Studies of Geochemical Processes

Studies consist of work on the degradation, fate, and transport of herbicides in soil and aquatic environments.

Background and Facilities

Central Region, of USGS for coordination with Midwest Studies, Don Goolsby, Denver, Colorado

Engineering Studies, Steve Randtke, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

Toxic Substances Hydrology Program, Herbert Buxton and David Morganwalp, Headquarters, Reston, Virginia

Examples of Geochemical Studies

Metabolism of herbicides

Transport, sorption, and degradation of hydrologic tracers

Fate and transport modelling

Variations in toxicity of surface-water samples

Accomplishments of Geochemical Processes

Formation and transport of deethylatrazine in the soil and vadose zone

Dissipation of encapsulated herbicides

Understanding the regional transport of herbicides and their metabolites in surface water using immunoassay, GC/MS, HPLC, and LC/MS

Herbicide metabolites as indicators of surface- and ground-water interaction

Modeling water-quality data using attenuation factors

For further information, contact: scribner@usgs.gov