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USGS1994

Persistence of metals in soil and selected vertebrates in the vicinity of the Palmerton zinc smelters

Concentration of Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cu in soil and wildlife at the Palmerton zinc smelter site in eastern Pennsylvania were determined 6 yr after zinc smelting was terminated in 1980. Levels of the four metals were higher in litter (01 and 02 horizon) than in soil (A1 horizon), and the metals were at or near levels when the smelters were still in operation. Levels of metals in soil were highest at sites close to the smelters and decreased as distances from the smelters increased. The relation of decreasing amounts of metals in body tissues with increasing distance from the smelters also held true for amphibians and mammals. An exception to this relation was higher level of Cu in red‐backed salamanders ( Plethodon cinereus ) captured ≈17 km downwind than those captured ≈12 km downwind. Levels of Zn, Pb, and Cu in liver, kidney, and muscle tissue of white‐footed mice ( Peromyscus leucopus ) were not different ( P > 0.05) which is reportedly considered an indication of environmental contamination. Levels of Cd in kidneys and liver of white‐tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) at Palmerton were five times higher than those for whitetailed deer collected 180 km southwest of Palmerton in southcentral Pennsylvania. The abnormal amounts of metals in the tissues of terrestrial vertebrates, and the absence or low abundance of wildlife at Palmerton indicated that ecological processes within 5 km of the smelters were markedly influenced 6 yr after zinc smelting was discontinued.

Pennsylvania↗

USGS1994

Displacement of soil pore water by trichloroethylene

Dense nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPLS) are important pollutants because of their widespread use as chemical and industrial solvents. An example of the pollution caused by the discharge of DNAPLs is found at the Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, where trichloroethylene (TCE) has been discharged directly into the unsaturated zone. This discharge has resulted in the formation of a plume of TCE-contaminated water in the aquifer downgradient of the discharge. A zone of dark-colored groundwater containing a high dissolved organic C content has been found near the point of discharge of the TCE. The colored-water plume extends from the point of discharge at least 30 m (100 feet) downgradient. Fulvic acids isolated from the colored-waters plume, from water from a background well that has not been affected by the discharge of chlorinated solvents, and from soil pore water collected in a lysimeter installed at an uncontaminated site upgradient of the study area have been compared. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of the fulvic acids from the colored waters and from the lysimeter are very similar, but are markedly different from the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the fulvic acid from the background well. The three-dimensional fluorescence spectrum and the DOC fractionation profile of the colored groundwater and the soil pore water are very similar to each other, but quite different from those of the background water. It is proposed from these observations that this colored water is soil pore water that has been displaced by a separate DNAPL liquid phase downward to the saturated zone.

Journal of Environmental Quality↗

USGS2003

Simplified method for detecting tritium contamination in plants and soil

Cost-effective methods are needed to identify the presence and distribution of tritium near radioactive waste disposal and other contaminated sites. The objectives of this study were to (i) develop a simplified sample preparation method for determining tritium contamination in plants and (ii) determine if plant data could be used as an indicator of soil contamination. The method entailed collection and solar distillation of plant water from foliage, followed by filtration and adsorption of scintillation-interfering constituents on a graphite-based solid phase extraction (SPE) column. The method was evaluated using samples of creosote bush [ Larrea tridentata (Sessé & Moc. ex DC.) Coville], an evergreen shrub, near a radioactive disposal area in the Mojave Desert. Laboratory tests showed that a 2-g SPE column was necessary and sufficient for accurate determination of known tritium concentrations in plant water. Comparisons of tritium concentrations in plant water determined with the solar distillation–SPE method and the standard (and more laborious) toluene-extraction method showed no significant difference between methods. Tritium concentrations in plant water and in water vapor of root-zone soil also showed no significant difference between methods. Thus, the solar distillation–SPE method provides a simple and cost-effective way to identify plant and soil contamination. The method is of sufficient accuracy to facilitate collection of plume-scale data and optimize placement of more sophisticated (and costly) monitoring equipment at contaminated sites. Although work to date has focused on one desert plant, the approach may be transferable to other species and environments after site-specific experiments.

