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Environmental Sciences Division Publications: 2007

This page lists publication titles, citations and abstracts produced by NERL's Environmental Sciences Division for the year 2007, organized by Publication Type. Your search has returned 140 Matching Entries.

See also Environmental Sciences Division citations with abstracts: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

Technical Information Manager: Chris Sibert - (702) 798-2234 or sibert.christopher@epa.gov

		Presented/Published
BOOK CHAPTER	Tool for Monitoring Hydrophilic Contaminants in Water: Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Sampler (Pocis)	05/01/2007

ALVAREZ, D. A., J. N. HUCKINS, J. D. PETTY, T. L. JONES-LEPP, F. STUER-LAURIDSEN, D. T. GETTING, J. P. GODDARD, AND A. GRAVELL. Tool for Monitoring Hydrophilic Contaminants in Water: Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Sampler (Pocis). Chapter 8, R. Greenwood, G. Mills, B. Vrana (ed.), Passive Sampling Techniques. ELSEVIER, AMSTERDAM, Holland, 48:171-197, (2007).
Abstract:	Global emissions of persistent bioconcentratable organic chemicals have resulted in a wide range of adverse ecological effects. Consequently, industry was led to develop less persistent, more water soluble, polar or hydrophilic organic compounds (HpOCs), which generally have low bioconcentration factors. However, evidence is growing that the large fluxes of these seemingly more environmentally friendly compounds (e.g., pesticides, prescription and non-prescription drugs, personal care and common consumer products, industrial and domestic-use chemicals and their degradation products) into aquatic systems on a world-wide basis may be responsible for incidents of acute toxicity and sub-lethal chronic abnormalities. These adverse effects include altered behavior, neurotoxicity, and severely impaired reproduction. Furthermore, the presence of these HpOCs likely plays a major role in the endocrine disrupting effects of complex mixtures of chemicals present in aquatic environments. In regard to physiological effects, pharmaceuticals are of particular concern because they are designed to elicit diverse pharmacological responses at very low doses. Unfortunately, the effects of this class of HpOCs on non-target, aquatic organisms are largely unknown.

BOOK CHAPTER	The Use of Scenario Analysis to Assess Future Landscape Change on Watershed Condition in the Pacific Northwest (USA)	12/18/2007

KEPNER, W. G., M. HERNANDEZ, D. J. SEMMENS, AND D. GOODRICH. The Use of Scenario Analysis to Assess Future Landscape Change on Watershed Condition in the Pacific Northwest (USA). , Chapter 5, I. Petrosillo, F. Müller, K.B. Jones, G. Zurlini, K. Krauze, S. Victorov, B.-L. Li, and W.G. Kepner (ed.), Use of Landscape Sciences for the Assessment of Environmental Security. Springer Netherlands, , Netherlands, 237-261, (2008).
Abstract:	The traditional definition of security has been broadened to include environmental threats resulting from resource degradation and scarcity related to anthropogenic development. This paper examines the use of landscape indicators to identify the susceptibility of the U.S. state of Oregon to resource and water-related conflict. It then applies hydrological process models to examine the consequences and benefits of three plausible build-out options relative to their impact on the availability and quality of water resources of the Willamette River basin. The hydrological outputs were estimated for a baseline year circa 1990 and projected to the year 2050; they were provided as an alternative futures analysis for integrating a scientific framework into decision-making processes for determining present and future policy relative to land use, management, and development.

BOOK CHAPTER	Environmental Quality and Landscape-Risk Assessment in the Yantra River Basin	12/18/2007

NILOLOVA, M., S. NEDKOV, D. J. SEMMENS, AND S. IANKOV. Environmental Quality and Landscape-Risk Assessment in the Yantra River Basin. , Chapter 2, I. Petrosillo, F. Muller, K. B. Jones, G. Zurlini, K. Krauze, S. Victorov, B.-L. Li, and W. G. Kepner (ed.), Use of Landscape Sciences for the Assessment of Environmental Security. Springer, New York, NY, 202-217, (2007).
Abstract:	Landscape characteristics exert their impact on the processes occurring in river basins in many directions and may influence in a different way the environmental security and some related constraints like extreme natural events. The complex nature of landscape structure and dynamics requires that the systematically oriented, methodological approach to their investigation is applied, i.e. the DPSIR (Driving forces, Pressures, State, Impacts, and Responses). This approach is applicable at different levels of the systems and in environmental assessment of river basins in particular. The objective of the present work is to analyze the role of landscape in the PSI (Pressure, State, and Impact) relationships using a system of landscape and hazard indicators and some assessment tools like Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) and Analytical Tools Interface for Landscape Assessment (ATtILA).

BOOK CHAPTER	The Use of Landscape Science for the Assessment of Enviromental Security	12/18/2007

KEPNER, W. G. AND F. MUELLER. The Use of Landscape Science for the Assessment of Enviromental Security. , Chapter 12, I. Petrosillo, F. Muller, K. B. Jones, G. Zurlini, K. Krauze, S. Victorov, B.-L. Li, and W. G. Kepner (ed.), Use of Landscape Sciences for the Assessment of Environmental Security. Springer Netherlands, , Netherlands, 237-261, (2007).
Abstract:	The assessment of land use and land cover is an extremely important activity for contemporary land management. Human land-use practices (including type, magnitude, and distribution) are the most important factors influencing environmental management at local, regional, national, and global scales. In the past, environmental policies have often reflected a reactive response to environmental perturbations with management efforts focused on short-term, local scale problems such as pollutant abatement. Currently, environmental management philosophy is evolving toward examination of critical environmental problems over larger spatial scales and assessment of the cumulative risk resulting from multiple problem sources. Today's environmental managers, urban planners, and decision makers are increasingly expected to examine environmental and economic problems in a larger geographic context that crosses national boundaries and scientific disciplines.

BOOK CHAPTER	Pharmaceuticals in the Environment: Sources and Their Management	09/17/2007

DAUGHTON, C. G. Pharmaceuticals in the Environment: Sources and Their Management. , Chapter 1, M. Petrovic and D. Barcelo (ed.), Analysis, Fate and Removal of Pharmaceuticals in the Water Cycle . Elsevier Science, New York, NY, 50:1-58, (2007).
Abstract:	An issue that began to receive more attention by environmental scientists in the late 1990s was the conveyancy of pharmaceuticals in the environment by way of their use in human and veterinary medical practices and personal care

DATA	Proucl 4.0 Software	04/10/2007

SINGH, A., R. MAICHLE, AND J. M. NOCERINO. Proucl 4.0 Software. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/C-07/007.
Abstract:	Statistical inference, including both estimation and hypotheses testing approaches, is routinely used to: estimate environmental parameters of interest, such as exposure point concentration (EPC) terms, not-to-exceed values, and background level threshold values (BTVs) for contaminants of potential concern (COPCs); identify areas of concern (AOCs) at a contaminated site; compare contaminant concentrations found at two or more AOCs of a contaminated site; compare contaminant concentrations found at an AOC with background or reference area contaminant concentrations, and; compare site concentrations with a cleanup standard to verify the attainment of cleanup standards. Several exposure and risk management and cleanup decisions in support of United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) projects are made based upon the mean concentrations of the COPCs. A 95% upper confidence limit (UCL95) of the unknown population (e.g., an AOC) arithmetic mean (AM), µ1, can be used to: estimate the EPC term of the AOC under investigation; determine the attainment of cleanup standards; compare site mean concentrations with reference area mean concentrations, and estimate background level mean contaminant concentrations. The background mean contaminant concentration level may be used to compare the mean of an area of concern. It should be noted that it is not appropriate to compare individual point-by-point site observations with the background mean concentration level. ProUCL Version 4.0 (ProUCL 4.0) is an upgrade of ProUCL Version 3.0 (EPA, 2004). ProUCL 4.0 contains statistical methods to address various environmental issues for both full data sets without nondetects (NDs) and for data sets with NDs (also known as left-censored data sets). ProUCL 4.0 retains all of the capabilities of ProUCL 3.0, including Goodness-of-Fit tests for a normal, lognormal, and a gamma distribution and computation of UCLs based upon full data sets without nondetects. ProUCL 4.0 has improved graphical methods, which may be used to compare the concentrations of two or more populations such as: site versus background populations; surface versus subsurface concentrations; concentrations of two or more AOCs, and identification of mixture samples and/or potential outliers. ProUCL 4.0 serves as a companion software package for the UCL Computation Guidance Document for Hazardous Waste Sites (EPA, 2002a) and the Background Guidance Document for CERCLA Sites (EPA, 2002b). ProUCL 4.0 is also useful to verify the attainment of cleanup standards (EPA, 1989). ProUCL 4.0 can also be used to perform two sample hypotheses tests and to compute various upper limits often needed in groundwater monitoring applications (EPA, 1992 and EPA, 2004).

DATA	Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (Agwa) Documentation Version 2.0	11/29/2007

Burns, S. I., S. N. Scott, L. R. Levick, D. Semmens, S. N. Miller, M. Hernandez, D. C. Goodrich, AND W. G. KEPNER. Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (Agwa) Documentation Version 2.0. EPA/600/C-07/015 (NTIS PB2008-105118), 2007.
Abstract:	The Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment Http://www.epa.gov/nerlesd1/landsci/agwa/introduction.htm and www.tucson.ars.ag.gov/agwa) tool is a GIS interface jointly developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, University of Arizona, and University of Wyoming to automate the parameterization and execution of the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and KINEmatic Runoff and EROSion (KINEROS2) hydrologic models. By employing these two models AGWA can conduct hydrologic modeling and watershed assessments at multiple time and space scales. AGWA uses commonly available, national, GIS data layers to fully parameterize, execute, and visualize results from both the SWAT and KINEROS2. Through an intuitive interface the user selects an outlet from which AGWA delineates and discretizes the watershed using a Digital Elevation Model (DEM). The watershed model elements are then intersected with soils and land cover data layers to derive the requisite model input parameters. The chosen model is then run, and the results are imported back into AGWA for visual display. This allows managers to identify potential problem areas where additional monitoring can be undertaken or mitigation activities can be focused. AGWA can difference results from multiple simulations to examine relative change over a variety of input scenarios (e.g. climate/storm change, land cover change, present conditions and alternative futures). AGWA 2.0 for ArcGIS 9.x is being released at the 2007 AWRA Annual Conference in Albuquerque, NM November 12-15, 2007. With the AGWA 2.0 release for ArcGIS 9.x and the existing AGWA 1.5 for ArcView 3.x, AGWA now reaches an even wider audience. AGWA 2.0 utilizes new features in ArcGIS 9.x that are not available in ArcView 3.x to make the tool more powerful, flexible, and easier to use than AGWA 1.5.

EXTRAMURAL DOCUMENT	Quantifying the Components of Impervious Surfaces	04/01/2007

TILLEY, J. AND E. SLONECKER. Quantifying the Components of Impervious Surfaces. USGS, Corvallis, OR, 2007.
Abstract:	Since the early 1970's and the birth of the environmental movement, there has been a growing awareness of the complex relationships between the transportation infrastructure and environmental quality. One of the major environment to transportation relationships has been the potential for water quality degradation as a result of the storm runoff over paved highway surfaces. Concern over this source of water pollution has resulted in the enactment of several laws, executive orders, and government polices that are designed to minimize and mitigate the potential negative consequences of highway runoff. These include the National Environmental Policy Act, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, the Coastal Zone Reauthorization Amendment, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and the Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972, as amended, including the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System and the Nonpoint Source Management Programs, as well as and many others. Under policies of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), environmental protection and enhancement are high priority program areas that stress the evaluation of highway related water quality impacts; avoiding, mitigating, or managing such impacts; and coordinating with other agencies to ensure that Federal environmental policies are placed in perspective with other primary highway missions. The FHWA, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) are currently cooperating on a number of research and development projects related to the minimization of water quality impacts from highway runoff. Past research sponsored by the FHWA identified and measured these various pollution sources and developed techniques to lessen their impact on water resources. This information has been used by project development personnel to plan and implement highway improvements that minimized the impacts of pollution. The improved understanding of pollution sources and solutions to water quality problems has greatly increased the States' ability to plan and construct highways with having minimal effects on water quality (Bank 1993). The issue of highway stormwater runoff and its consequences were refocused in the early 1990s by the emergence of a new environmental water quality indicator called impervious surfaces. Impervious surfaces represent all materials and structures that inhibit the penetration of precipitation into the ground and divert its flow over the land surface and eventually into surface waters. In general impervious surfaces are manmade structures such and buildings, roads, parking lots, sidewalks and others.

