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At least 1,405 records · Page 78Linked to original sources

USGS2005

Chronic toxicity of un-ionized ammonia to early life-stages of endangered Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius) and razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) compared to the surrogate fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas)

Ammonia-contaminated groundwater enters the Upper Colorado River from beneath the abandoned Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Pile near Moab, Utah. This reach of the Upper Colorado River was designated as critical habitat for four endangered fish species because it is one of the few existing areas with known spawning and rearing habitats. Un-ionized ammonia (NH3) concentrations frequently exceed 1.00 mg/L in backwaters adjacent to the tailings pile, which exceeds the Utah 30-d average chronic water quality criterion for un-ionized ammonia (0.07 mg/L NH3; temperature 20??C; pH 8.2) by a factor of more than 10. However, there is little published information regarding the sensitivity of endangered fishes to ammonia. We conducted 28-d static renewal studies with post-swim-up larvae to determine the relative sensitivity of Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius), razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus), and the standard surrogate fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) to NH3. Chronic values (ChVs) for mortality and growth were determined as the geometric mean of the no observed effect concentration and the lowest observed effect concentration based on analysis of variance. The ChVs for growth of fathead minnow, Colorado pikeminnow, and razorback sucker were 0.43, 0.40, and 0.67 mg/L NH3, respectively. The ChVs for mortality of fathead minnow, Colorado pikeminnow, and razorback sucker were 0.43, 0.70, and 0.67 mg/L NH3, respectively. Therefore, the ChVs for mortality and growth were similar for fathead minnow and razorback sucker; however, the ChV for growth was lower than the ChV for mortality for Colorado pikeminnow. Maximum likelihood regression was used to calculate 28-d lethal concentrations (LCx) for each species. The 28-d LC50, LC20, and LC1 values for fathead minnow were 0.69, 0.42, and 0.13 mg/L NH3, respectively. The 28-d LC50, LC20, and LC1 values for Colorado pikeminnow were 0.76, 0.61, and 0.38 mg/L NH3, respectively. The 28-d LC50, LC20, and LC1 values for razorback sucker were 0.54, 0.38, and 0.25 mg/L NH3, respectively. The fathead minnow, Colorado pikeminnow, and razorback sucker are relatively similar in sensitivity and rank at the 35th, 49th, and 31st percentiles, respectively, of the theoretical chronic fish sensitivity distributions for NH3. The existing water quality criteria for NH3, if met by remediation activities at the Moab site, would be protective of these endangered fishes even if fish sensitivity is based on the conservative LC1 value. ?? 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.

Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxico↗

USGS2011

Selected trace elements in the Sacramento River, California: Occurrence and distribution

The impact of trace elements from the Iron Mountain Superfund site on the Sacramento River and selected tributaries is examined. The concentration and distribution of many trace elements—including aluminum, arsenic, boron, barium, beryllium, bismuth, cadmium, cerium, cobalt, chromium, cesium, copper, dysprosium, erbium, europium, iron, gadolinium, holmium, potassium, lanthanum, lithium, lutetium, manganese, molybdenum, neodymium, nickel, lead, praseodymium, rubidium, rhenium, antimony, selenium, samarium, strontium, terbium, thallium, thulium, uranium, vanadium, tungsten, yttrium, ytterbium, zinc, and zirconium—were measured using a combination of inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. Samples were collected using ultraclean techniques at selected sites in tributaries and the Sacramento River from below Shasta Dam to Freeport, California, at six separate time periods from mid-1996 to mid-1997. Trace-element concentrations in dissolved (ultrafiltered [0.005-μm pore size]) and colloidal material, isolated at each site from large volume samples, are reported. For example, dissolved Zn ranged from 900 μg/L at Spring Creek (Iron Mountain acid mine drainage into Keswick Reservoir) to 0.65 μg/L at the Freeport site on the Sacramento River. Zn associated with colloidal material ranged from 4.3 μg/L (colloid-equivalent concentration) in Spring Creek to 21.8 μg/L at the Colusa site on the Sacramento River. Virtually all of the trace elements exist in Spring Creek in the dissolved form. On entering Keswick Reservoir, the metals are at least partially converted by precipitation or adsorption to the particulate phase. Despite this observation, few of the elements are removed by settling; instead the majority is transported, associated with colloids, downriver, at least to the Bend Bridge site, which is 67 km from Keswick Dam. Most trace elements are strongly associated with the colloid phase going downriver under both low- and high-flow conditions.

Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxico↗

USGS2005

Geochemical and C, O, Sr, and U-series isotopic evidence for the meteoric origin of calcrete at Solitario Wash, Crater Flat, Nevada, USA

Calcite-rich soils (calcrete) in alluvium and colluvium at Solitario Wash, Crater Flat, Nevada, USA, contain pedogenic calcite and opaline silica similar to soils present elsewhere in the semi-arid southwestern United States. Nevertheless, a ground-water discharge origin for the Solitario Wash soil deposits was proposed in a series of publications proposing elevation-dependent variations of carbon and oxygen isotopes in calcrete samples. Discharge of ground water in the past would raise the possibility of future flooding in the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, site of a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository. New geochemical and carbon, oxygen, strontium, and uranium-series isotopic data disprove the presence of systematic elevation-isotopic composition relations, which are the main justification given for a proposed ground-water discharge origin of the calcrete deposits at Solitario Wash. Values of ??13C (-4.1 to -7.8 per mil [???]), ??18O (23.8-17.2???), 87Sr/ 86Sr (0.71270-0.71146), and initial 234U/238U activity ratios of about 1.6 in the new calcrete samples are within ranges previously observed in pedogenic carbonate deposits at Yucca Mountain and are incompatible with a ground-water origin for the calcrete. Variations in carbon and oxygen isotopes in Solitario Wash calcrete likely are caused by pedogenic deposition from meteoric water under varying Quaternary climatic conditions over hundreds of thousands of years. ?? Springer-Verlag 2005.

Environmental Geology↗

USGS2023

Discovery of a rare pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus) death assemblage off southeast Florida reveals multi-century persistence during the late Holocene

In recent years, coral populations in the western Atlantic have undergone widespread declines from climate change, anthropogenic stressors, and infectious disease outbreaks. The pillar coral, Dendrogyra cylindrus , has been one of the most affected species, prompting its listing as threatened under the United States Endangered Species Act in 2014 and critically endangered under the IUCN Red List in 2022. However, due to its natural rarity, it is particularly difficult to study using conventional long-term monitoring studies or less common paleontological investigations. Here, we document for the first time, the multi-century persistence of D. cylindrus on high-latitude nearshore reefs off southeast Florida during the late Holocene. Using high-precision uranium–thorium (U-Th) dating, we constrain the ages of well-preserved subfossil D. cylindrus colonies recovered from newly described coral death assemblages. We also describe specific morphological characteristics and taphonomic indicators reflecting their unique depositional environment. Our findings demonstrate long-term persistence of D. cylindrus in southeast Florida, despite geographical isolation and historical rarity in the region.

Coral Reefs↗

USGS2012

Rapid runoff via shallow throughflow and deeper preferential flow in a boreal catchment underlain by frozen silt (Alaska, USA)

In high-latitude catchments where permafrost is present, runoff dynamics are complicated by seasonal active-layer thaw, which may cause a change in the dominant flowpaths as water increasingly contacts mineral soils of low hydraulic conductivity. A 2-year study, conducted in an upland catchment in Alaska (USA) underlain by frozen, well-sorted eolian silt, examined changes in infiltration and runoff with thaw. It was hypothesized that rapid runoff would be maintained by flow through shallow soils during the early summer and deeper preferential flow later in the summer. Seasonal changes in soil moisture, infiltration, and runoff magnitude, location, and chemistry suggest that transport is rapid, even when soils are thawed to their maximum extent. Between June and September, a shift occurred in the location of runoff, consistent with subsurface preferential flow in steep and wet areas. Uranium isotopes suggest that late summer runoff erodes permafrost, indicating that substantial rapid flow may occur along the frozen boundary. Together, throughflow and deep preferential flow may limit upland boreal catchment water and solute storage, and subsequently biogeochemical cycling on seasonal to annual timescales. Deep preferential flow may be important for stream incision, network drainage development, and the release of ancient carbon to ecosystems

Alaska↗

USGS2020

Geochemical characterization of groundwater evolution south of Grand Canyon, Arizona (USA)

