Geology topics

Zachary G. Jorgenson

Publications and source records attributed to Zachary G. Jorgenson.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2018

Environmentally relevant chemical mixtures of concern in waters of United States tributaries to the Great Lakes

The North American Great Lakes are a vital natural resource that provide fish and wildlife habitat, as well as drinking water and waste assimilation services for millions of people. Tributaries to the Great Lakes receive chemical inputs from various point and nonpoint sources, and thus are expected to have complex mixtures of chemicals. However, our understanding of the co‐occurrence of specific chemicals in complex mixtures is limited. To better understand the occurrence of specific chemical mixtures in the US Great Lakes Basin, surface water from 24 US tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes was collected and analyzed for diverse suites of organic chemicals, primarily focused on chemicals of concern (e.g., pharmaceuticals, personal care products, fragrances). A total of 181 samples and 21 chemical classes were assessed for mixture compositions. Basin wide, 1664 mixtures occurred in at least 25% of sites. The most complex mixtures identified comprised 9 chemical classes and occurred in 58% of sampled tributaries. Pharmaceuticals typically occurred in complex mixtures, reflecting pharmaceutical‐use patterns and wastewater facility outfall influences. Fewer mixtures were identified at lake or lake‐influenced sites than at riverine sites. As mixture complexity increased, the probability of a specific mixture occurring more often than by chance greatly increased, highlighting the importance of understanding source contributions to the environment. This empirically based analysis of mixture composition and occurrence may be used to focus future sampling efforts or mixture toxicity assessments.

Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management↗

USGS2018

Contaminants of emerging concern presence and adverse effects in fish: A case study in the Laurentian Great Lakes

The Laurentian Great Lakes are a valuable natural resource that is affected by contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), including sex steroid hormones, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, and new generation pesticides. However, little is known about the fate and biological effects of CECs in tributaries to the Great Lakes. In the current study, 16 sites on three rivers in the Great Lakes basin (Fox, Cuyahoga, and Raquette Rivers) were assessed for CEC presence using polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) and grab water samplers. Biological activity was assessed through a combination of in vitro bioassays (focused on estrogenic activity) and in vivo assays with larval fathead minnows. In addition, resident sunfish, largemouth bass, and white suckers were assessed for changes in biological endpoints associated with CEC exposure. CECs were present in all water samples and POCIS extracts. A total of 111 and 97 chemicals were detected in at least one water sample and POCIS extract, respectively. Known estrogenic chemicals were detected in water samples at all 16 sites and in POCIS extracts at 13 sites. Most sites elicited estrogenic activity in bioassays. Ranking sites and rivers based on water chemistry, POCIS chemistry, or total in vitro estrogenicity produced comparable patterns with the Cuyahoga River ranking as most and the Raquette River as least affected by CECs. Changes in biological responses grouped according to physiological processes, and differed between species but not sex. The Fox and Cuyahoga Rivers often had significantly different patterns in biological response Our study supports the need for multiple lines of evidence and provides a framework to assess CEC presence and effects in fish in the Laurentian Great Lakes basin.

Environmental Pollution↗

USGS2017

Contaminants of emerging concern in tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes: I. Patterns of occurrence

Human activities introduce a variety of chemicals to the Laurentian Great Lakes including pesticides, pharmaceuticals, flame retardants, plasticizers, and solvents (collectively referred to as contaminants of emerging concern or CECs) potentially threatening the vitality of these valuable ecosystems. We conducted a basin-wide study to identify the presence of CECs and other chemicals of interest in 12 U.S. tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes during 2013 and 2014. A total of 292 surface-water and 80 sediment samples were collected and analyzed for approximately 200 chemicals. A total of 32 and 28 chemicals were detected in at least 30% of water and sediment samples, respectively. Concentrations ranged from 0.0284 (indole) to 72.2 (cholesterol) μg/L in water and 1.75 (diphenhydramine) to 20,800 μg/kg (fluoranthene) in sediment. Cluster analyses revealed chemicals that frequently co-occurred such as pharmaceuticals and flame retardants at sites receiving similar inputs such as wastewater treatment plant effluent. Comparison of environmental concentrations to water and sediment-quality benchmarks revealed that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations often exceeded benchmarks in both water and sediment. Additionally, bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and dichlorvos concentrations exceeded water-quality benchmarks in several rivers. Results from this study can be used to understand organism exposure, prioritize river basins for future management efforts, and guide detailed assessments of factors influencing transport and fate of CECs in the Great Lakes Basin.

