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Geology topics

Kathryn M. Conko

Publications and source records attributed to Kathryn M. Conko.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2014

Surface disposal of produced waters in western and southwestern Pennsylvania: potential for accumulation of alkali-earth elements in sediments

Waters co-produced with hydrocarbons in the Appalachian Basin are of notably poor quality (concentrations of total dissolved solids (TDS) and total radium up to and exceeding 300,000 mg/L and 10,000 pCi/L, respectively). Since 2008, a rapid increase in Marcellus Shale gas production has led to a commensurate rise in associated wastewater while generation of produced water from conventional oil and gas activities has continued. In this study, we assess whether disposal practices from treatment of produced waters from both shale gas and conventional operations in Pennsylvania could result in the accumulation of associated alkali earth elements. The results from our 5 study sites indicate that there was no increase in concentrations of total Ra (Ra-226) and extractable Ba, Ca, Na, or Sr in fluvial sediments downstream of the discharge outfalls (p > 0.05) of publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) and centralized waste treatment facilities (CWTs). However, the use of road spreading of brines from conventional oil and gas wells for deicing resulted in accumulation of Ra-226 (1.2 ×), and extractable Sr (3.0 ×), Ca (5.3 ×), and Na (6.2 ×) in soil and sediment proximal to roads (p < 0.05). Although this study is an important initial assessment of the impacts of these disposal practices, more work is needed to consider the environmental consequences of produced waters management.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS2013

Arsenic and mercury in the soils of an industrial city in the Donets Basin, Ukraine

Soil and house dust collected in and around Hg mines and a processing facility in Horlivka, a mid-sized city in the Donets Basin of southeastern Ukraine, have elevated As and Hg levels. Surface soils collected at a former Hg-processing facility had up to 1300 mg kg −1 As and 8800 mg kg −1 Hg; 1M HCl extractions showed 74–93% of the total As, and 1–13% of the total Hg to be solubilized, suggesting differential environmental mobility between these elements. In general, lower extractability of As and Hg was seen in soil samples up to 12 km from the Hg-processing facility, and the extractable (1M HCl, synthetic precipitation, deionized water) fractions of As are greater than those for Hg, indicating that Hg is present in a more resistant form than As. The means (standard deviation) of total As and Hg in grab samples collected from playgrounds and public spaces within 12 km of the industrial facility were 64 (±38) mg kg −1 As and 12 (±9.4) mg kg −1 Hg; all concentrations are elevated compared to regional soils. The mean concentrations of As and Hg in dust from homes in Horlivka were 5–15 times higher than dust from homes in a control city. Estimates of possible exposure to As and Hg through inadvertent soil ingestion are provided.

Donets Basin↗
USGS2011

Environmental influences on the occurrences of sepiolite and palygorskite: a brief review

Sepiolite is a hydrous magnesium silicate formed by precipitation of near-surface brackish or saline waters, under semi-arid climatic conditions. Four major influences on the distribution of sepiolite are source materials, climate, physical parameters and associated phase relations. Two major pathways governing the occurrence of sepiolite and palygorskite are direct precipitation from solution, and the transformation of precursor phases by dissolution–precipitation. Sepiolite is most commonly found as a result of the former process, whereas palygorskite is often characterized as a product of the latter. Thus, sepiolite typically occurs in lacustrine, often saline, strata, while palygorskite is commonly found in conjunction with soils, alluvium, or most abundantly, calcretes. Here, we review briefly some examples of sepiolite deposits in Spain, Turkey, Argentina, USA, and the African countries of Kenya, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, Somalia and South Africa.

Book chapter↗
USGS2011

Biomarkers of mercury exposure in two eastern Ukraine cities

This study evaluates biomarkers of mercury exposure among residents of Horlivka, a city in eastern Ukraine located in an area with geologic and industrial sources of environmental mercury, and residents of Artemivsk, a nearby comparison city outside the mercury-enriched area. Samples of urine, blood, hair, and nails were collected from study participants, and a questionnaire was administered to obtain data on age, gender, occupational history, smoking, alcohol consumption, fish consumption, tattoos, dental amalgams, home heating system, education, source of drinking water, and family employment in mines. Median biomarker mercury concentrations in Artemivsk were 0.26 μg/g-Cr (urine), 0.92 μg/L (blood), 0.42 μg/g (hair), 0.11 μg/g (toenails), and 0.09 μg/g (fingernails); median concentrations in Horlivka were 0.15 μg/g-Cr (urine), 1.01 μg/L (blood), 0.14 μg/g (hair), 0.31 μg/g (toenails), and 0.31 μg/g (fingernails). Biomarkers of mercury exposure for study participants from Horlivka and Artemivsk are low in comparison with occupationally exposed workers at a mercury recycling facility in Horlivka and in comparison with exposures known to be associated with clinical effects. Blood and urinary mercury did not suggest a higher mercury exposure among Horlivka residents as compared with Artemivsk; however, three individuals living in the immediate vicinity of the mercury mines had elevated blood and urinary mercury, relative to overall results for either city. For a limited number of residents from Horlivka (N = 7) and Artemivsk (N = 4), environmental samples (vacuum cleaner dust, dust wipes, soil) were collected from their residences. Mercury concentrations in vacuum cleaner dust and soil were good predictors of blood and urinary mercury.