Journal of Environmental Quality↗

USGS2010

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil of the Canadian River floodplain in Oklahoma

The accumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in soil, plants, and water may impart negative effects on ecosystem and human health. We quantified the concentration and distribution of 41 PAH (n = 32), organic C, total N, and S (n = 140) and investigated PAH sources using a chronosequence of floodplain soils under a natural vegetation succession. Soil samples were collected between 0- and 260-cm depth in bare land (the control), wetland, forest, and grassland areas near a closed municipal landfill and an active asphalt plant (the contaminant sources) in the north bank of the Canadian River near Norman, OK. Principal component, cluster, and correlation analyses were used to investigate the spatial distribution of PAH, in combination with diagnostic ratios to distinguish pyrogenic vs. petrogenic PAH suites. Total PAH concentration (SigmaPAH) had a mean of 1300 ng g(-1), minimum of 16 ng g(-1), and maximum of 12,000 ng g(-1). At 0- to 20-cm depth, SigmaPAH was 3500 +/- 1600 ng g(-1) (mean +/- 1 SE) near the contaminant sources. The most common compounds were nonalkylated, high molecular weight PAH of pyrogenic origin, i.e., fluoranthene (17%), pyrene (14%), phenanthrene (9%), benzo(b)fluoranthene (7%), chrysene (6%), and benzo(a)anthracene (5%). SigmaPAH in the control (130 +/- 23 ng g(-1)) was comparable to reported concentrations for the rural Great Plains. Perylene had a unique distribution pattern suggesting biological inputs. The main PAH contamination mechanisms were likely atmospheric deposition due to asphalt production at the 0- to 20-cm depth and past landfill operations at deeper depths.

Journal of Environmental Quality↗

USGS2018

Methylmercury dynamics in Upper Sacramento Valley rice fields with low background soil mercury levels

Few studies have considered how methylmercury (MeHg, a toxic form of Hg produced in anaerobic soils) production in rice ( Oryza sativa L.) fields can affect water quality, and little is known about MeHg dynamics in rice fields. Surface water MeHg and total Hg (THg) imports, exports, and storage were studied in two commercial rice fields in the Sacramento Valley, California, where soil THg was low (25 and 57 ng g −1 ). The median concentration of MeHg in drainage water exiting the fields was 0.17 ng g −1 (range: <0.007–2.1 ng g −1 ). Compared with irrigation water, drainage water had similar MeHg concentrations, and lower THg concentrations during the growing season. Significantly elevated drainage water MeHg and THg concentrations were observed in the fallow season compared with the growing season. An analysis of surface water loads indicates that fields were net importers of both MeHg (76–110 ng m −2 ) and THg (1947–7224 ng m −2 ) during the growing season, and net exporters of MeHg (35–200 ng m −2 ) and THg (248–6496 ng m −2 ) during the fallow season. At harvest, 190 to 700 ng MeHg m −2 and 1400 to 1700 ng THg m −2 were removed from fields in rice grain. Rice straw, which contained 120 to 180 ng MeHg m −2 and 7000–10,500 ng m −2 THg was incorporated into the soil. These results indicate that efforts to reduce MeHg and THg exports in rice drainage water should focus on the fallow season. Substantial amounts of MeHg and THg were stored in plants, and these pools should be considered in future studies.