Great Lakes↗

USGS2017

Contaminants of emerging concern in tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes: II. Biological consequences of exposure

The Laurentian Great Lakes contain one fifth of the world’s surface freshwater and have been impacted by human activity since the Industrial Revolution. In addition to legacy contaminants, nitrification and invasive species, this aquatic ecosystem is also the recipient of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) with poorly understood biological consequences. In the current study, we documented the presence, concentrations, and biological effects of CECs across 27 field sites in six Great Lakes tributaries by examining over 2250 resident and caged sunfish ( Lepomis ssp .) for a variety of morphological and physiological endpoints and related these results to CEC occurrence. CEC were ubiquitous across studies sites and their presence and concentrations in water and sediment were highest in effluent dominated rivers and downstream of municipal wastewater treatment plant discharges. However, even putative upstream reference sites were not free of CEC presence and fish at these sites exhibited biological effects consistent with CEC exposure. Only the Fox River exhibited consistent adverse biological effects, including increased relative liver size, greater prominence of hepatocyte vacuoles and increased plasma glucose concentrations. Canonical Redundancy Analysis revealed consistent patterns of biological consequences of CEC exposure across all six tributaries. Increasing plasma glucose concentrations, likely as a result of pollutant-induced metabolic stress, were associated with increased relative liver size and greater prominence of hepatocyte vacuoles. These indicators of pollutant exposure were inversely correlated with indicators of reproductive potential including smaller gonad size and less mature gametes. The current study highlights the need for greater integration of chemical and biological studies and suggests that CECs in the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin may adversely affect the reproductive potential of exposed fish populations.

PLoS ONE↗

USGS2017

Contaminants of emerging concern in the Great Lakes Basin: A report on sediment, water, and fish tissue chemistry collected in 2010-2012

Despite being detected at low levels in surface waters and sediments across the United States, contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in the Great Lakes Basin are not well characterized in terms of spatial and temporal occurrence. Additionally, although the detrimental effects of exposure to CECs on fish and wildlife have been documented for many CECs in laboratory studies, we do not adequately understand the implications of the presence of CECs in the environment. Based on limited studies using current environmentally relevant concentrations of chemicals, however, risks to fish and wildlife are evident. As a result, there is an increasing urgency to address data gaps that are vital to resource management decisions. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey, is leading a Great Lakes Basin-wide evaluation of CECs (CEC Project) with the objectives to (a) characterize the spatial and temporal distribution of CECs; (b) evaluate risks to fish and wildlife resources; and (c) develop tools to aid resource managers in detecting, averting, or minimizing the ecological consequences to fish and wildlife that are exposed to CECs. This report addresses objective (a) of the CEC Project, summarizing sediment and water chemistry data collected from 2010 to 2012 and fish liver tissue chemistry data collected in 2012; characterizes the sampling locations with respect to potential sources of CECs in the landscape; and provides an initial interpretation of the variation in CEC concentrations relative to the identified sources. Data collected during the first three years of our study, which included 12 sampling locations and analysis of 134 chemicals, indicate that contaminants were more frequently detected in sediment compared to water. Chemicals classified as alkyphenols, flavors/ fragrances, hormones, PAHs, and sterols had higher average detection frequencies in sediment compared to water, while the opposite was observed for pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and plasticizers/flame retardants. The St. Louis River and Maumee River sampling locations had the most CEC detections in water and sediment, relative to other sites, as well as the largest number of maximum detected concentrations across all sites in the Basin. No consistent temporal CEC occurrence patterns were observed at locations sampled multiple times each day. Most appearances and increases in chemical concentrations in sediments occurred at sites immediately downstream from wastewater treatment plants and at sites with predominantly developed land use. The location with the most observed appearances and increases was the St. Louis River. Perfluorinated compounds were commonly detected in fish liver tissues with detections in 100% of both benthic and pelagic species. The occurrence of these chemicals in liver tissue of benthic and pelagic species was generally similar. Abstract

Great Lakes Basin↗

USGS2016

Linking field-based metabolomics and chemical analyses to prioritize contaminants of emerging concern in the Great Lakes basin

The ability to focus on the most biologically relevant contaminants affecting aquatic ecosystems can be challenging because toxicity-assessment programs have not kept pace with the growing number of contaminants requiring testing. Because it has proven effective at assessing the biological impacts of potentially toxic contaminants, profiling of endogenous metabolites (metabolomics) may help screen out contaminants with a lower likelihood of eliciting biological impacts, thereby prioritizing the most biologically important contaminants. The authors present results from a study that utilized cage-deployed fathead minnows ( Pimephales promelas ) at 18 sites across the Great Lakes basin. They measured water temperature and contaminant concentrations in water samples (132 contaminants targeted, 86 detected) and used 1 H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to measure endogenous metabolites in polar extracts of livers. They used partial least-squares regression to compare relative abundances of endogenous metabolites with contaminant concentrations and temperature. The results indicated that profiles of endogenous polar metabolites covaried with at most 49 contaminants. The authors identified up to 52% of detected contaminants as not significantly covarying with changes in endogenous metabolites, suggesting they likely were not eliciting measurable impacts at these sites. This represents a first step in screening for the biological relevance of detected contaminants by shortening lists of contaminants potentially affecting these sites. Such information may allow risk assessors to prioritize contaminants and focus toxicity testing on the most biologically relevant contaminants. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:2493–2502.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry↗