Better characterization of the geochemical evolution of groundwater south of Grand Canyon, Arizona (USA), is needed to understand natural conditions and assess potential effects from breccia-pipe uranium mining in the region. Geochemical signatures of groundwater at 28 sampling locations were evaluated; baseline concentrations for select trace elements (As, B, Ba, Cr, Li, Mo, Rb, Se, Sr, Th, Tl, U, V) were established, and anomalous chemistry characteristics were identified. Concentrations at some groundwater sites exceeded the USEPA drinking water standard for As of 10 μg/L (Red Canyon, Miners, JT, Havasu, and Warm Springs) and U of 30 μg/L (Salt Creek Spring). Four springs from the study area (Blue, Havasu, Fern, and Warm Springs) had unique chemistry, which may indicate a deep flow path or potential contribution of fluids from lower in the crust. Other springs in the study area were distinguished by major anion water type: sulfate, bicarbonate, and a mixture of the two. Water type distinctions were somewhat spatially segregated, with sulfate type present on the western side of the study area, bicarbonate type on the eastern side, and a mixture of the two interspersed between the endmember sites. Sulfate-type water from this study area had low strontium isotopic ratio (87Sr/86Sr) values. The location of spring discharge within single drainages of the Grand Canyon may influence chemistry, as groundwater discharging from bedrock was altered after flowing through alluvial material. Geochemical analysis of groundwater in Grand Canyon indicates the importance of continued monitoring and better understanding of short-term chemical fluctuations.

Arizona↗

USGS2005

Indoor radon risk potential of Hawaii

A comprehensive evaluation of radon risk potential in the State of Hawaii indicates that the potential for Hawaii is low. Using a combination of factors including geology, soils, source-rock type, soil-gas radon concentrations, and indoor measurements throughout the state, a general model was developed that permits prediction for various regions in Hawaii. For the nearly 3,100 counties in the coterminous U.S., National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) aerorad data was the primary input factor. However, NURE aerorad data was not collected in Hawaii, therefore, this study used geology and soil type as the primary and secondary components of potential prediction. Although the radon potential of some Hawaiian soils suggests moderate risk, most houses are built above ground level and the radon soil potential is effectively decoupled from the house. Only underground facilities or those with closed or recirculating ventilation systems might have elevated radon potential. ?? 2005 Akade??miai Kiado??.

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry↗

USGS1966

Disequilibrium of the 238U series in basalt

Radioisotope analyses of basalt samples from Hawaii, Japan, and Iwo Jima show that: (1) 234 U and 238 U are virtually in radioactive equilibrium, (2) 230 Th exceeds equilibrium values in all these samples, (3) 210 Pb concentrations range from 10–200% of the equilibrium values and average 30% deficient, and (4) 226 Ra is probably not in equilibrium with 234 U. The source regions of the basalts or magma forming processes are open systems, chemically. The enrichment of some of the uranium-daughter nuclides is insufficient to account for the excess 206 Pb in volcanic rocks. The isotopic composition of lead and specific activity of 210 Pb in sublimates from Showa-shinzan, Japan are also reported.

Hawaii↗

USGS1969

Lead isotopes in volcanic rocks and possible ocean-floor thrusting beneath island arcs

The isotopic composition of lead in the Japanese primary basalts gradually decreases in radiogenic character in a transverse from the Pacific Ocean side to the Japan Sea side, whereas the observed 238 U 204 Pb "> 238U204Pb and 232 Th 204 Pb "> 232Th204Pb ratios in the basalts increase in the same direction. The isotopic composition of lead suggests that tholeiite (Pacific side) is generated at a shallower depth than alkali basalt (Japan Sea side) as postulated by Kuno. The inverse correlation of the 238 U 204 Pb "> 238U204Pb with the 206 Pb 204 Pb "> 206Pb204Pb ratios could be due to preferential Pb extraction with respect to uranium at shallow depths. Alternatively, these geochemical results can be interpreted in terms of the Pacific oceanic rigid plate being underthurst beneath the island arc. The isotopic variation in basalts across the Japanese island arc would result from different proportions of the plate material and the upper mantle of continental side in the partial melt.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗

USGS1966

Chemical composition of phosphorites of the Phosphoria Formation

The chemical composition, both major and minor constituents, of 60 samples of phosphorite from the Phosphoria Formation was determined. Major constituents of the average phosphorite are, by weight per cent: SiO 2 , 11·9; Al 2 O 3 , 1·7; Fe 2 O 3 ,1·1; MgO, 0·3; CaO, 44·0; Na 2 O, 0·6; K 2 O, 0·5; total H 2 O, 2·2; H 2 O − , 0·6; TiO 2 , 0·1; P 2 O 5 , 30·5; CO 2 , 2·2; SO 3 , 1·8; F, 3·1; organic matter, 2·1; and oil, 0·2. Uranium averages 0·009 per cent. The phosphate mineral is basically apatite, Ca 5 (PO 4 ) 3 F, with small but significant and variable substitutions—Na, Sr, U and Th for Ca, and CO 3 and SO 4 for PO 4 . Rare metals not associated with apatite are associated principally with the organic-matter component of the rocks. This group includes As, Ag, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, Sb, Se, V and Zn. Chromium is the most abundant, having a modal abundance of 0·1 per cent and a maximum concentration of 0·3 per cent. The average phosphorite is composed of approximately 80 per cent apatite, 10 per cent quartz, 5 per cent muscovite-illite, 2 per cent organic matter, 1 per cent dolomite—calcite, 1 per cent iron oxide, and 1 per cent other components. It is texturally a medium-grained pellet phosphorite.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗

USGS1969

The isotopic composition of lead in potassium feldspars from some 1.0-b.y. old North American igneous rocks

The isotopic composition of lead and the uranium, thorium and lead concentrations in potassium feldspars are determined for more than 30 1.0-b.y. old North American igneous rocks. Samples representing a broad spectrum in petrographic type and mode of occurrence were chosen; an effort was made to include only rocks having well-documented ages from 950 to 1140 m.y. and showing minimal evidence of subsequent metamorphism. Most samples, including those from extensive terranes of contemporaneous age, have limited lead isotope variations ( Pb 206 Pb 204 = 16.74–17.38 "> Pb206Pb204= 16.74–17.38 ; Pb 207 Pb 204 = 15.39–15.59 "> Pb207Pb204= 15.39–15.59 ; Pb 208 Pb 204 = 36.38–37.10 "> Pb208Pb204= 36.38–37.10 ), which yield model ages close to the radiometric ages. Granite, pegmatite, and rhyolite from within the Grenville province of Canada and age-equivalent rocks of New York, Virginia, Texas, and Colorado and granophyric units associated with the Duluth Gabbro Complex of Minnesota are among the materials yielding this main isotopic spectrum. Several samples were encountered which had isotopic compositions very different from the above group. Lead showing a marked deficiency in radiogenic isotopes was found in two granitic bodies associated with older Labrador Trough rocks from Quebec, in a rapakivi granite from southern Nevada, and in a small granite stock from Mellen, Wisconsin. These occurrences all involve small intrusions of granite which lie near considerably older areas of basement rock. Model ages calculated from the Pb 206 Pb 204 "> Pb206Pb204 ratio are older than the age of the intrusions and approach the age of the host basement rock. Several possible interpretations are offered to explain the isotopic behavior encountered in this study. In particular, a “vertically differentiated crust” model is proposed which will account for both the main spectrum and the anomalous lead. The significance of lead isotopic studies in understanding crustal structure in continental regions is discussed.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗

USGS1970

A new technique for pumping hydrogen gas

A system for pumping hydrogen gas without isotopic fractionation has been developed. The pump contains uranium metal, which when heated to about 80°C reacts with hydrogen to form UH 3 . The UH 3 is heated to above 500°C to decompose the hydride and regenerate the hydrogen.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗

USGS1991

Geohydrologic, geochemical, and geologic controls on the occurrence of radon in ground water near Conifer, Colorado, USA

Integrated studies of geohydrology, geochemistry, and geology of crystalline rocks in the vicinity of Conifer, Colorado, reveal that radon concentrations do not correlate with variations in concentrations of other dissolved species. Concentrations of major ions show systematic variations along selected groundwater flowpaths, whereas radon concentrations are dependent on local geochemical and geologic phenomena (such as localized uranium concentration in the rock or the presence of faults or folds). When radon enters the flow system, concentrations do not increase along flowpaths because its decay rate is fast relative to groundwater flow rates. Radon-222 is not in secular equilibrium with 238 U and 226 Ra in the water. Therefore, most of the 238 U and 226 Ra necessary to support the waterborne 222 Rn must be present locally in the rock. High concentrations of dissolved radon are not found in zones of high transmissivity, and transmissivity is not correlated with rock type in the study area. A higher transmissivity can be indicative of higher water-volume to rock-surface-area ratios, which could effectively dilute 222 Rn entering the water and/or may indicate that emanated radon is carried away more rapidly. Water samples collected from individual wells over periods of several months showed significant fluctuations in the dissolved 222 Rn content. This fluctuation may be controlled by changes in the contributions of water-producing zones within the well resulting from seasonal fluctuations of the water table and/or pumping stresses.

Colorado↗

USGS1961

Mineralogy and geochemistry of vanadium in the Colorado Plateau

The chief domestic source of vanadium is uraniferous sandstone in the Colorado Plateau. Vanadium is 3-, 4-, or 5-valent in nature and, as oxides or combined with other elements, it forms more than 40 minerals in the Plateau ores. These ores have been studied with regard to the relative amounts of vanadium silicates and oxide-vanadates, uranium-vanadium ratios, the progressive oxidation of black low-valent ores to high-valent carnotite-type ores, and theories of origin.

Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah↗

USGS1982

Age determination of late Pleistocene marine transgression in western Alaska

Dating molluscs from sediments representing the Kotzebuan marine transgression in Alaska yields an average uranium-series age of 104,000 ± 22,000 yrs B.P. This and other selected Pleistocene marine deposits of western Alaska are tentatively correlated with radiometrically dated units of eastern Baffin Island, Arctic Canada.

Alaska↗

USGS1991

Dating lacustrine episodes in the eastern Sahara by the epimerization of isoleucine in ostrich eggshells

The eggshell of the African ostrich, Struthio camelus , closely approximates a closed system for the retention of indigenous proteinaceous residues. Epimerization of the protein amino acid isoleucine follows linear first-order kinetics in laboratory simulations nearly to racemic equilibrium, and the variation in D/L ratio within a single fragment, or between fragments of the same age, is significantly less than in other carbonate systems. These observations suggest that the extent of isoleucine epimerization (aIle/Ile ratio) in ostrich eggshell offers the potential for high-resolution geochronology of Quaternary deposits. From the simulation experiments, and dated early Holocene samples for which we have in situ mean annual sediment temperature measurements, Arrhenius parameters have been calculated; the activation energy is 30.33 kcal mol −1 , similar to that of other carbonate systems. We have measured the aIle/Ile ratio in ostrich eggshell associated with lacustrine episodes at Bir Tarfawi and Bir Sahara East, two depressions in what is currently the hyperarid eastern Sahara. The ratios can be used directly to indicate qualitatively the time represented by each series of lake sediment, and to correlate disjunct lacustrine deposits within and between the basins. Uranium-series disequilibrium dating of algal mats contained within some of the lake beds indicate that a major wet interval occurred about 130 ka ago. Using the U-series date for calibration, the amino acid ratios are used to date the most recent lacustrine interval to about 100 ka B.P., and two older intervals, one about 200 ± 25 ka B.P., and an older interval that occurred prior to 250 ka ago.

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology↗

USGS2017

Geologic evidence for age of deposits at Hueyatlaco archeological site, Vasequillo, Mexico

Direct tracing of beds during excavation in May 1973, confirmed that the artifact-bearing layers at Hueyatlaco underlie 10 m of fine-grained, water-laid deposits that constitute part of the wide-spread Valsequillo gravels. Dissection of these deposits by the adjacent Río Atoyac has reached a depth of 50 m. The stratigraphic section at Hueyatlaco includes four distinctive tephra units. The oldest one occupies a small channel in a series of cut-and-fill stream deposits that have yielded bifacial tools. It lies more than a meter above flat-lying, fine-grained beds from which edge-retouched tools have been recovered. The three other tephra units occur higher in the section. Fission-track ages on zircon phenocrysts from two of the younger tephra layers (370,000 ± 200,000 and 600,000 ± 340,000 yr, 2σ) agree with concordant uranium-series dates for a camel pelvis that was found associated with bifacial tools at Hueyatlaco (245,000 ± 40,000 yr by 230 Th and > 180,000 yr by 231 Pa). These dates are compatible with the depth of burial and subsequent dissection of the Hueyatlaco deposits, as well as with the degree of hydration of volcanic glass shards and with the extent of etching of heavy-mineral phenocrysts from within the tephra layers. These findings suggest to us that further search for archaeological remains in deposits as old as those at Hueyatlaco would be warranted.

Vasequillo Reservoir↗

USGS2017

Ages of subsurface stratigraphic intervals in the Quaternary of Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands

Drill cores of Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands, reveal six stratigraphic intervals, numbered in downward sequence, which represent vertical coral growth during Quaternary interglaciations. Radiocarbon dates indicate that the Holocene sea transgressed the emergent reef platform by about 8000 yr B.P. The reef grew rapidly upward (about 5 to 10 mm/yr) until about 6500 yr B.P. Afterward vertical growth slowed to about 0.5 mm/yr, then lateral development became dominant during the last several thousand years. The second interval is dated at 131,000 ?? 3000 yr B.P. by uranium series. This unit correlates with oxygen-isotope substage 5e and with terrace VIIa of Huon Peninsula, New Guinea, and of Main Reef-2 terrace at Atauro Island. The third interval is not dated because corals were recrystallized and it is tentatively correlated with either oxygen-isotope stages 7 or 9. The age of the fourth interval is estimated at 454,000 ?? 100,000 yr B.P. from measured 234U 238U activity ratios. This unit is correlated with either oxygen-isotope stage 9, 11, or 13. ?? 1985.

Quaternary Research↗