Journal of Environmental Quality↗

USGS1988

Microbial transformations of azaarenes in creosite-contaminated soil and ground water: Laboratory and field studies

Azaarenes or aromatic nitrogen heterocycles are a class of compounds found in wood-preservative wastes containing creosote. The fate and movement of these compounds in contaminated aquifers is not well understood. Water-quality studies in an aquifer contaminated with creosote near Pensacola, Florida, indicated that ground water was contaminated with several azaarenes and their oxygenated and alkylated derivatives, suggesting that these oxygenated compounds may be products of microbial transformation reactions. Accordingly, laboratory studies were designed to investigate the fate of these compounds. Under aerobic conditions, soil pseudomonads isolated from creosote-contaminated soil converted quinoline to 2(1H)quinoline that subsequently was degraded to unknown products. A methanogenic consortium isolated from an anaerobic sewage digestor, in presence of ground-water and creosote-contaminated soil, converted quinoline, isoquinoline, and 4-methylquinoline to their respective oxygenated analogs. In addition, N-, C-, and O-methylated analogs of oxygenated azaarenes were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in aerobic cultures. Under the experimental conditions, 2-methylquinoline was biorefractory. Presence of similar biotransformation products in anaerobic cultures and contaminated ground water from the Pensacola site provided further evidence that these compounds indeed were mivrobial transformation products. Stable isotope labeling studies indicated that the source of the oxygen atom for this hydroxylation reaction under aerobic and anaerobic conditions was water. A mechanism was proposed for this hydroxylation reaction. Whereas parent azaarenes are biodegradable in both anaerobic and aerobic zones, oxygenated and alkylated analogs are more biorefractory and, hence, persistent in anaerobic zones of contaminated aquifers.

Water Science and Technology↗

USGS1998

Nitrogen and carbon soil dynamics in response to climate change in a high-elevation ecosystem in the Rocky Mountains, U.S.A.

We have implemented a long-term snow-fence experiment at the Niwot Ridge Long-Term Ecological Research (NWT) site in the Colorado Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, U.S.A., to assess the effects of climate change on alpine ecology and biogeochemical cycles. The responses of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics in high-elevation mountains to changes in climate are investigated by manipulating the length and duration of snow cover with the 2.6 × 60 m snow fence, providing a proxy for climate change. Results from the first year of operation in 1994 showed that the period of continuous snow cover was increased by 90 d. The deeper and earlier snowpack behind the fence insulated soils from winter air temperatures, resulting in a 9°C increase in annual minimum temperature at the soil surface. The extended period of snow cover resulted in subnivial microbial activity playing a major role in annual C and N cycling. The amount of C mineralized under the snow as measured by CO 2 production was 22 g m -2 in 1993 and 35 g m -2 in 1994, accounting for 20% of annual net primary above-ground production before construction of the snow fence in 1993 and 31% after to snow fence was constructed in 1994. In a similar fashion, maximum subnivial N 2 O flux increased 3-fold behind the snow fence, from 75 μg N m -2 d -1 in 1993 to 250 μg N m -2 d -1 in 1994. The amount of N lost from denitrification was greater than the annual atmospheric input of N in snowfall. Surface litter decomposition studies show that there was a significant increase in the litter mass loss under deep and early snow, with no significant change under medium and little snow conditions. Changes in climate that result in differences in snow duration, depth, and extent may therefore produce large changes in the C and N soil dynamics of alpine ecosystems.

Colorado↗

USGS1969

Mercury in soil gas and air--A potential tool in mineral exploration

The mercury content in soil gas and in the atmosphere was measured in several mining districts to test the possibility that the mercury content in the atmosphere is higher over ore deposits than over barren ground. At Cortez, Nev., the distribution of anorhalous amounts of mercury in the air collected at ground level (soil gas) correlates well with the distribution of gold-bearing rocks that are covered by as much as 100 feet of gravel. The mercury content in the atmosphere collected at an altitude of 200 feet by an aircraft was 20 times background over a mercury posit and 10 times background over two porphyry copper deposits. Measurement of mercury in soil gas and air may prove to be a valuable exploration tool.