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene↗
USGS2005

Transmission of atmospherically derived trace elements through an undeveloped, forested Maryland watershed

The transmission of atmospherically derived trace elements (Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn) was evaluated in a small, undeveloped, forested watershed located in north-central Maryland. Atmospheric input was determined for wet-only and vegetative throughfall components. Annual throughfall fluxes were significantly enriched over incident precipitation for most elements, although some elements exhibited evidence of canopy release (Mn) or preferential uptake (As, Cr, and Se). Stream export was gauged based on systematic sampling under varied flow regimes. Particle loading appears to contribute significantly to watershed export (> 10%) for only As, Pb, and Fe, and then only during large precipitation/runoff events. The degree of watershed transmission for each trace element was evaluated based on a comparison of total, net atmospheric input (throughfall) to stream export over an annual hydrologic cycle. This comparison indicates that the atmospheric input of some elements (Al, Cd, Ni, Zn) is effectively transmitted through the watershed, but other elements (Pb, As, Se, Fe, Cr, Cu) appear to be strongly sequestered, in the respective orders noted. Results suggest that precipitation and subsequent soil pH are the primary factors that determine the mobility of sequestered trace element phases. To further resolve primary atmospheric and secondary weathering components, the geochemical model NETPATH was applied. Results indicate that minerals dissolved include chlorite, plagioclase feldspar, epidote, and potassium feldspar; phases formed were kaolinite, pyrite, and silica. The model also indicates that weathering processes contribute negligible amounts of trace elements to stream export, indicative of the unreactive orthoquartzite bedrock lithology underlying the watershed. Thus, the stream export of trace elements primarily reflects atmospheric deposition to the local watershed.

Maryland↗
USGS2004

Atmospheric wet deposition of trace elements to a suburban environment, Reston, Virginia, USA

Wet deposition from a suburban area in Reston, Virginia was collected during 1998 and analyzed to assess the anion and trace-element concentrations and depositions. Suburban Reston, approximately 26 km west of Washington, DC, is densely populated and heavily developed. Wet deposition was collected bi-weekly in an automated collector using trace-element clean sampling and analytical techniques. The annual volume-weighted concentrations of As, Cd, and Pb were similar to those previously reported for a remote site on Catoctin Mt., Maryland (70 km northwest), which indicated a regional signal for these elements. The concentrations and depositions of Cu and Zn at the suburban site were nearly double those at remote sites because of the influence of local vehicular traffic. The 1998 average annual wet deposition (μg m −2 yr −1 ) was calculated for Al (52,000), As (94), Cd (54), Cr (160), Cu (700), Fe (23,000), Mn (2000), Ni (240), Pb (440), V (430), and Zn (4100). The average annual wet deposition (meq m −2 yr −1 ) was calculated for H + (74), Cl − (8.5), NO 3 − (33), and SO 4 2− (70). Analysis of digested total trace-element concentrations in a subset of samples showed that the refractory elements in suburban precipitation comprised a larger portion of the total deposition of trace elements than in remote areas.

Virginia↗
USGS2002

Anthropogenic sources of arsenic and copper to sediments in a suburban lake, Northern Virginia

Mass balances of total arsenic and copper for a suburban lake in densely populated northern Virginia were calculated using data collected during 1998. Mass-balance terms were precipitation; stream inflow, including road runoff; stream outflow; and contributions from leaching of pressure-treated lumber. More mass of arsenic and copper was input to the lake than was output; the 1998 lake-retention rates were 70% for arsenic and 20% for copper. The arsenic mass balance compared well with a calculated annual mass accumulation in the top 1 cm of the lake sediments; however, the calculated contribution of copper to the lake was insufficient to account for the amount of copper in this zone. Leaching experiments were conducted on lumber treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) to quantify approximate amounts of arsenic and copper contributed by this source. Sources to lake sediments included leaching of CCA-treated lumber (arsenic, 50%; copper, 4%), streamwater (arsenic, 50%; copper, 90%), and atmospheric deposition (arsenic, 1%; copper, 3%). Results of this study suggest that CCA-treated lumber and road runoff could be significant nonpoint sources of arsenic and copper, respectively, in suburban catchments.

Virginia↗
USGS2000

Water-quality data collected at Lake Anne, Reston, Virginia, 1997-1999

Samples from the Lake Anne watershed were collected and analyzed to assess the water quality from December 1997 through January 1999. Lake Anne is a stream impoundment in suburban Northern Virginia and its outflow is a sub-tributary of the Potomac River. Samples of wet deposition (precipitation), lake water, and streamwater that drain into and from Lake Anne were collected and analyzed. Trace-element clean sampling and analysis protocols were followed throughout the project. This report is a compilation of the precipitation, lake-water, and streamwater data collected in the Lake Anne watershed and the associated quality assurance/quality control data. Concentrations of the trace elements arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, manganese, nickel, strontium, vanadium, and zinc, and of the major inorganic ions, aluminum, bicarbonate, calcium, chloride, hydrogen ion, iron, magnesium, potassium, nitrate, sodium, and sulfate are reported.

Virginia↗
USGS1998

Transmission of atmospherically deposited trace elements through an undeveloped, forested Maryland watershed

Retention and transmission of atmospherically-derived major (H + , Na + , K + , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , HCO 3 - , NO 3 - , SO 4 -2 , Cl - , SiO 2 ) and trace (Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn) species were evaluated in an undeveloped forested watershed underlain by a rather inert quartzite lithology (Bear Branch, Catoctin State Forest, Thrumont, Maryland). These comparisons were based on atmospheric input to stream export over a period of 16 months. Both wet (precipitation) and total (bulk, including vegetative throughfall) atmospheric loading to the catchment were determined. Stream export was gauged based on systematic sampling of the stream under varied flow regimes. Additionally, watershed export of both dissolved and particulate trace element phases was examined during three high run-off intensives associated with summer storms.

Maryland↗