JOURNAL	Changes in Air Quality and Atmospheric Deposotion in the Eastern US: 1990-2004	09/11/2007

Sickles II, J. E. AND D. SHADWICK. Changes in Air Quality and Atmospheric Deposotion in the Eastern US: 1990-2004. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, 112(d17301):DOI: 10.1029, (2007).
Abstract:	Monitoring data collected in the eastern US between 1990 and 2004 at 34 dry and paired wet monitoring sites are examined. A goal is to evaluate the measured air quality impacts occurring between 1990 and 2004 resulting from legislatively-mandated changes in emissions. Three 5-year periods, 1990-1994 (P1), 1995-1999 (P2), and 2000-2004 (P3) are considered. Period-to-period changes in selected pollutant metrics are examined, focusing on P1-to-P3 changes. Data are composed from reported weekly measurements into estimates of means for year, site, and season. Analysis of Variance applied to these means, computed for dry concentration, dry deposition velocity, precipitation rate, and dry, wet and total deposition, is used to examine differences between periods for predefined regional groupings of sites and seasons. Results suggest that relationships exist at the current scale between changes in both concentration and deposition of relevant atmospheric pollutants and changes in SO2 emissions that are generally less than 1:1, and that these disparities are more pronounced for SO4 2-(a reaction product) than SO2 (the primary pollutant). Coincident timing and location suggest that legislatively-mandated summertime reductions in NOx emissions contributed strongly to observed reductions of dry HNO3 concentration and deposition in the eastern US. Less than 1:1 relationships are also indicated at the current scale between changes in both concentration and deposition of relevant secondary atmospheric pollutants, HNO3 and NO3-, and changes in NOx emissions. In the face of P1-to-P3 reductions in emissions of both SO2 and NOx, wintertime changes in the sum of dry SO42-, NO3-, and NH4+ concentrations relative to those for corresponding SO4 2-concentrations range from reductions that are less than 1:1 to actual increases.

JOURNAL	Seasonal and Regional Air Quality and Atmospheric Deposition in the Eastern US	09/11/2007

Sickles II, J. E. AND D. SHADWICK. Seasonal and Regional Air Quality and Atmospheric Deposition in the Eastern US. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, 112(d17302):doi:10.1029, (2007).
Abstract:	Dry concentration and dry and wet deposition of selected air pollutants monitored over two 5-year periods in the 1990s at or near 34 rural Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNET) sites located in the eastern US are adjusted for known biases, composed into seasonal values, and examined. Similar patterns of seasonal and regional behavior are found consistently in both periods. In the east, dry concentration, deposition velocity, precipitation rate, and dry, wet, and total deposition of each of the monitored chemical constituents display regular seasonal cycles of behavior. High and low seasonal values occur in summer and winter, respectively, for dry concentration and dry deposition of SO42-, NH4+, O3, HNO3, and monitored oxidized plus reduced nitrogen (N); for dry oxidized nitrogen (Nox) deposition; for wet sulfur and H+ deposition; and for total dry plus wet Nox and N deposition. In contrast, high seasonal values of dry SO2 concentration and deposition and dry NO3- concentration occur in winter. In the east, SO2 composes a major portion (¡Ö70%) of the airborne dry sulfur concentration and is the dominant (>85%) contributor to dry sulfur deposition. Although NH4+ represents a major portion of the dry N concentration (¡Ö65%), HNO3 dominates both dry Nox (>90%) and N (>75%) deposition. Wet deposition is a major contributor to total deposition, generally peaking in summer or spring. Total sulfur, Nox, and N deposition peak in summer. Although mean O concentration is ¡Ö70% larger in summer than winter, dry O3 deposition in the east is >5 times higher in summer. Dry deposition of SO4 2-, HNO3, Nox, N, and O3 is the highest at the high elevation subset of sites, underscoring the importance of dry deposition as a stressor to high elevation ecosystems in the east.

JOURNAL	Microbial Community Structure in Petroleum Contaminated Sedimentscorresponds to Geophysical Signatures	05/01/2007

ALLEN, J., E. ATEKWANA, E. ATEKWANA, J. DURIS, D. D. WERKEMA, AND S. ROSSBACH. Microbial Community Structure in Petroleum Contaminated Sedimentscorresponds to Geophysical Signatures. APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY. American Society for Microbiology, Washington, DC, 73(9):2860-2870, (2007).
Abstract:	The interdependence between geoelectrical signatures at underground petroleum plumes and the structure of subsurface microbial communities was investigated. In sediments contaminated with light non aqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs), anomalous high conductivity values had been observed. Vertical changes in the geoelectrical properties of the sediments were concomitant with significant changes in the microbial community structure as determined by construction and evaluation of 16S rRNA gene libraries. DNA sequencing of clones from four 16S rRNA gene libraries from different depths of a contaminated field site and two from a non-contaminated background site revealed spatial heterogeneity in the microbial community structure. Libshuff analysis indicated that the libraries from each depth within the contaminated site and the background site were significantly different. Diversity indices revealed less diversity within the microbial community at the contaminated site. It is postulated that the activities of distinct microbial populations are a contributing factor to the elevated geoelectrical measurements, specifically the action of various hydrocarbon-degrading, syntrophic, sulfate reducing and dissimilatory iron reducing microbial populations. Thus, through their growth and metabolic activities, microbial populations that have adapted to petroleum as carbon source can strongly influence their geophysical surroundings. Since changes in the geophysical properties of contaminated sediments parallel changes in the microbial community composition, it is suggested that geoelectrical measurements can be a cost-efficient tool to guide microbiological sampling for microbial ecology studies during the monitoring of natural or engineered bioremediation processes.

JOURNAL	Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Biosolids/Sewage Sludges the Interface Between Analytical Chemistry and Regulation	02/27/2007

JONES-LEPP, T. L. AND R. STEVENS. Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Biosolids/Sewage Sludges the Interface Between Analytical Chemistry and Regulation. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. Springer, New York, NY, 387:1173-1183, (2007).
Abstract:	Modern sanitary practices result in large volumes of human waste, as well as domestic and industrial sewage, being collected and treated at common collection points, wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). In recognition of the growing use of sewage sludges as a fertilizers and as soil amendments, and the scarcity of current data regarding the chemical constituents in sewage sludges, the United States National Research Council (NRC) in 2002 produced a report on sewage sludges. Among the NRC's recommendations was the need for investigating the occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in sewage sludges. PPCPs are a diverse array of non-regulated contaminants that had not been studied in previous sewage sludges surveys but which are likely to be present. The focus of this paper will be to review the current analytical methodologies available for investigating whether pharmaceuticals are present in WWTP-produced sewage sludges, to summarize current regulatory practices regarding sewage sludges, and to report on the presence of pharmaceuticals in sewage sludges.

JOURNAL	Mapping Moderate-Scale Land Cover Over Very Large Geopgrahic Areas Within a Collaborative Framework: A Case Study of the Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project (Swregap)	05/15/2007

LOWRY, J., K. THOMAS, D. SCHRUPP, T. SAJWAJ, W. G. KEPNER, K. BOYKIN, L. O'BRIEN, D. F. BRADFORD, B. THOMPSON, AND J. PRIOR-MAGEE. Mapping Moderate-Scale Land Cover Over Very Large Geopgrahic Areas Within a Collaborative Framework: A Case Study of the Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project (Swregap). REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 108(1):59-73, (2007).
Abstract:	Land-cover mapping efforts within the USGS Gap Analysis Program have traditionally been state-centered; each state having the responsibility of implementing a project design for the geographic area within their state boundaries. The Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project (SWReGAP) was the first formal GAP project designed at a regional, multi-state scale. The project area comprises the southwestern states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The land-cover map/dataset was generated using regionally consistent geospatial data (Landsat ETM+ imagery (1999-2001) and DEM derivatives), similar field data collection protocols, a standardized land-cover legend, and a common modeling approach (decision tree classifier). Partitioning of mapping responsibilities amongst the five collaborating states was organized around ecoregion-based mapping zones. Over the course of 2 ½ field seasons approximately 93,000 reference samples were collected directly, or obtained from other contemporary projects, for the land-cover modeling effort. The final map was made public in 2004 and contains 125 land-cover classes. An internal validation of 85 of the classes, representing 91% of the land area was performed. Agreement between withheld samples and the validated dataset was 61% (KHAT = .60, n = 17,030). This paper presents an overview of the methodologies used to create the regional land-cover dataset and highlights issues associated with large-area mapping within a coordinated, multi-institutional management framework.

JOURNAL	Temporal Change in Forest Fragmentation at Multiple Scales	07/16/2007

WICKHAM, J. D., K. RITTERS, T. G. WADE, AND J. COULSTON. Temporal Change in Forest Fragmentation at Multiple Scales. LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY. Springer, New York, NY, 22(4):481-489, (2007).
Abstract:	Previous studies of temporal changes in fragmentation have focused almost exclusively on patch and edge statistics, which might not detect changes in the spatial scale at which forest occurs in or dominates the landscape. We used temporal land-cover data for the Chesapeake Bay region and the state of New Jersey to compare patch-based and area-density scaling measures of fragmentation for detecting changes in the spatial scale of forest that may result from forest loss. For the patch-based analysis, we examined changes in the cumulative distribution of patch sizes. For area-density scaling, we used moving windows to examine changes in dominant forest. We defined dominant forest as a forest parcel (pixel) surrounded by a neighborhood in which forest occupied the majority of pixels. We used >50% and 60% as thresholds to define majority. Moving window sizes ranged from 2.25 to 5314.41 hectares. Patch size cumulative distributions changed very little over time, providing no indication that forest loss was changing the spatial scale of forest. Area-density scaling showed that dominant forest was sensitive to forest loss, and the sensitivity increased nonlinearly as the spatial scale increased. The ratio of dominant forest loss to forest loss increased nonlinearly from 1.4 to 1.8 at the smallest spatial scale to 8.3 to 11.5 at the largest spatial scale. The nonlinear relationship between dominant forest loss and forest loss in these regions suggests that continued forest loss will cause abrupt transitions in the scale at which forest dominates the landscape. In comparison to the Chesapeake Bay region, dominant forest loss in New Jersey was less sensitive to forest loss, which may be attributable the protected status of the New Jersey Pine Barrens.

JOURNAL	Partial Least Square Analyses of Landscape and Surface Water Biota Associations in the Savannah River Basin	06/25/2007

NASH, M. S. AND D. J. CHALOUD. Partial Least Square Analyses of Landscape and Surface Water Biota Associations in the Savannah River Basin. Indian S Press (Environmental Science/An Indian Journal). Trade Science Inc., Gujarat, India, 2(2):4-15, (2007).
Abstract:	Ecologists are often faced with problem of small sample size, missing values at some sites, correlated and large number of predictors, and high noise-to-signal relationships. This necessitates excluding important variables from the model when applying standard multiple or multivariate regression analyses. Partial least square (PLS) regression was developed particularly to deal with these problems. In this paper, we present the results of applying PLS to explore relationships among biotic indicators of surface water quality and landscape conditions where small sample size, missing data, and collinearity in variables existed. Available field sampling and remotely sensed data sets for the Savannah Basin are used. We were able to develop models and compare results for the whole basin and for each ecoregion (Blue Ridge, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain) in spite of the data constraints. The amount of variability in surface water biota explained by each model reflects the scale, spatial location and the composition of contributing landscape metrics. The landscape-biota model developed for the whole basin using PLS explains 43% and 80% of the variation in water biota and landscape data sets, respectively. Models developed for each of the three ecoregions indicates dominance of landscape variables which reflect the geophysical characteristics of that ecoregion.