Circular↗

USGS2006

Natural and Man-Made Chemicals in North American Soils--Continental-Scale Pilot Study Completed

The U.S. Geological Survey and the Geological Survey of Canada recently completed a continental-scale pilot study for a proposed geochemical survey of North American soils. This survey will provide baseline soil chemistry data against which future changes in soil composition can be measured and that can be used by Federal, State/Provincial, and local agencies when making risk-assessment and land-use decisions.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2021

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in New Hampshire soils and biosolids

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, is undertaking a study on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in soils and biosolids. The study will characterize PFAS concentrations in shallow soil and selected biosolids throughout the State of New Hampshire, conduct laboratory experiments to improve understanding of how mobile PFAS are in the environment, and implement a site-specific field study of PFAS transport from soil to water.

New Hampshire↗

USGS2001

Water-quality data of soil water from three watersheds, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, 1999-2000

Data on the chemical composition of soil-water samples were collected quarterly from three watersheds in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, from September 1999 through July 2000. The soil-water samples were analyzed for specific conductance and concentrations of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, ammonium, chloride, nitrate, sulfate, acid-neutralizing capacity, silica, and total monomeric aluminum. The soil-water data presented in this report can be used to support water-quality modeling of the response of streams to episodic acidification. Laboratory analytical data as well as laboratory quality-assurance information also are presented.

Virginia↗

USGS2002

Bedrock and soil geochemistry from Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota

Bedrock, forest floor, and mineral soil sampling in Voyageurs National Park (VNP), Minnesota in 2000 and 2001 is part of a multidisciplinary project that includes the U. S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The joint project is examining the distribution of mercury in age-1 perch, lake water, bedrock and soils for eighteen watersheds in the interior of VNP. The purpose of the project was to establish the background and baseline geochemistry for bedrock and soil in the region, and to determine terrestrial mercury sources and sinks in VNP.

Minnesota↗

USGS2002

Soil chemistry and mineralogy of the Santa Cruz coastal terraces

Marine terraces in the central coast of California provide an opportunity to study a soil chronosequence in which similar materials (beach deposits) have been weathered under similar slope, climatic, and vegetation conditions during the Quaternary. The terraces between Santa Cruz and Año Nuevo, California, have been studied for decades and are thought to be one of the best example of marine terraces in California {Lawson (1893), Wilson (1907); Branner and others (1909), Rode (1930) Page and Holmes (1945), Alexander (1953), Bradley (1956, 1957, 1958, and 1965), Bradley and Addicott (1968), Clark (1966 and 1970), Jahns and Hamilton (1971), Lajoie and others (1972), Bradley and Griggs (1976). Hanks and others (1986), Aniku (1986), Fine and others (1988), Anderson (1990 and 1994), and Rosenbloom and Anderson (1994).} Here we report morphological, chemical, physical, and mineralogical data for the soils that were formed in deposits on the Santa Cruz marine terraces in order to examine soil characteristics as a function of increasing terrace age.

California↗

USGS2001

Geochemical analysis of soils and sediments, Coeur d'Alene drainage basin, Idaho: sampling, analytical methods, and results