USGS2015

Chemicals of emerging concern in water and bottom sediment in the Great Lakes Basin, 2012: collection methods, analytical methods, quality assurance, and study data

In synoptic surveys of surface-water quality across the United States, a large group of organic chemicals associated with agricultural, household, and industrial waste have been detected. These chemicals are referred to collectively as chemicals of emerging concern (CECs) and include prescription drugs and antibiotics, over-the-counter medications, reproductive hormones, personal-care products, detergent metabolites, and flame retardants. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collaborated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on a study to identify the presence of CECs in water and bottom-sediment samples collected during 2012 at 66 sites throughout the Great Lakes Basin. The 2012 effort is part of a long-term study that was initiated in 2010. The purposes of this report are to document the collection and analytical methods, provide the quality-assurance data and analyses, and provide the water and bottom-sediment data for this study of CECs in the Great Lakes Basin for 2012. A previous report documents data collected during 2010 and 2011. The methods used for chemical analyses were identical between the 2010–11 and 2012 studies, with the exception that a method to determine nontarget chemicals was used during 2010–11. The data from this study are published as a USGS Data Series Report to ensure adequate documentation of the original methods and provide a citable source for study data. This report contains no interpretations of the study data. The chemical data are as reported by the laboratory and have not been censored or adjusted unless otherwise noted. Field measurements were recorded and samples were collected in April and May and in September 2012, by U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency personnel. Study sites included tributaries to the Great Lakes located near Duluth, Minnesota; King, Wisconsin; Green Bay, Wis.; Detroit, Michigan; Monroe, Mich.; Toledo, Ohio, and Rochester, New York. Water and bottom-sediment samples were analyzed at the USGS National Water Quality Laboratory in Denver, Colorado, for a broad suite of CECs. During this 2012 study, 140 environmental and 8 field duplicate samples of surface water and wastewater effluent, 1 field blank water sample, and 5 field spike water samples were collected or prepared. Water samples were analyzed at the USGS National Water Quality Laboratory using laboratory schedule 4433 for wastewater indicators, research method 8244 for pharmaceuticals, and laboratory schedule 4434 for steroid hormones, sterols, and bisphenol A. For wastewater indicators in unfiltered water, 61 of the 68 chemicals analyzed using laboratory schedule 4433 had detectable concentrations ranging from 0.002 to 64.4 micrograms per liter. Thirty-eight of the 48 chemicals analyzed using research method 8244 for pharmaceuticals in unfiltered water had detectable concentrations ranging from 0.002 to 3.32 micrograms per liter. Twelve of the 20 chemicals analyzed using laboratory schedule 4434 for steroid hormones, sterols, and bisphenol A in unfiltered water had detectable concentrations ranging from 0.43 to 120,000 nanograms per liter. During this study, 53 environmental samples, 4 field duplicate samples, and 8 field spike samples of bottom sediment and laboratory matrix-spike samples were analyzed for a wide variety of CECs at the USGS National Water Quality Laboratory using laboratory schedule 5433 for wastewater indicators; research method 6434 for steroid hormones, sterols, and bisphenol A; and research method 9008 for human-use pharmaceuticals and antidepressants. Forty of the 57 chemicals analyzed using laboratory schedule 5433 had detectable concentrations ranging from 1 to 49,000 micrograms per kilogram. Fourteen of the 20 chemicals analyzed using research method 6434 had detectable concentrations ranging from 0.04 to 24,940 nanograms per gram. Ten of the 20 chemicals analyzed using research method 9008 had detectable concentrations ranging from 0.59 to 197.5 micrograms per kilogram. Five of the 11 chemicals analyzed using research method 9008 had detectable concentrations ranging from 1.16 to 25.0 micrograms per kilogram.

Great Lakes Basin↗

USGS2014

Fathead minnow and bluegill sunfish life-stage responses to 17β-estradiol exposure in outdoor mesocosms

Developmental and reproductive effects of 17β-estradiol (E2) exposure on two generations of fathead minnows and one generation of bluegill sunfish were assessed. Fish were exposed to E2 for six continuous weeks in outdoor mesocosms simulating natural lake environments. First generation fish were exposed while sexually mature. Second generation fathead minnows were exposed either during early development, sexual maturity, or both stages. Multiple endpoints were measured to assess effects of E2 exposure on fecundity and fish health and development. Plasma vitellogenin concentrations were highly variable in all fish. Differences in egg production timing for both species indicate differences in fecundity between females exposed to E2 and controls. First generation fathead minnows exposed to E2 had lower body condition factors and reduced secondary sexual characteristic expression by males. Only a difference in relative liver weight was observed in second generation fathead minnows. First generation bluegill males exposed to E2 had significantly smaller testes compared to controls. Although fish response was highly variable, results indicate that exposure to E2 at environmentally relevant concentrations affect fathead minnow and bluegill sunfish health and development, which may have implications for the health and sustainability of fish populations. Furthermore, exposure timing and environmental factors affect fish response to E2 exposure.

Journal of the American Water Resources Associatio↗