JOURNAL	Biodiversity Management Approaches for Stream-Riparian Areas: Perspectives for Pacific Northwest Headwater Forests, Microclimates, and Amphibians	03/30/2007

OLSON, D., P. ANDERSON, C. FRISSELL, H. WELSH, AND D. F. BRADFORD. Biodiversity Management Approaches for Stream-Riparian Areas: Perspectives for Pacific Northwest Headwater Forests, Microclimates, and Amphibians. FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 246:81-107, (2007).
Abstract:	Stream-riparian areas represent a nexus of biodiversity, with disproportionate numbers of species tied to and interacting within this key habitat. New research in Pacific Northwest headwater forests, especially the characterization of microclimates and amphibian distributions, is expanding our perspective of riparian zones, and suggests the need for alternative designs to manage stream-riparian zones and their adjacent uplands. High biodiversity in riparian areas can be attributed to cool moist conditions, high productivity and complex habitat. All 47 northwestern amphibian species have stream-riparian associations, with a third being obligate forms to general stream-riparian areas, and a quarter with life histories reliant on headwater landscapes in particular. Recent recognition that stream-breeding amphibians can disperse hundreds of meters into uplands implies that connectivity among neighboring drainages may be important to their population structures and dynamics. Microclimate studies substantiate a stream effect of cool moist conditions permeating upslope into warmer, drier forests. We review forest management approaches relative to headwater riparian areas in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, and we propose scenarios designed to retain all habitats used by amphibians with complex life histories. These include a mix of riparian and upslope management Approaches to address the breeding, foraging, Overwintering, and dispersal functions of these animals. We speculate that the stream microclimate effect can partly counterbalance edge effects imposed by upslope forest disturbances, hence appropriately sized and managed riparian buffers can protect suitable microclimates at streams and within riparian forests. We propose one approach that focuses habitat conservation in headwater areas - where present management allows extensive logging -on sensitive target species, such as tailed frogs and torrent salamanders that often occur patchily. Assuming both high patchiness and some concordance among the distribution of sensitive species, protecting areas with higher abundances of these animals could justify less protection of currently unoccupied or low-density habitats, where more intensive forest management for timber production could occur. Also, we outline an approach that protects juxtaposed headwater patches, retaining connectivity among sub-drainages using a 6th-field watershed spatial scale for assuring well-distributed protected areas across forested landscapes. However, research is needed to test this approach and to determine whether it is sufficient to buffer downstream water quality and habitat from impacts of headwater management. Offering too-sparse protection everywhere is likely insufficient to conserve headwater habitats and biodiversity, while our alternative targeted protection of selected headwaters does not bind the entire forest landscape into a biodiversity reserve.

JOURNAL	Types and Quantities of Leftover Drugs Entering the Environment Via Disposal to Sewerage Revealed By Coroners' Records	08/13/2007

RUHOY, I. AND C. G. DAUGHTON. Types and Quantities of Leftover Drugs Entering the Environment Via Disposal to Sewerage Revealed By Coroners' Records. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), Research Triangle Park, NC, 388:137-148, (2007).
Abstract:	BACKGROUND: Pharmaceuticals designed for humans and animals often remain unused. Leftover and accumulated drugs represent suboptimal delivery of health care and environmentally unsound disposal, which can pose exposure risks for humans and wildlife. OBJECTIVES: A major unknown with respect to drugs as pollutants is what fractions of drug residues occurring in the ambient environment result from discarding leftover drugs. To gauge the significance of leftover drugs as potential pollutants, data are needed on the types, quantities, and frequencies with which drugs accumulate. Absence of this data has prevented assessments of the significance of drug accumulation and disposal as a contributing source of drug residues in the environment. METHODS: One particular source of drug accumulation is those drugs that become "orphaned" by the death of a consumer. An approach on acquiring the data needed to assess the magnitude and extent of drug disposal as a source of environmental pollution is presented by using the inventories of drugs maintained by coroners' offices. RESULTS: The data from one metropolitan coroner's office demonstrates proof of concept. Coroners' data on leftover drugs are useful for measuring the types and amounts of drugs accumulated by consumers. This inventory also provides an accurate measure of the active ingredients actually disposed into sewerage by coroners. CONCLUSION: The types of questions these data can address are presented, and the possible uses of these data for deriving estimates of source contributions from the population at large are discussed. The approach is proposed for nationwide implementation to better understand the significance of consumer disposal of medications.

JOURNAL	History and Accomplishments of the US EPA's Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (Site) Monitoring and Measurement (Mmt) Program	09/05/2007

BILLETS, S. AND A. Dindal. History and Accomplishments of the US EPA's Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (Site) Monitoring and Measurement (Mmt) Program. JOURNAL OF TESTING AND EVALUATION (ASTM). American Society for Testing and Materials, West Conshohocken, PA, 35(5):486-495, (2007).
Abstract:	This manuscript presents the history and evolution of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Monitoring and Measurement Technology (MMT) Program. This includes a discussion of how the fundamental concepts of a performance testing/verification program were developed in response to the 1986 Congressional legislation that was enacted to bring together technology developers, technology users, and EPA’s credibility in a national testing program. The original impetus for the program was driven by the technology developers’ pressing need for a cost effective and technically credible program for showcasing the performance of their technologies to EPA Regions and other federal agencies. The SITE Program was EPA’s first technology verification program, and it has served as a model for subsequent technology evaluation programs. The performance characteristics of 70 technologies have been verified by the SITE MMT Program. A survey of developers participating in the program indicated their satisfaction; a summary of their responses is presented. The outcome of the program and its legacy represent an important contribution to the EPA Superfund Program and the use of field analytical technologies.

JOURNAL	Sensitivity Analysis of Aggregated Environmental Indices With a Case-Study of the Mid-Atlantic Region	02/28/2007

TRAN, L. T., R. V. O'NEILL, B. R. SMITH, AND C. G. KNIGHT. Sensitivity Analysis of Aggregated Environmental Indices With a Case-Study of the Mid-Atlantic Region. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT. Springer-Verlag, New York, NY, 39(4):506-514, (2007).
Abstract:	Environmental indicators are often aggregated into a single index for various purposes in environmental studies. Aggregated indices derived from the same data set can differ, usually because the aggregated indices' sensitivities are not thoroughly analyzed. Furthermore, if a sensitivity analysis is carried out, it is not presented in a transparent fashion to policy decision-makers. This paper presents a method of generating various aggregated environmental indices and analyzing their sensitivities via the use of the fuzzy set concept. Results show that several insights into the environmental conditions of the study area (e.g., the distribution of good or bad values of indicators at a watershed and or across the region) can be revealed in the sensitivity analysis of aggregated indices.

JOURNAL	Demise of Translocated Populations of Mountain Yellow-Legged Frogs (Rana Muscosa)IN the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California	05/08/2007

FELLERS, G. M., D. F. BRADFORD, D. PRATT, AND L. WOOD. Demise of Translocated Populations of Mountain Yellow-Legged Frogs (Rana Muscosa)IN the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Herpetological Conservation and Biology. Herpetological Conservation and Biology, Texarkana, TX, 2(1):5-21, (2007).
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact field.

JOURNAL	Bayesian Entropy for Spatial Sampling Design of Environmental Data	06/27/2007

FUENTES, M., A. CHANDHURI, AND D. M. HOLLAND. Bayesian Entropy for Spatial Sampling Design of Environmental Data. G. P. Patil (ed.), ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECOLOGICAL STATISTICS. Chapman and Hall Limited, London, Uk, 14:323-340, (2007).
Abstract:	Particulate Matter (PM) has been linked to widespread public health effects, including a range of serious respiratory and cardiovascular problems, and to reduced visibility in may parts of the United States, see the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report (2004) and relevant pages on http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/partmatt.cfm.

JOURNAL	Effects of Missing Seasonal Data on Estimates of Period Means of Dry and Wet Deposition	01/30/2007

Sickles II, J. E. AND D. S. SHADWICK. Effects of Missing Seasonal Data on Estimates of Period Means of Dry and Wet Deposition. ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 41(41):4931-4939, (2007).
Abstract:	The current study uses resampling to investigate the impacts of cyclic seasonal behavior on one- and five- year period means composed from seasonal mean values in the presence of missing data.

JOURNAL	Detecting Changes in Riparian Habitat Conditions Based on Patterns of Greenness Change: A Case Study from the Upper San Pedro River Basin, USA	01/05/2007

JONES, B., C. M. EDMONDS, E. SLONECKER, J. D. WICKHAM, A. C. NEALE, T. G. WADE, K. H. RIITTERS, AND W. G. KEPNER. Detecting Changes in Riparian Habitat Conditions Based on Patterns of Greenness Change: A Case Study from the Upper San Pedro River Basin, USA. ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 8(1):89-99, (2007).
Abstract:	Healthy riparian ecosystems in arid and semi-arid regions exhibit shifting patterns of vegetation in response to periodic flooding. Their conditions also depend upon the amount of grazing and other human uses. Taking advantage of these system properties, we developed and tested an approach that utilizes historical Landsat data to track changes in the patterns of greenness (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) within riparian zones. We tested the approach in the Upper San Pedro River of southeastern Arizona of the US, an unimpounded river system that flows north into the US from northern Mexico. We evaluated changes in the pattern of greenness in the San Pedro River Conservation Area (SPRCA), an area protected from grazing and development since the mid-1980s, and in a relatively unprotected area north of the SPRCA (NA). The SPRCA exhibited greater positive changes in greenness than did the NA. The SPRCA also exhibited larger, more continuous patches of positive change than did the NA. These pattern differences may reflect greater pressures from grazing and urban sprawl in the NA than in the SPRCA. Estimates of the direction of greenness change (positive or negative) from satellite imagery were similar to estimates derived from aerial photography, except in areas where changes were from one type of shrub community to another, and in areas with agriculture. Change estimates in these areas may be more difficult because of relatively low greenness values, and because of differences in soil moisture, sun angle, and crop rotations among the dates of data collection. The potential for applying a satellite-based, greenness change approach to evaluate hydrologic condition over broad geographic areas is also discussed.

NEWSLETTER	Reva Integrated Science for Targeted Decision-Making	01/11/2007

Mehaffey, M. H. AND E. R. Smith. Reva Integrated Science for Targeted Decision-Making. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/N-07/001, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact field.

NEWSLETTER ARTICLE	Determination Roxarsone and Its Transformation Products Using Capillary Electrophoresis Coupled to ICP-MS	09/19/2007

ROSAL, C. G. AND G. MOMPLAISIR. Determination Roxarsone and Its Transformation Products Using Capillary Electrophoresis Coupled to ICP-MS. In: Determination Roxarsone and Its Transformation Products Using Capillary Electrophoresis Coupled to ICP-MS, Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA, 1(1):53-54, (2007).
Abstract:	Roxarsone (3-nitro-4-hydroxyphenyl-arsonic acid) is one of the most widely used growthpromoting and disease-controlling feed additives in the United States. Most broiler chickens are fed roxarsone to promote weight gain and control parasites. Most of the roxarsone is believed to be excreted unchanged, and the resulting arsenic-containing waste is commonly recycled as fertilizer. Once in the environment, roxarsone can easily degrade into much more mobile and toxic arsenic (As) species. While HPLC coupled to ICP-MS has been used for the determination of As species including roxarsone degradation products, it is limited in its resolution. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) has the advantages of simple hardware and high efficiency. When coupled with ICP-MS for detection, CE-ICP-MS can provide a sensitive, highly selective method for the determination of roxarsone and its transformation products.

NEWSLETTER ARTICLE	New Sampler Minimizes Distrubance During Sediment Collection	03/15/2007

SCHUMACHER, B. A., J. H. ZIMMERMAN, J. CAPRI, AND E. SMITH. New Sampler Minimizes Distrubance During Sediment Collection. In: Technology News and Trends, U.S. EPA Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation, Washington, DC(29):2-3, (2007).
Abstract:	This issue of Technology News and Trends highlights strategies and tools for characterizing or monitoring remediation of sites with contaminated sediment. Addressing these sites often relies upon dynamic workplans that involve more efficient, cost-effective, and practical methods for field work.

