Search USGS⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search USGS

Results for “Nature Water”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
USGS2002

Analysis and detection of the herbicides dimethenamid and flufenacet and their sulfonic and oxanilic acid degradates in natural water

Dimethenamid [2-chloro-N-(2,4-dimethyl-3-thienyl)-N-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl)acetamide] and flufenacet [N-(4-fluorophenyl)-N-(1-methylethyl)-2-(5-(trifluoromethyl)-1,3,4- thiadiazol-2-yl)oxy] were isolated by C-18 solid-phase extraction and separated from their ethanesulfonic acid (ESA) and oxanilic acid (OXA) degradates during their elution using ethyl acetate for the parent compound, followed by methanol for the polar degradates. The parent compounds were detected using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in selected-ion mode. The ESA and OXA degradates were detected using high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESPMS) in negative-ion mode. The method detection limits for a 123-mL sample ranged from 0.01 to 0.07 μg/L. These methods are compatible with existing methods and thus allow for analysis of 17 commonly used herbicides and 18 of their degradation compounds with one extraction. In a study of herbicide transport near the mouth of the Mississippi River during 1999 and 2000, dimethenamid and its ESA and OXA degradates were detected in surface water samples during the annual spring flushes. For flufenacet, the only detections at the study site were for the ESA degradates in samples collected at the peak of the herbicide spring flush in 2000. The low frequency of detections in surface water likely is due to dimethenamid and flufenacet being relatively new herbicides. In addition, detectable amounts of the stable degradates have not been detected in ground water.

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry↗
USGS1999

Improved method for the determination of nonpurgeable suspended organic carbon in natural water by silver filter filtration, wet chemical oxidation, and infrared spectrometry

Precision and accuracy are reported for the first time for the analysis of nonpurgeable suspended organic carbon by silver membrane filtration followed by wet chemical oxidation. A water sample is pressure filtered through a 0.45‐μm‐pore‐size, 47‐mm‐diameter silver membrane filter. The silver membrane filter then is cut into ribbons and placed in a flame‐sealable glass ampule. The organic material trapped on the membrane filter strips is acidified, purged with oxygen to remove inorganic carbonates and volatile organic compounds, and oxidized to carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) using phosphoric acid and potassium persulfate in the sealed glass ampule. The resulting CO 2 is measured by a nondispersive infrared CO 2 detector. The amount of CO 2 is proportional to the concentration of chemically oxidizable nonpurgeable organic carbon in the environmental water sample. The quantitation and method detection limit for routine analysis is 0.2 mg/L. The average percent recovery in five representative matrices was 97 ± 11%. The errors associated with sampling and sample preparation of nonpurgeable suspended organic carbon are also described.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2014

Report of the committee on chemistry of natural waters, 1933–34

The personnel of this Committee during the past year, practically the same as during the previous year, has been as follows: C. S. Howard, Chairman—United States Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. L. C. Case—Gypsy Oil Company, Tulsa, Oklahoma. W. D. Collins—United States Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. H. F. Flynn—United States Engineer Office, 35 South Ninth Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. W. P. Kelley—University of California, Riverside, California. Alfred C. Lane—Tufts College, Tufts College, Massachusetts. Augustus Locke—477 Mills Building, San Francisco, California. R. D. Leitch—United States Bureau of Mines, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. H. T. Logan—United States Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C. Thomas S. Lovering—United States Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. Thomas E. Means—111 Sutter Street, San Francisco, California. F. B. Plummer—University of Texas, Austin, Texas. J. W. Sale—United States Food and Drug Administration, Washington, D.C. C S. Scofield—Bureau of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. Thomas G. Thompson—University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.

Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union↗
USGS2014

Report of the committee on chemistry of natural waters, 1935–36

The membership of this Committee was not changed during the past year. A publication has appeared during the year giving the analytical data assembled for and used as a basis for Bulletin 40 of the Department of Public Works, California. This new publication, printed as 40‐A, is entitled “Detailed analyses showing qualities of irrigation‐waters.” Analyses are given for both surface‐ and ground‐waters.

Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union↗
USGS2014

Report of the committee on chemistry of natural waters, 1938–39

The membership of this Committee is as follows: C. S. Howard (Chairman), United States Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. I. A. Denison, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C. W. P. Kelley, 119 Hilgard Hall, University of California, Berkeley, California A. C. Lane, 22 Arlington Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts C. S. Scofield, Bureau of Plant Industry, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. D. G. Thompson, United States Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. T. G. Thompson, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington Studies on the corrosion of metals and soils have been continued at the National Bureau of Standards and a report of the recent findings was published under the title “Correlation of the electrolytic corrosion test with the active corrosiveness of soils,” by I. A. Denison and R. B. Darnielle [J. Res., Nation. Bur. Stan., No. 21, pp. 819‐830, December, 1938], Another paper on this subject by Kirk H. Logan was published under the title “Engineering significance of National Bureau of Standards soil corrosion data” [J. Res. Nation. Bur. Stan., pp. 109–125, January. 1939].

Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union↗
USGS2014

Committee on chemistry of natural waters, 1939–40

The membership of this Committee is as follows: I. A. Dennison, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C.; C. S. Scofield, Bureau of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.; D. G. Thompson, United States Geological Survey, Washington, D.C.; Prof. T. G. Thompson, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; and C. S. Howard (Chairman), United States Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. The Committee arranged for the presentation of the following five papers at the 1940 Spring meeting: (1) Salt‐water intrusion in the Connecticut River, by C. S. Howard, United States Geological Survey; (2) Salinity‐movement and its causes in the Delaware River Estuary, by William D. Mason and Wallace R. Pietsch, Sun Oil Company; (3) Salinity of, lower Savannah River in relation to tidal action and stream‐flow, by William L. Lamar, United States Geological Survey; (4) Corrosion of ferrous and nonferrous metals and the behavior of metallic coatings in tidal marsh, by I. A. Dennison, National Bureau of Standards; (5) The contamination of underground waters by salt water near Parlin, New Jersey, by H. C. Barksdale, United States Geological Survey.

Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union↗
USGS2014

Report of committee on the chemistry of natural waters, 1840–41

The membership of the Committee during the past year was as follows: I. A. Dennison. Bureau of Standards; C. S. Scofield, Department of Agriculture; D. G. Thompson, Geological Survey; T. G. Thompson, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; and C. S. Howard, United States Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. (Chairman).

Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union↗
USGS2014

Report of committee on the chemistry of natural waters, 1941–42

The membership of the Committee during the past year was as follows: I. A. Dennison, National Bureau of Standards; C S. Howard (Chairman), Geological Survey; C. S. Scofield, Department of Agriculture; D. G. Thompson, Geological Survey; and T. G. Thompson, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. SCOFIELD has continued his studies in connection with the salt balance in irrigated areas and has made progress‐reports to interested parties concerning the salt balance on the El Paso Project, Wapato Project, and the Yuma Project. These studies are of great interest to those responsible for the operation of the projects and should be of considerable value to other projects in indicating the volumes of water that may be necessary under certain conditions to insure proper drainage of the project.

Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union↗
USGS1966

Calcium and bromide contents of natural waters

The linear relation observed in a log Ca ++ versus log Br - plot for subsurface Cl - waters is attributed to ultrafiltration by shale of sea water and fresh water that have passed through sedimentary rocks since their formation. Reactions between these solutions and sedimentary minerals, particularly dolomitization, must have contributed additional Ca ++ to solution.

Science↗
USGS1998

Bacterial oxidation of dibromomethane and methyl bromide in natural waters and enrichment cultures

Bacterial oxidation of 14 CH 2 Br 2 and 14 CH 3 Br was measured in freshwater, estuarine, seawater, and hypersaline-alkaline samples. In general, bacteria from the various sites oxidized similar amounts of 14 CH 2 Br 2 and comparatively less 14 CH 3 Br. Bacterial oxidation of 14 CH 3 Br was rapid in freshwater samples compared to bacterial oxidation of 14 CH 3 Br in more saline waters. Freshwater was also the only site in which methyl fluoride-sensitive bacteria (e.g., methanotrophs or nitrifiers) governed brominated methane oxidation. Half-life calculations indicated that bacterial oxidation of CH 2 Br 2 was potentially significant in all of the waters tested. In contrast, only in freshwater was bacterial oxidation of CH 3 Br as fast as chemical removal. The values calculated for more saline sites suggested that bacterial oxidation of CH 3 Br was relatively slow compared to chemical and physical loss mechanisms. However, enrichment cultures demonstrated that bacteria in seawater can rapidly oxidize brominated methanes. Two distinct cultures of nonmethanotrophic methylotrophs were recovered; one of these cultures was able to utilize CH 2 Br 2 as a sole carbon source, and the other was able to utilize CH 3 Br as a sole carbon source.

