Skip to main content

Burns, Douglas A

Quantifying biogeochemical cycles of nitrogen (N) and the associated fluxes to surface waters remains challenging, given the need to deal with spatial and temporal variability and to characterize complex and heterogeneous landscapes. We focused our study on catchments S14 and S15 located in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, USA, which have similar topographic and hydrologic characteristics but contrasting stream nitrate ($\hboxNO_3^-$) concentrations. We characterized the mechanisms by which $\hboxNO_3^-$ reaches the streams during hydrological events in these catchments, aiming to reconcile our field data with our conceptual model of factors that regulate nutrient exports from forested catchments. Combined...
The principal weathering reactions and their rates in riparian ground water were determined at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed (PMRW) near Atlanta, Georgia. Concentrations of major solutes were measured in ground water samples from 19 shallow wells completed in the riparian (saprolite) aquifer and in one borehole completed in granite, and the apparent age of each sample was calculated from chloroflourocarbons and tritium/helium-3 data. Concentrations of SiO2, Na+, and Ca2+ generally increased downvalley and were highest in the borehole near the watershed outlet. Strong positive correlations were found between the concentrations of these solutes and the apparent age of ground water that was modern (zero to...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation
Knowledge of key sources and biogeochemical processes that affect the transport of nitrate (NO(3)(-)) in streams can inform watershed management strategies for controlling downstream eutrophication. We applied dual isotope analysis of NO(3)(-) to determine the dominant sources and processes that affect NO(3)(-) concentrations in six stream/river watersheds of different land uses. Samples were collected monthly at a range of flow conditions for 15 mo during 2004-05 and analyzed for NO(3)(-) concentrations, delta(15)N(NO3), and delta(18)O(NO3). Samples from two forested watersheds indicated that NO(3)(-) derived from nitrification was dominant at baseflow. A watershed dominated by suburban land use had three delta(18)O(NO3)...
The principal weathering reactions and their rates in riparian ground water were determined at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed (PMRW) near Atlanta, Georgia. Concentrations of major solutes were measured in ground water samples from 19 shallow wells completed in the riparian (saprolite) aquifer and in one borehole completed in granite, and the apparent age of each sample was calculated from chloroflourocarbons and tritium/helium-3 data. Concentrations of SiO2, Na+, and Ca2+ generally increased downvalley and were highest in the borehole near the watershed outlet. Strong positive correlations were found between the concentrations of these solutes and the apparent age of ground water that was modern (zero to...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation
We assessed methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations across multiple ecological scales in the Edisto (South Carolina) and Upper Hudson (New York) River basins. Out-of-channel wetland/floodplain environments were primary sources of filtered MeHg (F-MeHg) to the stream habitat in both systems. Shallow, open-water areas in both basins exhibited low F-MeHg concentrations and decreasing F-MeHg mass flux. Downstream increases in out-of-channel wetlands/floodplains and the absence of impoundments result in high MeHg throughout the Edisto. Despite substantial wetlands coverage and elevated F-MeHg concentrations at the headwater margins, numerous impoundments on primary stream channels favor spatial variability and lower F-MeHg...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation
View more...
ScienceBase brings together the best information it can find about USGS researchers and offices to show connections to publications, projects, and data. We are still working to improve this process and information is by no means complete. If you don't see everything you know is associated with you, a colleague, or your office, please be patient while we work to connect the dots. Feel free to contact sciencebase@usgs.gov.