PAPER IN NON-EPA PROCEEDINGS	Dotagwa: A Case Study in Web-Based Architectures for Connecting Surface Water Models to Spatially Enabled Web Applications	07/15/2007

CATE, A., D. J. SEMMENS, P. GUERTIN, AND D. GOODRICH. Dotagwa: A Case Study in Web-Based Architectures for Connecting Surface Water Models to Spatially Enabled Web Applications. In Proceedings, 2007 Summer Computer Simulation Conference, San Diego, CA, July 15 - 18, 2007. Society for Modeling and Simulation International, San Diego, CA, 885-892, (2007).
Abstract:	The Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) tool is a desktop application that uses widely available standardized spatial datasets to derive inputs for multi-scale hydrologic models (Miller et al., 2007). The required data sets include topography (DEM data), soils, climate, and land-cover data. These data are used to develop input parameter files for two USDA-ARS watershed runoff and erosion models: the Kinematic Runoff and Erosion Model (KINEROS2, Smith et al., 1995; http://www.tucson.ars.ag.gov/kineros) and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT, Arnold et al., 1994; http://www.brc.tamus.edu/swat/). AGWA has proved to be a useful tool for many different applications. Not all potential users, however, have access to the geospatial data or software required to process it and run tools like AGWA. In addition, some potential users recognized the value in being able to use the application, but did not have adequate technical training to gather and process the necessary data and run the application through a geospatial information system (GIS) software platform. A Web-based version of AGWA, DotAGWA, was developed to address these issues and cater to a wider potential user audience. This paper describes the design and structure of the DotAGWA application and discusses important findings related to issues and problems that emerged during application development. In particular, important issues emerged related to configuring a system that would connect surface water models, originally intended as desktop applications, to a spatially enabled web application. Some of these issues include input and output file management for model runs when models are executed from the web-client to the server's operating system, configuring the systems spatial and non-spatial data requirements in a web server environment, and designing an extensible or at least reusable system architecture.

PRESENTATION	Regional Assessment of Landscape and Demographic Change Effects in the Mediterranean Region, the Morocco Case Study (1981-2003)	03/08/2007

NASH, M. S., D. J. CHALOUD, S. SARRI, AND W. G. KEPNER. Regional Assessment of Landscape and Demographic Change Effects in the Mediterranean Region, the Morocco Case Study (1981-2003). Presented at Environmental Change & Human Security, Newport, RI, March 05 - 08, 2007.
Abstract:	The method presented here allows mapping changes in vegetation cover trends over large areas quickly and inexpensively, thus providing policy-makers with a technical capacity to locate and assess areas of environmental instability and improve their ability to positively respond or adapt to environmental change.

PRESENTATION	Geospatical Information Technology and Information Management Quality Assurance	05/11/2007

BRILIS, G. Geospatical Information Technology and Information Management Quality Assurance. Presented at American Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing, Tampa, FL, May 07 - 11, 2007.
Abstract:	Most of the geospatial data in use are originated electronically. As a result, these data are acquired, stored, transformed, processed, presented, and archived electronically. The organized system of computer hardware and software used in these processes is called an Information Technology System (IT). Eventually, the information residing in an IT must be communicated and managed between and within organizations. The system controlling this process is an Information Management System (IM). Increasingly, organizations are using IT/IM to acquire record, manipulate, store, and archive their data and results. Portions of the IT or IM are known to occasionally ¿go bad.¿ When this happens, the resident data and information may become corrupt, and may do so without the operators¿ knowledge. This presentation establishes some principles that can be used to evaluate and monitor the IT and IM systems. In addition, the critical juncture of the computer-human interface is also discussed.

PRESENTATION	US EPA Geospatial Quality Council: Ensuring Quality in Geopspatial Solutions	05/11/2007

BRILIS, G. US EPA Geospatial Quality Council: Ensuring Quality in Geopspatial Solutions. Presented at American Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing, Tampa, FL, May 07 - 11, 2007.
Abstract:	In 1999, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Research and Development, Environmental Sciences Division, created the EPA Geospatial Quality Council (GQC) to fill the gap between the EPA Quality Assurance (QA) and Geospatial communities. GQC participants include individuals from the government, institutions of higher learning, and the private sector. This presentation will discuss the history, strategy, products and future plans of the GQC. A topical review of GQC products will be presented including: Guidance for Geospatial Data Quality Assurance Project Plans, GPS - Technical Implementation Guidance, Peer Review as a QA Tool, US EPA Geospatial Quality Council website, and GIS for QA Professionals, a web-accessible course. In addition, a brief "walk-through" of the GQC website will also be presented. Finally, the current product in development, Guidance for Information Technology/Information Management Quality Assurance Guidance, will also be discussed.

PRESENTATION	A $250 Autosampler for a Dart Ion Source and Deconvolution of Composite Mass Spectra Based on Exact Masses and Relative Isotopic Abundances	03/02/2007

GRANGE, A. H. AND G. SOVOCOOL. A $250 Autosampler for a Dart Ion Source and Deconvolution of Composite Mass Spectra Based on Exact Masses and Relative Isotopic Abundances. Presented at Pittsburgh Conference, Chicago, IL, February 25 - March 02, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	From Receipt to Report: 1000 Samples, One Analyst, One Shift Using Ambient-Air Sampling Mass Spectrometry	01/31/2007

GRANGE, A. H. AND G. SOVOCOOL. From Receipt to Report: 1000 Samples, One Analyst, One Shift Using Ambient-Air Sampling Mass Spectrometry. Presented at Fifteenth International Conference on On-Site Analyses and Homeland Security, Baltimore, MD, January 28 - 31, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Temporal and Spatial Patterns of Airborne Pesticides in the Alpine Environment of a Declining California Amphibian, the Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog	02/08/2007

BRADFORD, D. F., E. M. HEITHMAR, K. STANLEY, L. MCCONNELL, D. SPARLING, S. SIMONICH, N. G. TALLENT-HALSELL, G. MOMPLAISIR, C. G. ROSAL, L. A. RIDDICK, AND K. E. VARNER. Temporal and Spatial Patterns of Airborne Pesticides in the Alpine Environment of a Declining California Amphibian, the Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog. Presented at Understanding Agriculture's Effects on Amphibians and Reptiles in a Changing World, St. Louis, MO, February 06 - 08, 2007.
Abstract:	The mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa) has disappeared from most of its historic localities in the Sierra Nevada of California, and airborne pesticides from the Central Valley have been implicated as a causal agent. To determine the distribution and temporal variation of pesticide levels in the habitat of this species, we sampled multiple media at high elevation (2754-3475 m) throughout Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Results to date are preliminary. To determine temporal variation, we extracted 100-L water samples from 4 lakes monthly and 1 lake weekly from mid June to mid October 2003. Eleven pesticides were detected, four of which were frequently found: endosulfan (I and II), propargite, simazine, and dacthal. Concentrations were extremely low, on the order of ¿1 ng/L (part per trillion). For the two pesticides applied in the Central Valley concurrently with our sampling, endosulfan and propargite, temporal variation in their concentrations in lake water generally corresponded with application levels in the Valley. To determine spatial distribution, we sampled 14 dispersed areas, 2 ponds/area, 2 times during summer of 2005. Media were air, sediment, and Pacific treefrog (Pseudacris regilla) tadpoles. We also determined acetyl cholinesterase activity in treefrog tadpoles, an indicator of exposure to certain pesticides. Passive air sampling devices, which sampled air over 30-d intervals, detected 4 pesticides at very low concentrations; only endosulfan II was found commonly among sites. Six pesticides were found in tadpole tissue at low concentrations (<1 ng/g wet weight), with 4 found at most sites: p¿,p-DDE, dacthal, endosulfan II, endosulfan sulfate. Cholinesterase levels differed significantly among the 14 areas, with site means (adjusted for tadpole stage) varying by over 2-fold. The distribution of pesticides and cholinesterase levels relative to the distribution of remaining populations of Rana muscosa and proximity to the Central Valley (43-82 km away) will be addressed.

PRESENTATION	Meeting Today's Emerging Contaminants With Tomorrow's Research Tool	02/16/2007

JONES-LEPP, T. L. Meeting Today's Emerging Contaminants With Tomorrow's Research Tool. Presented at Water Treatment and Reuse Engineering International Conference, Tomar, PORTUGAL, February 11 - 16, 2007.
Abstract:	This presentation will explore the many facets of research and development for emerging contaminants within the USEPA's National Exposure Research Laboratories (Athens, Cincinnati, Las Vegas, and Research Triangle Park).

PRESENTATION	Land-Cover Change Detection Using Multi-Temporal Modis Ndvi Data	06/29/2007

LUNETTA, R. S., J. F. KNIGHT, J. EDIRIWICKREMA, J. G. LYON, AND L. D. WORTHY. Land-Cover Change Detection Using Multi-Temporal Modis Ndvi Data. Presented at International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment, San Jose, COSTA RICA, June 25 - 29, 2007.
Abstract:	Monitoring the locations and distributions of land-cover changes is important for establishing linkages between policy decisions, regulatory actions and subsequent land-use activities. Past studies incorporating two-date change detection using Landsat data have tended to be performance limited for applications in biologically complex systems. This study explored the use of 250 m multi-temporal MODIS NDVI 16-day composite data to provide an automated change detection and alarm capability on a 1-year time-step for the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuary System (APES) region of the US. Detection accuracy was assessed for 2002 at 88%, with a reasonable balance between change commission errors (21.9%), change omission errors (27.5%), and Kappa coefficient of 0.67. Annual change detection rates across the APES over the study period (2002-2005) were estimated at 0.7% per annum and varied from 0.4% (2003) to 0.9% (2004). Regional variations were also readily apparent ranging from 1.6% to 0.1% per annum for the tidal water and mountain ecological zones, respectfully. This research included the application of an automated protocol to first filter the MODIS NDVI data to remove poor (corrupted) data values and then estimate the missing data values using a discrete Fourier transformation technique to provide high quality uninterrupted data to support the change detection analysis. The methods and results detailed in this article apply only to non-agricultural areas. Additional limitations attributed to the coarse resolution of the NDVI data included the overestimation of change area that necessitated the application of a change area correction factor.

PRESENTATION	Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in the Environment: An Overview of the Science	04/19/2007

DAUGHTON, C. G. Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in the Environment: An Overview of the Science. Presented at Califonria-Nevada Section AWWA, Las Vegas, NV, April 16 - 19, 2007.
Abstract:	Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) comprise a large,diverse array of contaminants that can enter the environment from the combined activities, actions, and behaviors of multitudes of individualsas well as from veterinary and agricultural use (http://epa.gov/nerlesd1/chemistry/pharma/).Excretion, bathing, and disposal of leftover medications are the three primary routes of release from human activities (http://epa.gov/nerlesd1/chemistry/pharma/images/drawing.pdf). As trace environmentalc ontaminants in waters, sediments, and sewage sludge,they are largely unregulated in the U.S. The concentrations of individual active ingredients in environmental samples such as surface waters often range from parts-per-billion to parts-per-trillion - micrograms to nanograms per liter. Multiple active ingredients and their degradates, however, frequently occur together.The total, combined levels of these substances in a given environmental sample can be 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than their individual levels in waters, or upto the mg/kg level in treated sewage sludge ("biosolids," which is often disposed via application to land).While pharmaceuticalsare ubiquitous trace contaminants in the environment,the types, concentrations, and relative abundances of individual residues will vary depending on the waste treatment technologies employed and the geographic locale and time of year; contributing variables are variations in geographic prescribing and consumption practices. The efficiencies by which PPCPs can be removed from waste and water spans the entire spectrum (from nil to complete) as a function of the technology and the physicochemical properties of each PPCP. This presentation briefly summarizes some of what is known and not known about the occurrence of drugs in the environment, the potential for chroniceffects on wildlife(and some instances of acute effects), the relevance of drug residues ind rinking water to consumer risk perception, and actions that can be taken to reduce environmental exposure.