This report presents the locations, descriptions, analytical procedures used, and an inter-lab comparison of over 1100 geochemical analyses of samples of soil and sediment in and downstream of a major lead-zinc-silver mining district in the Coeur d'Alene (CdA) drainage basin of northern Idaho. The samples fall in 3 broad categories: (1) samples from vertical profiles of floodplain soils in the valley of the main stem of the CdA River (767 samples) and of the South Fork of the CdA River (38 samples), (2) size fractionated surficial samples of sediment bedload within the channel of the South Fork of the CdA River (68 samples), and (3) samples from vertical profiles of sediment bedload within the channel of the main stem of the CdA River (260 samples). Five different laboratories contributed geochemical data for this report. Four of the five laboratories employed analytical methods that require sample dissolution prior to analysis; one laboratory (US Geological Survey) used analytical instrumentation (energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence [EDXRF]) that is applied to pulverized samples. Some dissolution procedures use four acids (hydrochloric, nitric, perchloric, and hydrofluoric; Eastern Washington University [EWU] Geochemical Laboratory and XRAL Laboratories, Inc.), others use two acids (nitric acid and aqua regia; CHEMEX Labs, Inc.), and some use only concentrated nitric acid (ACZ Laboratories, Inc.). Most analyses of dissolved samples were done by Inductively Coupled Plasma - Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) or by ICP - MS (Mass Spectroscopy). Some analyses for Ag and K were done by Flame Atomic Absorption (FAA). Inter-laboratory comparisons are made for 6 elements: lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), arsenic (As), and cadmium (Cd). In general inter-laboratory correlations are better for samples within the compositional range of the Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Analyses by EWU are the most accurate relative to the NIST standards (mean recoveries within 1% for Pb, Fe, Mn, and As, 3% for Zn and 5% for Cd) and are the most precise (within 7% of the mean at the 95% confidence interval). USGS-EDXRF is similarly accurate for Pb and Zn. XRAL and ACZ are relatively accurate for Pb (within 5-8% of certified NIST values), but were considerably less accurate for the other 5 elements of concern (10-25% of NIST values). However, analyses of sample splits by more than one laboratory reveal that, for some elements, XRAL (Pb, Mn, Cd) and ACZ (Pb, Mn, Zn, Fe) analyses were comparable to EWU analyses of the same samples (when values are within the range of NIST SRMs). These results suggest that, for some elements, XRAL and ACZ dissolutions are more effective on the matrix of the CdA samples than on the matrix of the NIST samples (obtained from soils around Butte, Montana). Splits of CdA samples analyzed by CHEMEX were the least accurate, yielding values 10-25% less than those of EWU.

Idaho↗

USGS2005

Major- and trace-element concentrations in soils from two continental-scale transects of the United States and Canada

This report contains major- and trace-element concentration data for soil samples collected from 265 sites along two continental-scale transects in North America. One of the transects extends from northern Manitoba to the United States-Mexico border near El Paso, Tex. and consists of 105 sites. The other transect approximately follows the 38th parallel from the Pacific coast of the United States near San Francisco, Calif., to the Atlantic coast along the Maryland shore and consists of 160 sites. Sampling sites were defined by first dividing each transect into approximately 40-km segments. For each segment, a 1-km-wide latitudinal strip was randomly selected; within each strip, a potential sample site was selected from the most representative landscape within the most common soil type. At one in four sites, duplicate samples were collected 10 meters apart to estimate local spatial variability. At each site, up to four separate soil samples were collected as follows: (1) material from 0-5 cm depth; (2) O horizon, if present; (3) a composite of the A horizon; and (4) C horizon. Each sample collected was analyzed for total major- and trace-element composition by the following methods: (1) inductively coupled plasmamass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICPAES) for aluminum, antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, bismuth, cadmium, calcium, cerium, cesium, chromium, cobalt, copper, gallium, indium, iron, lanthanum, lead, lithium, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, niobium, phosphorus, potassium, rubidium, scandium, silver, sodium, strontium, sulfur, tellurium, thallium, thorium, tin, titanium, tungsten, uranium, vanadium, yttrium, and zinc; (2) cold vapor- atomic absorption spectrometry for mercury; (3) hydride generation-atomic absorption spectrometry for antimony and selenium; (4) coulometric titration for carbonate carbon; and (5) combustion for total carbon and total sulfur.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2006

Soil data at sites near Geneva Lake, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and Long Lake, near New Auburn, Wisconsin

The goals of this project are to describe how water moves through shallow soil and how vegetated buffers influence this flow. This was accomplished by using a series of soil-moisture probes which track the lateral and vertical movement of water during natural and artificial rainfall/runoff events. The purpose of this report is to summarize soil-moisture data collected at near-shore areas adjacent to two Wisconsin lakes.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2009

Sample collection of ash and burned soils from the October 2007 southern California Wildfires

