sites; consequently, our measurements of overwinter loads based on snowpack samples (obtained in late March) probably underestimated the actual loads. Regardless of these potential limitations, these studies have established a foundation to support further studies that can improve our understanding of how mosses accumulate inorganic substances and ultimately how mosses might be used as biomonitors of atmospheric pollutants; moreover, the successful development and validation of the IECs during this research documents how the methodology can be used for future monitoring efforts in remote regions of Alaska and elsewhere.

Alaska↗

USGS2014

Exposure pathways and biological receptors: baseline data for the canyon uranium mine, Coconino County, Arizona

Recent restrictions on uranium mining within the Grand Canyon watershed have drawn attention to scientific data gaps in evaluating the possible effects of ore extraction to human populations as well as wildlife communities in the area. Tissue contaminant concentrations, one of the most basic data requirements to determine exposure, are not available for biota from any historical or active uranium mines in the region. The Canyon Uranium Mine is under development, providing a unique opportunity to characterize concentrations of uranium and other trace elements, as well as radiation levels in biota, found in the vicinity of the mine before ore extraction begins. Our study objectives were to identify contaminants of potential concern and critical contaminant exposure pathways for ecological receptors; conduct biological surveys to understand the local food web and refine the list of target species (ecological receptors) for contaminant analysis; and collect target species for contaminant analysis prior to the initiation of active mining. Contaminants of potential concern were identified as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium, thallium, uranium, and zinc for chemical toxicity and uranium and associated radionuclides for radiation. The conceptual exposure model identified ingestion, inhalation, absorption, and dietary transfer (bioaccumulation or bioconcentration) as critical contaminant exposure pathways. The biological survey of plants, invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and small mammals is the first to document and provide ecological information on .200 species in and around the mine site; this study also provides critical baseline information about the local food web. Most of the species documented at the mine are common to ponderosa pine Pinus ponderosa and pinyon–juniper Pinus–Juniperus spp. forests in northern Arizona and are not considered to have special conservation status by state or federal agencies; exceptions are the locally endemic Tusayan flameflower Phemeranthus validulus, the long-legged bat Myotis volans, and the Arizona bat Myotis occultus. The most common vertebrate species identified at the mine site included the Mexican spadefoot toad Spea multiplicata, plateau fence lizard Sceloporus tristichus, violetgreen swallow Tachycineta thalassina, pygmy nuthatch Sitta pygmaea, purple martin Progne subis, western bluebird Sialia mexicana, deermouse Peromyscus maniculatus, valley pocket gopher Thomomys bottae, cliff chipmunk Tamias dorsalis, black-tailed jackrabbit Lepus californicus, mule deer Odocoileus hemionus, and elk Cervus canadensis. A limited number of the most common species were collected for contaminant analysis to establish baseline contaminant and radiological concentrations prior to ore extraction. These empirical baseline data will help validate contaminant exposure pathways and potential threats from contaminant exposures to ecological receptors. Resource managers will also be able to use these data to determine the extent to which local species are exposed to chemical and radiation contamination once the mine is operational and producing ore. More broadly, these data could inform resource management decisions on mitigating chemical and radiation exposure of biota at high-grade uranium breccia pipes throughout the Grand Canyon watershed.

Arizona↗

USGS2013

Derivation of soil screening thresholds to protect chisel-toothed kangaroo rat from uranium mine waste in northern Arizona

Chemical data from soil and weathered waste material samples collected from five uranium mines north of the Grand Canyon (three reclaimed, one mined but not reclaimed, and one never mined) were used in a screening-level risk analysis for the Arizona chisel-toothed kangaroo rat ( Dipodomys microps leucotis ); risks from radiation exposure were not evaluated. Dietary toxicity reference values were used to estimate soil-screening thresholds presenting risk to kangaroo rats. Sensitivity analyses indicated that body weight critically affected outcomes of exposed-dose calculations; juvenile kangaroo rats were more sensitive to the inorganic constituent toxicities than adult kangaroo rats. Species-specific soil-screening thresholds were derived for arsenic (137 mg/kg), cadmium (16 mg/kg), copper (1,461 mg/kg), lead (1,143 mg/kg), nickel (771 mg/kg), thallium (1.3 mg/kg), uranium (1,513 mg/kg), and zinc (731 mg/kg) using toxicity reference values that incorporate expected chronic field exposures. Inorganic contaminants in soils within and near the mine areas generally posed minimal risk to kangaroo rats. Most exceedances of soil thresholds were for arsenic and thallium and were associated with weathered mine wastes.