PRESENTATION	Estimating the Likelihood of Occurrence of Selected Pesticides and Nutrients Exceeding Specific Concentrations in Coastal Plain Streams Based on Landscape Characteristics	03/29/2007

ATOR, S., J. DENVER, A. C. NEALE, AND A. M. PITCHFORD. Estimating the Likelihood of Occurrence of Selected Pesticides and Nutrients Exceeding Specific Concentrations in Coastal Plain Streams Based on Landscape Characteristics. Presented at American Chemical Society 233rd National Meeting, Chicago, IL, March 25 - 29, 2007.
Abstract:	The occurrence of selected pesticides and nutrient compounds in nontidal headwater streams of the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain (North Carolina through New Jersey) during winter and spring base flow is related to land use, soils, and other geographic variables that reflect sources and environmental fate and transport of these compounds. Water samples were collected between mid-February and early June 2000 from a randomly designed survey of 174 streams representing the range of land-use and hydrogeologic settings in the Coastal Plain. Logistic regression was used to relate measured stream chemistry to features of contributing watersheds, including agricultural or urban land use, soils, and other geographic characteristics. Regression models estimate the likelihood of occurrence of selected pesticide and nutrient compounds above specific concentrations in more than 9,000 headwater streams throughout the Coastal Plain, and provide insight into natural and human factors affecting the distribution of such compounds in streams.

PRESENTATION	Levels of Synthetic Musk Compounds in Municipal Wastewater for Estimation of Biota Exposure in Receiving Waters	03/09/2007

OSEMWENGIE, L. I. Levels of Synthetic Musk Compounds in Municipal Wastewater for Estimation of Biota Exposure in Receiving Waters. Presented at International Conference on Analysis of Emerging Contaminants in the Environment, York, UK, March 07 - 09, 2007.
Abstract:	To be presented is an overview of the chemistry, the monitoring methodology, and the statistical evaluation of concentrations obtained from the analysis of a suite of compounds (e.g., Galaxolide®, musk xylene, and amino musk xylene) in an aquatic ecological site.

PRESENTATION	Assessing the Security of Ecological Populations With Regards T0 Toxic Air Pollutants and Habitate Threats Across the Southeastern United States	05/27/2007

SMITH, E. R., M. H. MEHAFFEY, R. TANKERSLEY, L. MILLER, A. W. REA, AND P. WAGNER. Assessing the Security of Ecological Populations With Regards T0 Toxic Air Pollutants and Habitate Threats Across the Southeastern United States. Presented at EcoSummit 2007, Beijing, CHINA, May 22 - 27, 2007.
Abstract:	The Southeastern United States is one of the most biologically diverse regions of the country and is home to significant numbers of threatened and endangered species. It is also one of the fastest growing regions in terms of human population, urban development, and the associated production of toxic pollutants. Under the Clean Air Act (as amended in 1990), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must determine if significant threat is posed to 1) threatened and endangered species, 2) migratory bird species, and 3) ecosystems by any of the 187 currently regulated hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). In response to this requirement, we are evaluating the potential threat from HAPs: 1) individually, 2) in aggregate (e.g. multiple pollutants acting simultaneously), and 3) in concert with other stressors such as loss of habitat across the region.

PRESENTATION	Presentation on - Land-Cover Change Detection Using Multi-Temporal Modis Ndvi Data	07/27/2007

LUNETTA, R. S., J. F. KNIGHT, J. EDIRIWICKREMA, J. G. LYON, AND L. D. WORTHY. Presentation on - Land-Cover Change Detection Using Multi-Temporal Modis Ndvi Data. Presented at International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Barcelona, SPAIN, July 23 - 27, 2007.
Abstract:	Monitoring the locations and distributions of land-cover changes is important for establishing linkages between policy decisions, regulatory actions and subsequent landuse activities. Past efforts incorporating two-date change detection using moderate resolution data (e.g., Landsat) have tended to be performance limited for applications in biologically complex systems. The purpose of this research was to investigate the feasibility of using Moderate Resolution Image Spectroradiometer (MODIS) derived NDVI data to identify change areas on an annual time-step. This research was conducted across the 52,000 km2 Albemarle-Pamlico Estuary System (APES) located in North Carolina and Virginia. This research effort focused on non-agriculture cover types. Due to the unique issues associated with differentiating between agricultural land-use and and-cover conversions, methods for agricultural conversions to non-agricultural cover types (e.g., urban and forest) are being developed separately from the effort described here.

PRESENTATION	The Use of Scenario Analysis to Assess Landscape Change on Watershed Condition in the Packific Northwest (USA)	05/27/2007

KEPNER, W. G., M. HERNANDEZ, D. J. SEMMENS, AND D. GOODRICH. The Use of Scenario Analysis to Assess Landscape Change on Watershed Condition in the Packific Northwest (USA). Presented at ECO Summit 2007, Beijing International Convention Center, Beijing, CHINA, May 22 - 27, 2007.
Abstract:	The ability to assess, report, and forecast the life support functions of ecosystems is absolutely critical to our capacity to make informed decisions which will maintain the sustainable nature of our environmental services and secure these resources into the future. Scenario analysis combined with landscape sciences can be used to characterize uncertainties, test possible impacts and evaluate responses, assist strategic planning and policy formulation, and structure current knowledge to scope the range of potential future conditions. In this study, potential impacts from three wide-ranging scenarios in a large regional area in the northwest United States are compared to current conditions of the region in terms of a set of processes that are modeled in a geographic information system (GIS). This study presents an integrated approach to identify areas with potential water quality problems as a result of land cover change projected by stakeholders within the basin. Landscape metrics in conjunction with hydrological process models were used to examine the contribution of land use/land cover to water and sediment yield and identify subwatersheds within the Willamette River basin (Oregon, USA) that would be most affected in the year 2050 relative to three possible future scenarios which include inherent differences related to conservation, planning, and open development. Specifically, this study provides one example of the use of landscape sciences for environmental assessment that examines the impact of both urban and agricultural development in a large river basin. In particular, it attempts to 1) answer questions that relate to future scenarios that describe contrary positions related to urban development, 2) provide information which can be used to assess the potential changes of the landscape relative to human use, and 3) provide options that could be useful for sustainable management of natural resources and thus minimize future hydrologic and environmental impacts.

PRESENTATION	Mapping Dissemination of Chemical After Dispersive Events Using An Ambient-Air, Surface Sampling Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer	01/25/2007

GRANGE, A. H., G. SOVOCOOL, AND R. CODY. Mapping Dissemination of Chemical After Dispersive Events Using An Ambient-Air, Surface Sampling Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer. Presented at NERL Peer Review of ESD, Louisville, KY, January 22 - 25, 2007.
Abstract:	Chemicals are dispersed by numerous accidental, deliberate, or weather-related events. Often, rapid analyses are desired to identify dispersed chemicals and to delineate areas of contamination. Hundreds of wipe samples might be collected from outdoor surfaces or building interiors both before and after any remediation. The distribution map of a chemical in Figure 1 is comprised of a 25 x 40 grid for obtaining 1000 wipe samples after a dispersive event.

PRESENTATION	Phylogeography of Rana Yavapaiensis and Rana Onca: Preliminary Findings With Conservation Implications	01/20/2007

HEMMINGS, V., J. JAEGER, M. SREDL, M. SCHLAEPFER, R. JENNINGS, C. PAINTER, D. F. BRADFORD, AND R. BRETT. Phylogeography of Rana Yavapaiensis and Rana Onca: Preliminary Findings With Conservation Implications. Presented at Annual Meeting of California-Nevada Amphibian Populations Task Force, Las Vegas, NV, January 18 - 20, 2007.
Abstract:	The closely related aridland frogs Rana onca (Relict Leopard Frog) and Rana yavapaiensis (Lowland Leopard Frog) have both experienced dramatic population declines. Rana onca currently occurs naturally at only 6 disjunct sites in southern Nevada. Rana yavapaiensis is present across central and SE Arizona, but it is patchily distributed in portions of its Arizona range and has disappeared from California and most of its New Mexico range. Although recent observations from Sonora, Mexico exist, the status of these populations is unknown. Our project will inform conservation strategies for both species by investigating phylogeography and population structure. In our current analysis of 202 frog samples, preliminary results from mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers (ND2 and a portion of cyt b genes) recovered the previously observed phylogenetic break between R. onca and R. yavapaiensis. Levels of sequence divergence and applied rates of sequence evolution allow us to postulate that these species' DNA gene lineages separated during the early Pleistocene, possibly prior to the onset of major climatic oscillations. A recently discovered population of leopard frogs from the western Grand Canyon (i.e., Surprise Canyon) represents a R. yavapaiensis population with clear mtDNA distinction from other R. yavapaiensis populations in Arizona and Mexico. This disjunct population may have separated from Arizona and Mexico populations prior to the latest Pleistocene glacial period. Surprisingly, R. yavapaiensis from across its main distribution in Arizona and into Mexico shows very little genetic diversity, suggesting a recent range expansion from some unsampled location in Mexico.

PRESENTATION	Population Structure of the Red-Spotted Toad, Bufo Punctatus, in a Naturally Fragmented Desert Landscape	01/20/2007

JAEGER, J., D. F. BRADFORD, AND R. BRETT. Population Structure of the Red-Spotted Toad, Bufo Punctatus, in a Naturally Fragmented Desert Landscape. Presented at Annual Meeting of California-Nevada Amphibian Poplulations Task Force, Las Vegas, NV, January 18 - 20, 2007.
Abstract:	We investigated the spatial scale at which genetic structure of Bufo punctatus within the Mojave Desert is organized by sequencing a portion of mitochondrial DNA control region for 831 toads collected from 43 sites around Las Vegas, Nevada. We grouped these collections a priori into seven geographic ranges based predominately on clusters of sites within mountain ranges. We used hierarchical analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) in a series of nested procedures to assess genetic structure among mountain ranges, among sites within mountain ranges, and among individuals within sites. We also calculated pairwise FST among sites within mountain ranges, and inferred population processes within mountain ranges by applying neutrality test statistics. We identified 36 haplotypes that formed five groups using network analysis, and an additional haplotype at three sites that represented recently colonized B. punctatus from the Colorado Plateau. The designated mountain ranges accounted for a significant amount (25.8%) of genetic variation, and we confirmed substantial genetic structure between most neighboring ranges. Within four mountain ranges, we found little genetic variation among collection sites, and inferred that a population bottleneck or range expansion likely explained a lack of diversity within two of these ranges. Within three mountain ranges we found significant genetic structure among sites; however, within two of these ranges only a few sites generally accounted for most of the pattern. Within the third range the observed structure appears to have resulted from a recent convergence of two divergent lineages. Our assessment supports the perspective that within the Mojave Desert, B. punctatus occurs primarily in patchy populations within mountain ranges that are currently isolated from similar populations in neighboring ranges.

PRESENTATION	Temporal Patterns of Airborne Pesticides in the Habitate of the Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog in the Southern Sierra Nevada	01/20/2007

BRADFORD, D. F., E. M. HEITHMAR, N. G. TALLENT-HALSELL, G. MOMPLAISIR, C. G. ROSAL, L. A. RIDDICK, AND K. E. VARNER. Temporal Patterns of Airborne Pesticides in the Habitate of the Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog in the Southern Sierra Nevada. Presented at Annual Meeting of California-Nevada Amphibian Populations Task Force, Las Vegas, NV, January 18 - 20, 2007.
Abstract:	Airborne agricultural pesticides from the Central Valley of California have been implicated as a possible cause for recent, dramatic population declines of several amphibian species in remote mountain locations. To determine the temporal variation of pesticide levels in the habitat of one of these species, the mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa), we sampled water from four lakes at high elevation (2754-3475 m) in the southern Sierra Nevada. The lakes ranged between 45 and 85 km from the San Joaquin Valley (i.e., southern end of Central Valley). Lakes were sampled weekly or monthly from mid June to mid October, 2003. Nine of 45 target analytes were detected at least once among the four lakes. Four pesticides were found sufficiently frequently to evaluate for temporal patterns: two insecticide/acaricides (endosulfan I and propargite) and two herbicides (dacthal [DCPA] and simazine). Concentrations of these pesticides were extremely low, on the order of 1 ng/L (parts per trillion) or less. For endosulfan and propargite, temporal variation in their concentrations corresponded closely with application rates in the San Joaquin Valley, with a lag time of 1-2 weeks. In contrast, application of dacthal and simazine was practically nil in the Valley during the sampling period. Linear distance from the San Joaquin Valley alone did not appear to be an adequate predictor of contaminant levels in lake water. Mountain yellow-legged frog populations have largely disappeared from the vicinities of lakes with both the higher and lower pesticide concentrations observed in the study.