California↗
USGS2004

Optical characteristics of natural waters protect amphibians from UV-B in the U.S. Pacific Northwest: Reply

Few ecologists would dispute that exposure to high levels of ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B) is detrimental to organisms. It is well established that UV-B has been a critical factor shaping the physiology ( Blum et al. 1949 , Hansson 2000 ), behavior ( Pennington and Emlet 1986 , van de Mortel and Buttemer 1998 ), and distribution ( Williamson et al. 2001 , Leavitt et al. 2003 ) of many aquatic species. Recently, increasing UV-B caused by stratospheric ozone depletion has stimulated much research on the UV-B sensitivity of a wide variety of taxa, and has been found to cause direct mortality ( Calkins and Thordardottir 1980 , reviewed by Siebeck et al. 1994 ), elevate developmental abnormalities ( Ankley et al. 2002 ), increase susceptibility to disease ( Little and Fabacher 1994 , Kiesecker and Blaustein 1995 ), and change the strength of species interactions ( Sommaruga 2003 ). Increasing levels of UV-B have also been invoked as an explanation for the decline of some amphibian species, and support for this hypothesis has been extrapolated from many laboratory experiments and field studies at individual sites that indicate ambient or enhanced levels of UV-B can increase mortality of embryos and larvae (but see Licht 2003 ). This has been an especially attractive hypothesis for amphibian populations in alpine environments where direct anthropogenic impacts such as habitat modification are limited and ambient levels of UV-B are high ( Blaustein and Wake 1990 , Blaustein et al. 1994 , Alford and Richards 1999 ). However, for all the attention UV-B has received in the context of declining amphibian populations, there is little evidence linking the physiological sensitivity of individuals to actual population dynamics ( Licht 2003 ).

California, Oregon, Washington↗
USGS2007

Release of elements to natural water from sediments of Lake Roosevelt, Washington, USA

Reservoir sediments from Lake Roosevelt (WA, USA) that were contaminated with smelter waste discharged into the Columbia River (BC, Canada) were examined using three measures of elemental release reflecting varying degrees of physical mixing and time scales. Aqueous concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in the interstitial water of reservoir sediments, in the gently stirred overlying waters of incubated sediment cores, and in supernatants of aggressively tumbled slurries of reservoir sediments generally were higher than the concentrations from a reference site. When compared to chronic water-quality criteria, all three measures of release suggest that slag-contaminated sediments near the U.S.-Canadian border are potentially toxic as a result of Cu release and Pb release in two of the three measures. All three measures of Cd release suggest potential toxicity for one site farther down the reservoir, probably contaminated as a result of transport and adsorption of Cd from smelter liquid waste. Releases of Zn and As did not appear to be potentially toxic. Carbonate geochemistry indirectly affects the potential toxicity by increasing water hardness.

Washington↗
USGS1971

Gold content of natural waters in Colorado

Neutron activation analysis of 67 samples of water draining from gold-barren and gold-enriched sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks of the Colorado Front Range reveals a relatively small range in total gold content (nondetectable to 150 nanograms per liter). "Solute" gold concentrations were generally higher than particulate gold concentrations and both were unrelated to rock or water types. The data suggest the occurrence of a spring flush out of "solute" gold in groundwater discharge during the snow-melt recharge period but indicate that direct hydrogeochemical prospecting for gold is unpromising.

Colorado↗
USGS1990

Application of a hollow-fiber, tangential-flow device for sampling suspended bacteria and particles from natural waters

The design and application of a hollow-fiber tangential-flow filtration device has been used to concentrate bacteria and suspended particles from large volume surface water and groundwater samples (i.e., hundreds of liters). Filtrate tlux rates (4–8 L min −1 ) are equal to or faster than those of other devices that are based on continuous flow centrifugation and plate and frame filtration. Particle recovery efficiencies for inorganic particles (approximately 90%) were similar to other dewatering devices, but microbial cell recoveries (30–90%) were greatly improved by this technique relative to other currently available methods. Although requirements for operation and maintenance of the device are minimal, its size, as with other dewatering devices, limits its applicability at remote sample sites. Nevertheless, it has proven useful for sample collection in studies involving microbial transport and analysis of particle-associated trace inorganic solutes.

Journal of Environmental Quality↗
USGS1960

Occurrence of strontium in natural water

The regions where the stable strontium content of surface waters is relatively low (less than 0.50 ppm) include the Pacific Northwest, Northeastern United States, and the Central Lowlands, Particularly the Lower Mississippi basin and the Western Gulf Coast area. Moderate concentrations of strontium (0.50 to 1.5 ppm) are found in streams of Southeastern United States, most of the Great Plains Region, the Western Mountain and Plateau Regions, and California. Relatively high concentrations of strontium occur in the surface waters of an area that includes Northern and Western Texas and Southern New Mexico and Arizona. Exceptions to the above distribution are due to local geologic conditions.

Circular↗