Mercury in Abiotic Matrices of Clear Lake, California: Human Health and Ecotoxicological Implications

Mercury (Hg) from Hg mining at Clear Lake, California, USA, has contaminated water and sediments for over 130 years and has the potential to affect human and environmental health. With total mercury (TotHg) concentrations up to 438 mg/kg (dry mass) in surficial sediments and up to 399 ng/L in lake water, Clear Lake is one of the most Hg-contaminated … Continue reading “Mercury in Abiotic Matrices of Clear Lake, California: Human Health and Ecotoxicological Implications”

Pilot Study of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) in the Russian River Watershed: Lessons Learned

Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) can be defined as any chemicals that are not regulated or commonly monitored but have the potential to enter the environment and cause adverse ecological or human health impacts. Determining which of the thousands of chemicals in commerce are CECs and whether or not they may be a problem is … Continue reading “Pilot Study of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) in the Russian River Watershed: Lessons Learned”

Learning from California’s Experience with Small Water System Consolidations: A Workshop Synthesis

California recognizes a human right to “safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.” However, California’s small and disadvantaged communities in both rural and urban contexts can find it especially challenging to fund the water system infrastructure, operations, monitoring, and maintenance necessary to achieve this goal.  Small water systems … Continue reading “Learning from California’s Experience with Small Water System Consolidations: A Workshop Synthesis”

Synthesizing Conservation Motivations and Barriers: What Have We Learned from Qualitative Studies of Farmers’ Behaviors in the United States?

Since 2011, qualitative studies examining adoption of conservation practices and programs (CPPs) have burgeoned. This article presents a systematic review of all U.S.-based qualitative investigations into CPP adoption since 1996. We found three themes are discussed primarily as motivating adoption: farmer characteristics, environmental awareness, and trust in information sources. Four themes are discussed primarily as … Continue reading “Synthesizing Conservation Motivations and Barriers: What Have We Learned from Qualitative Studies of Farmers’ Behaviors in the United States?”

Strontium isotopes reveal ephemeral streams used for spawning and rearing by an imperiled potamodromous cyprinid Clear Lake hitch Lavinia exilicauda chi

Identification of habitats responsible for the successful production and recruitment of rare migratory species is a challenge in conservation biology. Here, a tool was developed to assess life stage linkages for the threatened potamodromous cyprinid Clear Lake hitch Lavinia exilicauda chi. Clear Lake hitch undertake migrations from Clear Lake (Lake County, CA, USA) into ephemeral tributary streams for … Continue reading “Strontium isotopes reveal ephemeral streams used for spawning and rearing by an imperiled potamodromous cyprinid Clear Lake hitch Lavinia exilicauda chi”

Sustainable Groundwater Management: What We Can Learn from California’s Central Valley Streams

Groundwater is intimately connected to surface water, which has profound implications for sustainable water resource management. California has historically overlooked this important interaction and as a consequence, decisions about groundwater extractions have generally failed to address the resulting impacts to surface flows and aquatic ecosystems such as rivers, wetlands and springs. This has contributed to … Continue reading “Sustainable Groundwater Management: What We Can Learn from California’s Central Valley Streams”

A hybrid machine learning model to predict and visualize nitrate concentration throughout the Central Valley aquifer, California, USA

Intense demand for water in the Central Valley of California and related increases in groundwater nitrate concentration threaten the sustainability of the groundwater resource. To assess contamination risk in the region, we developed a hybrid, non-linear, machine learning model within a statistical learning framework to predict nitrate contamination of groundwater to depths of approximately 500m … Continue reading “A hybrid machine learning model to predict and visualize nitrate concentration throughout the Central Valley aquifer, California, USA”