PRESENTATION	All That "PHRAG": Bringing Engineering, Wetland Ecology, Environmental Science, and Landscape Ecology to Bear on the Question of Common Reed in Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands	06/01/2007

LOPEZ, R. D. AND J. LIN. All That "PHRAG": Bringing Engineering, Wetland Ecology, Environmental Science, and Landscape Ecology to Bear on the Question of Common Reed in Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands. Presented at International Association for Great Lakes Research, University Park, PA, May 28 - June 01, 2007.
Abstract:	Coastal wetlands are among the most fragmented and disturbed ecosystems and the Great Lakes are no exception. One possible result is the observed increase in the presence and dominance of invasive and other opportunistic plant species, such as the common reed (Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud). Hyperspectral and multispectral airborne remote sensing data were used to quantify the distribution of P. australis in several coastal wetlands of western Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair, and Lake Huron. The initial accuracy of species and structural-characteristic assessments for Phragmites is in excess of 90%. The precision and detail of field-based calibration data was important for the successful semi-automated mapping of P. australis. Additional, contemporaneous, efforts to assess landscape conditions in the coastal zone of the Great Lakes, using satellite multispectral remote sensing data, are ongoing. Results from both coastal wetland assessment efforts are being used to measure landscape characteristics at multiple scales, focusing on ecosystem connectivity and anthropogenic impact. Results from P. australis and coastal zone assessments are actively being used to develop broad-scale indicators of coastal wetland condition in the Great Lakes.

PRESENTATION	Meeting Today's Emerging Contaminants With Tomorrow's Research Tools	02/16/2007

JONES-LEPP, T. L. Meeting Today's Emerging Contaminants With Tomorrow's Research Tools. Presented at Water Treatment and Reuse Engineering International Conference, Tomar, PORTUGAL, February 11 - 16, 2007.
Abstract:	The United States Environmental Protection Agency is divided into ten Regions and twelve Program Offices. The emerging contaminant research described in this presentation is an overview of research at EPA's Office of Research & Development's (ORD) four National Exposure Re search Laboratories (NERL) located in: Athens, Georgia; Cincinnati, Ohio; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

PRESENTATION	An Autosampler/Dart/Tofms for Rapidly Mapping Distributions of Chemicals After Dispersive Events	06/07/2007

GRANGE, A. H. AND G. SOVOCOOL. An Autosampler/Dart/Tofms for Rapidly Mapping Distributions of Chemicals After Dispersive Events. Presented at 55th American Society for Mass Spectrometry Conference on Mass Spectrometry, Indianapolis, IN, June 03 - 07, 2007.
Abstract:	Rapid identification and semi-quantitation of chemicals spatially dispersed and deposited on surfaces by accidental, deliberate, or weather-related events requires analysis of hundreds of samples, usually obtained by sampling with wipes. Hand-held devices used on-site such as ion mobility spectrometers can rule out a list of toxic compounds, but provide low selectivity and cannot identify unanticipated analytes. Recently developed ambient-air sampling ion sources such as Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART) and Desorption Electrospray Ionization (DESI) eliminate the need for sample extraction, clean-up, and chromatography. Compounds on surfaces are ionized in ambient air and the ions are mass analyzed. A DART/TOFMS provides exact masses sufficiently accurate to provide ion compositions for low mass ions and neutral losses from full scan data.

PRESENTATION	Airborne Pesticides and Population Declines of a California Alpine Frog	02/14/2007

BRADFORD, D. F., E. M. HEITHMAR, L. MCCONNELL, G. MOMPLAISIR, L. A. RIDDICK, C. G. ROSAL, S. SIMONICH, D. SPARLING, K. STANLEY, N. G. TALLENT-HALSELL, AND K. E. VARNER. Airborne Pesticides and Population Declines of a California Alpine Frog. Presented at Environmental Biology Seminar, Las Vegas, NV, February 14, 2007.
Abstract:	The mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa) has disappeared from most of its historic localities in the Sierra Nevada of California, and airborne pesticides from the Central Valley have been implicated as a causal agent. To determine the distribution and temporal variation of pesticide levels in the habitat of this species, we sampled multiple media at high elevation (2754-3475 m) throughout Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Results to date are preliminary. To determine temporal variation, we extracted 100-L water samples from 4 lakes monthly and 1 lake weekly from mid June to mid October 2003. Eleven pesticides were detected, four of which were frequently found: endosulfan (I and II), propargite, simazine, and dacthal. Concentrations were extremely low, on the order of less than or equal to 1 ng/L (part per trillion). For the two pesticides applied in the Central Valley concurrently with our sampling, endosulfan and propargite, temporal variation in their concentrations in lake water generally corresponded with application levels in the Valley. To determine spatial distribution, we sampled 14 dispersed areas, 2 ponds/area, 2 times during summer of 2005. Media were air, sediment, and Pacific treefrog (Pseudacris regilla) tadpoles. We also determined acetyl cholinesterase activity in treefrog tadpoles, an indicator of exposure to certain pesticides. Passive air sampling devices, which sampled air over 30-d intervals, detected 4 pesticides at very low concentrations; only endosulfan II was found commonly among sites. Six pesticides were found in tadpole tissue at low concentrations (less than 1 ng/g wet weight), with 4 found at most sites: p,p-DDE, dacthal, endosulfan II, endosulfan sulfate. Cholinesterase levels differed significantly among the 14 areas, with site means (adjusted for tadpole stage)varying by over 2-fold. The distribution of pesticides and cholinesterase levels relative to the distribution of remaining populations of Rana muscosa and proximity to the Central Valley (43-82 km away) will be addressed.

PRESENTATION	Land-Cover Change and Its Impact on Nutrient Export Variance	07/12/2007

WICKHAM, J. D., T. G. WADE, AND K. RIITERS. Land-Cover Change and Its Impact on Nutrient Export Variance. Presented at International Association for Landscape Ecology, World Congress, Wageningen, NETHERLANDS, July 08 - 12, 2007.
Abstract:	Conversion of natural or semi-natural vegetation to anthropogenic use is widely cited as one of the principal threats to ecosystems worldwide. One consequence of these landcover conversions is increased input of nutrients into surface waters, which promotes eutrophication, noxious algal blooms, and other problems. Despite the pace of land-cover conversion, there is little information on its affect on nutrient export. The few modeling studies that have addressed the question have had difficulty separating the effect of landcover change from other factors such as inter-annual variation in precipitation. Part of the reason that modeling studies have had difficulty in distinguishing the effect of land-cover change from other factors is that they have been focused on annual averages (e.g., Vuorenmaa et al. 2002). We hypothesize that the principal effect of land-cover change on nutrient export is increased inter-annual variability. A watershed's annual export of nutrients (e.g., kg/ha/yr) fluctuates more widely as natural vegetation is replaced with agriculture and urban use. A consequence of increased inter-annual variability is greater difficulty in meeting specified nutrient export goals year after year. For example, Fisher et al. (1998) reported 10 years of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) for the upper Choptank watershed (Maryland USA). The upper Choptank watershed is approximately 50% agriculture and 50% forest, and land-cover composition has changed little. There was approximately a four-fold range in TN export (3.21-11.5 kg/ha/yr) and approximately a three-fold range in TP (0.19-0.65 kg/ha/yr). Four of the ten years of TN export and two of the ten years of TP export exceeded management thresholds for the region (Linker et al. 1996). We compiled a large dataset of TN and TP to quantify the impact of land-cover composition and change on nutrient export variance. The dataset includes about 120 sites and about 1200 observations. Most sites contain estimates of TN and TP for several years. The sites span the conterminous United States and also parts of southern Canada. Data sources include (Reckhow et al. 1980, Alexander et al. 1996, Panuska and Lillie 1995, McFarland and Hauck 2001, and Groffman et al. 2004). Land-cover composition for the site (watershed) had to be homogeneous for inclusion in the dataset. The threshold for homogeneity was set to 80%. The four main land-cover classes were: forest, urban, agriculture, and range. Range included shrublands and grasslands and were mainly found in the arid and semi-arid portions of the United States. The data were fit to three-parameter lognormal distribution by land-cover class and nutrient component. The lognormal models were then used in a Monte Carlo analysis to estimate the variance in nutrient export for mixed land-use watersheds using available landcover data for the conterminous United States (Vogelmann et al. 2001, Homer et al. 2004). Land-cover change data were also used in a Monte Carlo analysis to quantify the relationship between land-cover change and change in the variance of nutrient export. Preliminary results indicate that, on average, a 10% loss of forest or range results in a significant increase in TN and TP variance. However, the results were not constant across all watersheds. Much smaller losses produced significant increases in TN and TP variance when the watershed was dominated forest or range. This was consistent with our hypothesis because watersheds dominated by natural vegetation exhibit little inter-annual variability in nutrient export, and adding even small proportions of anthropogenic land cover (urban, agriculture results in significant increases in TN and TP variance. Conversely, much larger losses of forest and range (i.e., > 10%) were required to significantly increase TN and TP variance in watersheds dominated urban or agriculture. Watersheds dominated by urban and agriculture have characteristically wide TN and TP variance; relatively small losses of the forest or range (i.e., < 10%) that remain do not significantly increase variance.

PRESENTATION	Levels of Synthetic Musk Compounds in Municipal Wastewater for Estimation of Biota Exposure in Receiving Waters	03/09/2007

OSEMWENGIE, L. I. AND G. SOVOCOOL. Levels of Synthetic Musk Compounds in Municipal Wastewater for Estimation of Biota Exposure in Receiving Waters. Presented at International Conference on Analysis of Emerging Contaminants in the Environment, York, UK, March 07 - 09, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	A $250 Autosampler for a Dart Ion Source and Deconvolution of Composite Mass Spectra Based on Exact Masses and Realtive Isotopic Abundances	02/27/2007

GRANGE, A. H. AND G. SOVOCOOL. A $250 Autosampler for a Dart Ion Source and Deconvolution of Composite Mass Spectra Based on Exact Masses and Realtive Isotopic Abundances. Presented at 2007 Pittsburgh Conference, Chicago, IL, February 27, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Using Broad-Scale Metrics to Develop Indicators of Watershed Vulnerability in the Ozark Mountains (USA)	08/12/2007

LOPEZ, R. D., M. S. NASH, D. T. HEGGEM, AND D. W. EBERT. Using Broad-Scale Metrics to Develop Indicators of Watershed Vulnerability in the Ozark Mountains (USA). Presented at 30th Congress of the International Association of Theoretical and Applied Limnology, Montreal, QC, CANADA, August 12 - 18, 2007.
Abstract:	Multiple broad-scale landscape metrics were tested as potential indicators of total phosphorus (TP) concentration, total ammonia (TA) concentration, and Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria count, among 244 sub-watersheds in the Ozark Mountains (USA). Indicator models were developed by correlating field-based water quality measurements and contemporaneous remote-sensing-based ecological metrics, using Partial Least Squares analyses. Twenty of the tested broad-scale landscape metrics were predictive of four different sub-watershed vulnerability states, as follows: (1) "most vulnerable", i.e., sub-watersheds that have both high TP and TA concentrations, and high E. coli cell counts; (2) "highly vulnerable", i.e., sub-watersheds that have low TP concentrations, high TA concentrations, and high E. coli cell counts; (3) "moderately vulnerable", i.e., sub-watersheds that have both moderate TP and TA concentrations, and moderate E. coli cell counts; and (4) "least vulnerable", i.e., sub-watersheds that have low TP and TA concentrations, but have moderate E. coli cell counts. The results provide watershed managers with a broad-scale vulnerability prediction tool, specifically focusing on nutrient and bacteriological inputs at multiple scales. Geospatial results are in use by State and Federal managers to target monitoring and restoration efforts for this 21848 square-kilometer watershed that flows directly into the lower Mississippi River.