Arizona↗

USGS2013

Atmospheric deposition and critical loads for nitrogen and metals in Arctic Alaska: Review and current status

To protect important resources under their bureau’s purview, the United States National Park Service’s (NPS) Arctic Network (ARCN) has developed a series of “vital signs” that are to be periodically monitored. One of these vital signs focuses on wet and dry deposition of atmospheric chemicals and further, the establishment of critical load (CL) values (thresholds for ecological effects based on cumulative depositional loadings) for nitrogen (N), sulfur, and metals. As part of the ARCN terrestrial monitoring programs, samples of the feather moss Hylocomium splendens are being col- lected and analyzed as a cost-effective means to monitor atmospheric pollutant deposition in this region. Ultimately, moss data combined with refined CL values might be used to help guide future regulation of atmospheric contaminant sources potentially impacting Arctic Alaska. But first, additional long-term studies are needed to determine patterns of contaminant deposition as measured by moss biomonitors and to quantify ecosystem responses at particular loadings/ ranges of contaminants within Arctic Alaska. Herein we briefly summarize 1) current regulatory guidance related to CL values 2) derivation of CL models for N and metals, 3) use of mosses as biomonitors of atmospheric deposition and loadings, 4) preliminary analysis of vulnerabilities and risks associated with CL estimates for N, 5) preliminary analysis of existing data for characterization of CL values for N for interior Alaska and 6) implications for managers and future research needs.

Alaska↗

USGS2010

Biological pathways of exposure and ecotoxicity values for uranium and associated radionuclides: Chapter D in Hydrological, geological, and biological site characterization of breccia pipe uranium deposits in Northern Arizona

This chapter compiles available chemical and radiation toxicity information for plants and animals from the scientific literature on naturally occurring uranium and associated radionuclides. Specifically, chemical and radiation hazards associated with radionuclides in the uranium decay series including uranium, thallium, thorium, bismuth, radium, radon, protactinium, polonium, actinium, and francium were the focus of the literature compilation. In addition, exposure pathways and a food web specific to the segregation areas were developed. Major biological exposure pathways considered were ingestion, inhalation, absorption, and bioaccumulation, and biota categories included microbes, invertebrates, plants, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. These data were developed for incorporation into a risk assessment to be conducted as part of an environmental impact statement for the Bureau of Land Management, which would identify representative plants and animals and their relative sensitivities to exposure of uranium and associated radionuclides. This chapter provides pertinent information to aid in the development of such an ecological risk assessment but does not estimate or derive guidance thresholds for radionuclides associated with uranium. Previous studies have not attempted to quantify the risks to biota caused directly by the chemical or radiation releases at uranium mining sites, although some information is available for uranium mill tailings and uranium mine closure activities. Research into the biological impacts of uranium exposure is strongly biased towards human health and exposure related to enriched or depleted uranium associated with the nuclear energy industry rather than naturally occurring uranium associated with uranium mining. Nevertheless, studies have reported that uranium and other radionuclides can affect the survival, growth, and reproduction of plants and animals. Exposure to chemical and radiation hazards is influenced by a plant’s or an animal’s life history and surrounding environment. Various species of plants, invertebrates, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals found in the segregation areas that are considered species of concern by State and Federal agencies were included in the development of the site-specific food web. The utilization of subterranean habitats (burrows in uranium-rich areas, burrows in waste rock piles or reclaimed mining areas, mine tunnels) in the seasonally variable but consistently hot, arid environment is of particular concern in the segregation areas. Certain species of reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals in the segregation areas spend significant amounts of time in burrows where they can inhale or ingest uranium and other radionuclides through digging, eating, preening, and hibernating. Herbivores may also be exposed though the ingestion of radionuclides that have been aerially deposited on vegetation. Measured tissues concentrations of uranium and other radionuclides are not available for any species of concern in the segregation areas. The sensitivity of these animals to uranium exposure is unknown based on the existing scientific literature, and species-specific uranium presumptive effects levels were only available for two endangered fish species known to inhabit the segregation areas. Overall, the chemical toxicity data available for biological receptors of concern were limited, although chemical and radiation toxicity guidance values are available from several sources. However, caution should be used when directly applying these values to northern Arizona given the unique habitat and life history strategies of biological receptors in the segregation areas and the fact that some guidance values are based on models rather than empirical (laboratory or field) data. No chemical toxicity information based on empirical data is available for reptiles, birds, or wild mammals; therefore, the risks associated with uranium and other radionuclides are unknown for these biota.