Between November 2 through 9, 2007 scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected samples of ash and burned soils from 28 sites in six areas burned as a result of the Southern California wildfires of October 2007, including the Harris, Witch, Santiago, Ammo, Canyon, and Grass Valley Fires. The primary goal of this sampling and analysis effort was to understand how differences in ash and burned soil composition relate to vegetation type, underlying bedrock geology, burn intensity, and residential versus wildland. Sampling sites were chosen with the input of local experts from the USGS Water Resources and Biological Resources Disciplines to help understand possible effects of the fires on water supplies, ecosystems, and endangered species. The sampling was also carried out in conjunction with detailed field analysis of the spectral reflectance characteristics of the ash, so that chemical and mineralogical characteristics of the field samples could be used to help interpret data collected as part of an airborne, hyperspectral remote-sensing survey of several of the burned areas in mid-late November, 2007. This report presents an overview of the field sampling methodologies used to collect the samples, includes representative photos of the sites sampled, and summarizes important characteristics of each of the collection sites. In this report we use the term “ash” to refer collectively to white mineral ash, which results from full combustion of vegetation and black charred organic matter from partial combustion of vegetation or other materials. These materials were found to be intermingled as a deposited residue on the soil surface following the Southern California fires of 2007.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2009

Cone penetration test and soil boring at the Bayside Groundwater Project Site in San Lorenzo, Alameda County, California

Aquifer-system deformation associated with ground-water-level changes is being investigated cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) at the Bayside Groundwater Project (BGP) near the modern San Francisco Bay shore in San Lorenzo, California. As a part of this project, EBMUD has proposed an aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) program to store and recover as much as 3.78x104 m3/d of water. Water will be stored in a 30-m sequence of coarse-grained sediment (the 'Deep Aquifer') underlying the east bay alluvium and the adjacent ground-water basin. Storing and recovering water could cause subsidence and uplift at the ASR site and adjacent areas because the land surface will deform as aquifers and confining units elastically expand and contract with ASR cycles. The Deep Aquifer is overlain by more than 150 m of clayey fine-grained sediments and underlain by comparable units. These sediments are similar to the clayey sediments found in the nearby Santa Clara Valley, where inelastic compaction resulted in about 4.3 m of subsidence near San Jose from 1910 to 1995 due to overdraft of the aquifer. The Deep Aquifer is an important regional resource, and EBMUD is required to demonstrate that ASR activities will not affect nearby ground-water management, salinity levels, or cause permanent land subsidence. Subsidence in the east bay area could induce coastal flooding and create difficulty conveying winter storm runoff from urbanized areas. The objective of the cooperative investigation is to monitor and analyze aquifer-system compaction and expansion, as well as consequent land subsidence and uplift resulting from natural causes and any anthropogenic causes related to ground-water development and ASR activities at the BGP. Therefore, soil properties related to compressibility (and the potential for deformation associated with ground-water-level changes) are of the most concern. To achieve this objective, 3 boreholes were drilled at the BGP for the purpose of monitoring pore-fluid pressure changes and aquifer-system deformation. One 308-m deep borehole contains six piezometers, the other two boreholes are 182 and 299 m deep and contain a dual-stage extensometer. To investigate the physical properties of the sediments, two phases of subsurface exploration were conducted. In the first phase, a USGS drilling crew obtained numerous core samples, 5.8 cm in diameter by 1.5 m long. The samples were extracted between July 28, 2006, and August 5, 2006; nine samples were tested for this study at the USGS soils laboratory in Menlo Park, California. Phase two began on June 22, 2006, when a seismic cone penetration test (SCPT) sounding was made to a depth of 32.3 m. Additional field work was completed May 8, 2007, with a hollow-stem auger boring that took continuous 9.8-cm-diameter samples from the depth interval of 6.1 to 10.7 m to supplement poor recovery from the first phase of sampling. These samples were also tested in the soils laboratory at the USGS.

California↗