PRESENTATION	Comparison of Cmaq Derived Carbon Monoxide Columns With Mopitt Carbon Monoxide Data, Sensitivity to Wildfire Emissions	06/08/2007

SZYKMAN, J., B. ROY, C. KITTAKA, T. PIERCE, R. PIERCE, AND J. GODOWITCH. Comparison of Cmaq Derived Carbon Monoxide Columns With Mopitt Carbon Monoxide Data, Sensitivity to Wildfire Emissions. Presented at 2007 EastFIRE Conference, Fairfax, VA, June 05 - 08, 2007.
Abstract:	All model results need to be evaluated against observed data, no matter what the model scale. Traditionally for air quality applications, the observed data have been limited to concentrations measured by networks of ground stations. These are located mostly in urban areas and almost entirely on the continents. Although essential in model evaluation, they cannot evaluate the full 3-dimensional picture produced by the models. Other data sources that should be explored for routine model evaluation include satellite data sets, which can yield important information data on total column burdens and synoptic-scale spatial distributions of the pollutants allowing for a multi-dimensional understanding of model performance. In this study, we investigate the use of total column CO retrievals from the MOPITT instrument for evaluating the redistribution of the National Emissions Inventory (NEI) emissions using the satellite-derived fire pixel count data related to fire emissions within the U.S. EPA Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system. For a case study period of August 2001, we apply the MOPITT averaging kernel to the CMAQ model results before and after the redistribution of NEI emissions. Part of the analyses will include comparisons of different species concentrations (CO, total carbon, and PM2.5) from the base and reallocated fire emission model simulations in downwind areas of various fire locations. In particular, concentrations along forward trajectory paths initiated from selected grid locations with fires will be examined to highlight the impact by the emission reallocation approach based on the satellite-derived measurements.

PRESENTATION	Volatile Organo-Metalloids in Bio-Solid Materials: Analysis By Vacuum Distillation-Gc/MS	08/09/2007

MOMPLAISIR, G. AND M. H. HIATT. Volatile Organo-Metalloids in Bio-Solid Materials: Analysis By Vacuum Distillation-Gc/MS. Presented at Third International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology, Austin, TX, August 06 - 09, 2007.
Abstract:	An analytical method based on vacuum distillation-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (VD-GC-MS) was developed for determining volatile organo-metalloid contaminants in bio-solid materials. Method performance was evaluated for dimethylselenide (DMSe), dimethyldiselenide (DMDSe), diethylselenide (DESe) and trimethylarsine (TMAs). The relative volatilities of these compounds in water were calculated. TMAs was found to be completely removed from the aqueous matrix in a single distillation cycle. The detection limits for the analytes using a 30-to-1 column split were 1-5 ng. The stability of the compounds in air and water was studied as a function of time. TMAs was found to be stable in nitrogenpurged water samples for more than 6 h, whereas an estimated 1% of DMDSe was converted to DMSe in the same period, and 50% was converted to DMSe in 48 h. The analytical method was used to monitor the formation of volatile organo-arsenic and -selenium compounds in chicken litter samples that were incubated at room temperature for up to 30 days. After 48 h, TMAs was identified as the major volatile arsenic species in non-sterilized litter from broiler chickens fed feed containing the veterinary drug Roxarsone (3-nitro-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid). DMSe and low concentrations of DMDSe were detected in samples 5 days and older. Sterilization of fresh litter prevented generation of methyl-arsines and -selenides, indicating the generation route was biological.

PRESENTATION	Statistical Methods for Environmental Applications Using Data Sets With Below Detection Limit Observations as Incorported in Proucl 4.0	06/14/2007

SINGH, A. AND J. M. NOCERINO. Statistical Methods for Environmental Applications Using Data Sets With Below Detection Limit Observations as Incorported in Proucl 4.0. Presented at 26th Annual EPA Quality Assurance Conference, Cincinnati, OH, June 11 - 14, 2007.
Abstract:	Nondetect (ND) or below detection limit (BDL) results cannot be measured accurately, and, therefore, are reported as less than certain detection limit (DL) values. However, since the presence of some contaminants (e.g., dioxin) in environmental media may pose a threat to human health and the environment, even at trace levels, the NDs cannot be ignored or deleted from subsequent statistical analyses. Using data sets with NDs and multiple DLs, practitioners need to compute reliable estimates of the population mean, standard deviation, and various upper limits, including the upper confidence limit (UCL) of the population mean, the upper prediction limit (UPL), and the upper tolerance limit (UTL). Exposure assessment, risk management, and cleanup decisions at potentially impacted sites are often made based upon the mean concentrations and the UCLs of the means of the contaminants of potential concern (COPCs), whereas background evaluations and comparisons require the computations of UPLs and UTLs to estimate background threshold values (BTVs) and other not-to-exceed values. The 95% UCLs are used to estimate the exposure point concentration (EPC) terms or to verify the attainment of cleanup levels; and upper percentiles, UPLs, and UTLs are used for screening of the COPCs, to identify polluted site areas of concern and hot spots, and also to compare site concentrations with those of the background. Even though methods exist in the literature to estimate the population mean and the standard deviation for data sets with NDs, no specific guidance with a theoretical justification is available on how to compute appropriate UCLs, UPLs, and other limits based upon data sets with NDs and multiple DLs. The main objective of this paper is to present defensible statistical methods that can be used to compute appropriate estimates of environmental parameters, EPC terms, BTVs, and other not-to-exceed values based upon data sets with NDs. This paper describes both parametric and nonparametric methods to compute UCLs, UPLs, and UTLs based upon data sets with NDs having multiple DLs. Some of the methods considered include: the maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) method, the regression on order statistics (ROS) methods, and the Kaplan-Meier (KM) method. Based upon our findings, it is recommended to avoid the use of ad hoc UCL methods based upon Student's t-statistic on ML estimates. It is also suggested to avoid the use of the DL/2 method on data sets even with low (<5%-10%) censoring intensities. It is shown that, just like for uncensored data sets, for highly skewed data sets with NDs, one should use the Chebyshev inequality based UCLs (e.g. using KM estimates) to provide an adequate coverage for the population mean. Several of these methods have been incorporated into the ProUCL 4.0 software package. ProUCL 4.0 makes some recommendations based upon the results and findings of Singh, Maichle, and Lee (EPA 2006). Some examples to elaborate on the issues of distortion of the various statistics and upper limits by outliers and by the use of a lognormal model to accommodate those outliers will be discussed using ProUCL 4.0.

PRESENTATION	The San Pedro River: A Case Study for Examining Past Landscape Change and Forecasting Hydrological and Biological Response to Urban Growth and Land Use Change	03/23/2007

KEPNER, W. G., K. BOYKIN, D. J. SEMMENS, D. GOODRICH, C. WATTS, AND P. GUERTIN. The San Pedro River: A Case Study for Examining Past Landscape Change and Forecasting Hydrological and Biological Response to Urban Growth and Land Use Change. Presented at USGS US-Mexico Borderland Workshop, Tucson, AZ, March 20 - 23, 2007.
Abstract:	It is currently possible to measure landscape change over large areas and determine trends in environmental condition using advanced space-based technologies accompanied by geospatial data. During the past two decades, important advances in the integration of remote imagery, computer processing, and spatial analysis technologies have been used to develop landscape information that can be integrated within hydrologic and habitat models to determine long-term change and make predictive inferences about the future. These technologies provide the basis for developing landscape composition and pattern indicators as sensitive measures of large-scale environmental change and thus may provide an effective and economical method for evaluating watershed condition related to disturbance from human and natural stresses. This case study employs a system of land cover maps generated from a multi-date satellite imagery database which incorporates Landsat Multi-Spectral Scanner (MSS) imagery from the early 1970s, mid 1980s, and early 1990s and Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery from 1997 to examine change over approximately a 25-year period. Future environments were examined relative to their impact on wildlife habitat and surface water conditions, e.g. sediment yield and surface runoff. Both habitat and hydrological outputs were estimated for a baseline year (2000) and predicted twenty years in the future using hydrological and habitat process models and spatially oriented land use models based on stakeholder preferences and historical growth.

PRESENTATION	Great Lakes Basin Land-Cover Data: Issues and Opportunities	11/01/2007

IIAMES, J. S. AND R. S. LUNETTA. Great Lakes Basin Land-Cover Data: Issues and Opportunities. Presented at ASPRS Fall Conference, Ottawa, ON, CANADA, October 28 - November 01, 2007.
Abstract:	The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is developing a consistent land-cover (LC) data set for the entire 480,000 km2 Great Lakes Basin (GLB). The acquisition of consistent LC data has proven difficult both within the US and across GLB political boundaries due to disparate mapping efforts to date (i.e., regional, national, and global) as well as multi-year data gaps. To address these issues, the EPA will use NASA's 16-day composite normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) 250-m data product (MOD13) developed using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The NDVI data will be preprocessed to eliminate low quality data and missing data will be estimated using a Fourier transformation to provide high quality temporal profile data. Temporal profiles will be processed for 19 separate ecoregions across the GLB (US= 12 and Canada=7) using a phenology-based analytical approach. This paper examines multiple LC products including the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Global 1-km IGBP, the National Land Cover Dataset 2001 (NLCD 2001), the Coastal Change Analysis Program 2000 (CCAP 2000), and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources LC data set. An initial issue was the development of an appropriate agriculture mask for the GLB. Within one Omernik ecoregion in southern Michigan and Northern Indiana, 25 counties were analyzed for agricultural area only (includes orchards) using both the NLCD 2001 and the CCAP 2000 data compared to an assumed ground validation dataset provided by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) 5-year census. A county-by-county assessment indicated a consistent overestimation bias of agriculture by both the NLCD 2001 and CCAP 2000 products. The NLCD 2001 product had the best correlation compared to the USDA county level statistics data. The percentage of agricultural land across all 25 counties yielded the following: USDA NASS (24.7%), NLCD 2001 (31.7%), and CCAP 2000 (44.2%).

PRESENTATION	Habitat Distribution Models for 37 Vertebrate Species Addressed By the Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan of Clark County, Nevada	09/13/2007

BOYKIN, K., D. F. BRADFORD, AND W. G. KEPNER. Habitat Distribution Models for 37 Vertebrate Species Addressed By the Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan of Clark County, Nevada. Presented at National Gap Analysis Conference 2007, Asheville, NC, September 10 - 13, 2007.
Abstract:	Thirty-seven species identified in the Clark County Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan were previously modeled through the Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project. Existing SWReGAP habitat models and modeling databases were used to facilitate the revision of models. Models were first reduced to focus areas of the Mojave Desert and Clark County, Nevada, and then a gap analysis was conducted using the SWReGAP stewardship data to provide tables of representation for the existing models by intersecting the datasets in a geographical information system (GIS). Tables of representation included percent and area of predicted habitat within each conservation category. Collaborating with Clark County personnel, these models were refined for specific application within the two focal areas. Models were revised based on additional research and included finer scale datasets that were not available at a regional scale for SWReGAP (e.g. SSURGO). For four focal species, location records were collected and filtered according to identified criteria for desert iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis), common chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater), phainopepla (Phainopepla nitens), and desert kangaroo rat (Dipsosaurus deserti). Location data were used in Maximum Entropy modeling to identify habitat associations based on an inductive modeling framework. Models for all 37 species were revised as necessary and reanalyzed by intersection of SWReGAP Stewardship datasets to complete a gap analysis and provide tables of representation of predicted habitat by percent and area within each conservation category. A sensitivity analysis was conducted using standard methodology and narrative written to explain the dominant factors in habitat modeling. Deliverables were focused on specific application to the Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan for Clark County, Nevada. Datasets were provided in ERDAS Imagine format at two scales (240 meter and 30 meter) with corresponding maps of habitat for each species provided in pdf format.