Arizona↗

USGS1995

Making sense of soil ecotoxicology

The toxicity of pesticides and environmental contaminants to soil organisms has been measured in studies on earthworms, 1 soil arthropods, 3-6 soil microorganisms, 7 and other soil organisms. 8 Toxicity data on earthworms produced in the pesticide registration procedure required by the OECD (Organization for economic cooperation and Development) will provide data on many additional chemicals. 9 Deciding how to use the data generated is troublesome. In 1965, Edwards 10 suggested that the effects of soil insecticides on soils may remain long after the pesticides have disappeared, and that it was clear that pesticides could drastically change the populations of soil organisms; Edwards noted, however, that the effects did not seem to be serious when compared with the benefits to crop production of using pesticides. Since 1965, many studies have been conducted on changes in soil ecosystems caused by environmental contaminants, but we still know little about what the toxicity to particular groups of soil organisms means to the functioning of the soil ecosystem. the problem was illustrated in discussions at the International Conference on Earthworm Ecotoxicology in Sheffield, England, in 1991. there was general agreement that earthworms ahould be taken into account when evaluating pesticides. However, it was unclear what level of reduction in earthworm populations would reduce soil quality or crop yeild. Because populations of earthworms naturally fluctuate greatly even in the absence of pesticides, and because some soils are fertile without any earthworms, it is difficult to equate their population decreases with damage to the soil ecosystem. Broadbent and Tomlin found that the insecticide carbofuran caused fluctuations in the populations of some microarthropods in a cornfield but, in comparing the effects to those of cultivation or adding compost, they concluded that it was unlikely that litter decomposition was significantly affected. 3

Book chapter↗

USGS1994

Characterization of ecological risks at the Milltown Reservoir-Clark Fork River Sediments Superfund Site, Montana

A comprehensive field and laboratory approach to the ecological risk assessment for the Milltown Reservoir-Clark Fork River Sediments Site, a Superfund site in the Rocky Mountains of Montana, has been described in the preceding reports of this series. The risk assessment addresses concerns over the ecological impacts of upstream releases of mining wastes to fisheries of the upper Clark Fork River (CFR) and the benthic and terrestrial habitats further downstream in Milltown Reservoir. The risk characterization component of the process integrated results from a triad of information sources: (a) chemistry studies of environmental media to identify and quantify exposures of terrestrial and aquatic organisms to site-related contaminants; (b) ecological or population studies of terrestrial vegetation, birds, benthic communities, and fish; and (c) in situ and laboratory toxicity studies with terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates and plants, small mammals, amphibians, and fish exposed to contaminated surface water, sediments, wetland soils, and food sources. Trophic transfer studies were performed on waterfowl, mammals, and predatory birds using field measurement data on metals concentrations in environmental media and lower trophic food sources. Studies with sediment exposures were incorporated into the Sediment Quality Triad approach to evaluate risks to benthic ecology. Overall results of the wetland and terrestrial studies suggested that acute adverse biological effects were largely absent from the wetland; however, adverse effects to reproductive, growth, and physiological end points of various terrestrial and aquatic species were related to metals exposures in more highly contaminated depositional areas. Feeding studies with contaminated diet collected from the upper CFR indicated that trout are at high risk from elevated metals concentrations in surface water, sediment, and aquatic invertebrates. Integration of chemical analyses with toxicological and ecological evaluations of metal effects on the wetland and fishery has provided an important foundation for environmental decisions at this site.

Montana↗

USGS1990

Effects of tillage practices and carbofuran exposure on small mammals

We compared population estimates, body mass, movement, and blood chemistry of small mammals between conventionally tilled and no-till cornfields in Maryland and Pennsylvania to evaluate the effects of tillage practices and carbofuran exposure on small mammals. Estimates suggest that populations of white-footed mice ( Peromyscus leucopus ) were not significantly related (P > 0.05) to tillage practice or to the presence of winter rye cover crops. Late summer differences in animal mass and movement, and in the proportion of reproductively inactive animals imply that characteristics of individuals and reproductive activity can be affected by tillage practices and winter cover crops. The presence of granular carbofuran had no apparent effect on populations, body mass, or movement in conventionally tilled or no-till fields. Similarly, neither red blood cell acetylcholinesterase, hematocrit, nor liver function were affected by carbofuran use.

Maryland, Pennsylvania↗