PRESENTATION	Assessing the Security of Ecological Populations With Regards to Toxic Air Pollutants and Habitat Threats Across the Southeastern United States.	05/27/2007

SMITH, E. R., M. H. MEHAFFEY, R. TANKERSLEY, L. MILLER, P. WAGNER, AND A. REA. Assessing the Security of Ecological Populations With Regards to Toxic Air Pollutants and Habitat Threats Across the Southeastern United States. Presented at EcoSummit 2007, Beijing, CHINA, May 22 - 27, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Southwest Regional Gap Land Cover	03/23/2007

LOWRY, J., W. G. KEPNER, K. BOYKIN, K. THOMAS, D. SCHRUPP, AND P. COMER. Southwest Regional Gap Land Cover. Presented at USGS US Mexico Borderland Workshop, Tucson, AZ, March 20 - 23, 2007.
Abstract:	The Gap Analysis Program is a national inter-agency program that maps the distribution of plant communities and selected animal species and compares these distributions with land stewardship to identify gaps in biodiversity protection. GAP uses remote satellite imagery (Landsat 7) and Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to assemble and view large amounts of biological and land management data to identify areas where conservation efforts may not be sufficient to maintain diversity of living natural resources. Historically, GAP has been conducted by individual states. However, this has resulted in inconsistencies in mapped distributions of vegetation types and animal habitat across state lines because of differences in mapping and modeling protocols. This was further compounded from the lack of a national vegetation classification nomenclature. In response to these limitations, GAP embarked on a second-generation effort to conduct the program at a regional scale using 1) a vegetation classification scheme applicable across the U.S.; 2) ecoregional units as the basis for segmenting the landscape into manageable units; and 3) inter-agency investigator teams with land-cover analysis and environmental protection expertise. The program's first formalized multi-state effort includes five Southwestern states (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah), which comprise 535,175 square miles or nearly one-fifth of the conterminous United States.

PRESENTATION	Pccps in the Environment: An Overview of the Science	04/18/2007

DAUGHTON, C. G. Pccps in the Environment: An Overview of the Science. Presented at American Water Works Association, CA/NV Section, Spring 2007 Conference, Las Vegas, NV, April 18, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Integration of Statistics, Remote Sensing and Existing Data to Locate Changes in Land Resources	06/14/2007

NASH, M. S., D. J. CHALOUD, S. SARRI, AND W. G. KEPNER. Integration of Statistics, Remote Sensing and Existing Data to Locate Changes in Land Resources. Presented at 2007 EPA Conference on Quality Systems, Cleveland, OH, June 11 - 14, 2007.
Abstract:	Stability of a nation is dependent on the availability of natural resources. When land is degraded and natural resources become limited, socioeconomic status declines and emigration increases in developing countries. Natural resource utilization without proper management may result in irreversible land degradation. Early detection of resource depletion may enable protective actions to be taken prior to significant decline in resources and associated socioeconomic conditions. We have developed a simple method based on readily available data to locate areas of concern. Our method integrates results from statistical analyses of inexpensive remote sensing data (e.g., Normalized Difference Vegetative Index) data. Results are mapped using ARCView. Ancillary information is used to verify results and to assist in identification of probable causes of significant positive and negative change. These results can be used by authorities in developing management plans to preserve or conserve natural resources and maintain or improve the socioeconomic status of the resident population.

PRESENTATION	Validation of Standard Analytical Protocol for Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds	08/24/2007

SCHUMACHER, B. A. AND J. H. ZIMMERMAN. Validation of Standard Analytical Protocol for Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds. Presented at National Environmental Monitoring Conference, Cambridge, MA, August 20 - 24, 2007.
Abstract:	There is a growing concern with the potential for terrorist use of chemical weapons to cause civilian harm. In the event of an actual or suspected outdoor release of chemically hazardous material in a large area, the extent of contamination must be determined. This requires a system with the ability to prepare and quickly analyze a large number of contaminated samples for the traditional chemical agents, as well as numerous toxic industrial chemicals. Liquid samples (both aqueous and organic), solid samples (e.g., soil), vapor samples (e.g., air) and mixed state samples, all ranging from household items to deceased animals, may require some level of analyses. To meet this challenge, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) National Homeland Security Research Center, in collaboration with experts from across U.S. EPA and other Federal Agencies, initiated an effort to identify analytical methods for the chemical and biological agents that could be used to respond to a terrorist attack or a homeland security incident. U.S. EPA began development of standard analytical protocols (SAPs) for laboratory identification and measurement of target agents in case of a contamination threat. These methods will be used to help assist in the identification of existing contamination, the effectiveness of decontamination, as well as clearance for the affected population to reoccupy previously contaminated areas. One of the first SAPs developed was for the determination and measurement of the semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs). The SAP was based on U.S. EPA SW-846 Methods 3520C, 3535A, 3540C/3541, 3545A, and 3580A for the sample preparation and Method 8270D for analysis. The matrices of concern for these methods include soil/sediment, wipes, and drinking water samples. To address the potential for contamination via air, the air toxic method Task Order 13-A (TO) was selected.

PRESENTATION	Remote Sensing of Fugitive Arsenic	04/11/2007

SLONECKER, E. Remote Sensing of Fugitive Arsenic. Presented at USGS Land Remote Sensing Open House, Reston, VA, April 10 - 11, 2007.
Abstract:	The intentional or accidental release of hazardous substances into the environment is an inevitable consequence of anthropogenic activity. Industrial, commercial, mining, military and even domestic activities can result in the release of substances into the air, land and water that are harmful to environmental quality and human health. The discovery, detection and remediation of many hazardous waste problems consists of a variety of monitoring and analysis strategies that are time-consuming and expensive, such as laboratory chemical analysis. One of the technologies that has an established and growing potential to provide a non-contact and costeffective alternative to traditional sampling methods is remote sensing. A special class of hazardous waste problems are those that are related to current or former military activity. These include not only active military facilities but also at properties that were formerly owned by, leased to or otherwise utilized by the U. S. and under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Defense. Such properties are known as Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS). One of the costliest and most politically charged cleanup of a FUDS is currently taking place in northwest Washington D.C. at the American University and the surrounding neighborhood, known as Spring Valley. The Spring Valley cleanup involves the detection and removal of inorganic arsenic and three different remote sensing technologies were evaluated in support of the remediation of fugitive arsenic and other hazardous waste-related risks to human and ecological health. The first involved the analysis of information derived from historical aerial photography. The second used laboratory reflectance spectroscopy to evaluate arsenic uptake in Pteris ferns and the third utilized hyperspectral imagery to map fugitive arsenic distribution through the analysis of vegetation stress. The information provided by these various remote sensing technologies represents a non-contact and potentially important alternative to the information needs of the hazardous waste remediation process, and is an important area for future environmental research.

PRESENTATION	Collaborative, Multi-Time Period Lidar Collection and Analysis for Residential Development Impact Assessment and Monitoring	04/11/2007

JARNAGIN, S. Collaborative, Multi-Time Period Lidar Collection and Analysis for Residential Development Impact Assessment and Monitoring. Presented at USGS Land Remote Sensing Program Third Annual Science Fair, Reston, VI, April 10 - 11, 2007.
Abstract:	The U.S. EPA Environmental Photographic Interpretation Center (EPIC) in Reston, Virginia is currently conducting collaborative landscape/stream ecology research in the Clarksburg Special Protection Area (CSPA) in Montgomery County, Maryland. The CSPA is an area of rapid development that we expect will be built out within the next five to ten years. The objective of the EPIC research is to correlate the impacts of ongoing development and the mitigating effect of local BMPs on the hydrological, biological, and chemical parameters of the CSPA water resources using a Before-After, Control-Impact (BACI) study design. The project is focused on determining the effectiveness of BMP mitigation on streamflow disturbance, channel erosion and stream sedimentation due to impervious surfaces, sub-surface storm sewers and altered landform due to urbanization. High-resolution topographic analysis is an integral part of this ongoing research in the CSPA. To date, we have obtained four Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) overflights of the study area that greatly increase the spatial resolution of the topographical analyses possible in the CSPA. LiDAR data will be used in several ways: 1) assessment of stream channel change related to landscape and landform change in developing areas; 2) accuracy assessment of LiDAR itself under varying vegetation conditions; 3) comparison of LiDAR-derived catchment delineations at varying spatial resolutions; 4) comparison of LiDAR-derived maps of development to conventional mapping using aerial imagery; and 5) the use of LiDAR-derived catchments with the anthropogenic sewersheds created in the development and BMP mitigation process. This research is a collaborative effort where local stakeholders are involved setting research goals and Federal agencies are involved offering expertise and capabilities not available at the local level. Partners in this research are the EPA Environmental Photographic Interpretation Center (EPIC), Reston, Virginia; EPA Ecosystems Research Division in Athens, Georgia; Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Rockville, Maryland; USGS Water Resources Discipline (WRD), Baltimore, Maryland and Eastern Geographic Science Center (EGSC), Reston, Virginia; and the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and the Behavior, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics (BEES) Program.

PRESENTATION	Ppcps in the Environment: An Overview of the Science	05/22/2007

DAUGHTON, C. G. Ppcps in the Environment: An Overview of the Science. Presented at Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products Symposium, Sacramento, CA, May 22, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Automated Geospatical Watershed Assessment (Agwa): A GIS-Based Hydroloical Modeling Tool for Watershed Assessment and Analysis	03/23/2007

GUERTIN, P., D. GOODRICH, W. G. KEPNER, D. J. SEMMENS, M. HERNANDEZ, S. BURNS, A. CATE, L. LEVICK, AND S. MILLER. Automated Geospatical Watershed Assessment (Agwa): A GIS-Based Hydroloical Modeling Tool for Watershed Assessment and Analysis. Presented at USGS US-Mexico Borderland Workshop, Tucson, AZ, March 20 - 23, 2007.
Abstract:	The Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment tool (AGWA) is a GIS interface jointly developed by the USDA Agricultural Research Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the University of Arizona, and the University of Wyoming to automate the parameterization and execution of the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and KINEmatic Runoff and EROSion (KINEROS2) hydrologic models. The application of these two models allows AGWA to conduct hydrologic modeling and watershed assessments at multiple temporal and spatial scales. AGWA's current outputs are runoff (volumes and peaks) and sediment yield. AGWA uses commonly available GIS data layers to fully parameterize, execute, and visualize results from both the SWAT and KINEROS2. Through an intuitive interface the user selects an outlet from which AGWA delineates and discretizes the watershed using a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) based on the individual model requirements. The watershed model elements are then intersected with soils and land cover data layers to derive the requisite model input parameters. AGWA can currently use STATSGO, SURRGO and FAO soils and national available NLCD, MRLC and GAP land cover/use data. Users are also provided the capability to use their own soil and land cover/use data (Miller et al. 2007). The chosen model is then executed, and the results are imported back into AGWA for visualization. This allows managers to identify potential problem areas where additional monitoring can be undertaken or mitigation activities can be focused. AGWA can difference results from multiple simulations to examine relative change from alternative of input scenarios (e.g. climate/storm change, land cover change, present conditions and alternative futures). The AGWA tool is being converted into an Internet-based service to provide ready access to environmental decision-makers, resource managers, researchers, and user groups (Cate et al. 2006). In addition, a variety of new capabilities are being incorporated into AGWA (Goodrich et al. 2005; Goodrich et al. 2006). They include handling FAO soils for international application; pre- and post-fire watershed assessment options for user defined land cover change; implementation of stream buffer zones; simulation of nitrogen and phosphorus movement; and installation of retention and detention structures. AGWA is currently being used for watershed assessment and to support watershed planning. Applications include watershed-based planning for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality; assessing the impact of energy development in Wyoming; assessing the impacts of landscape change in New York, Arizona, Oregon and Virginia (Miller et al. 2004); and analysis for alternative futures in the San Pedro River, Arizona (Kepner et al. 2004). For more information on AGWA visit the AGWA website located at: http://www.tucson.ars.ag.gov/agwa/.

PRESENTATION	Examining Past Landscape Change and Forecasting Hydrological and Biological Response to Land Use Change	03/28/2007

KEPNER, W. G. Examining Past Landscape Change and Forecasting Hydrological and Biological Response to Land Use Change. Presented at UNESCO Workshop on "Methods of Detection and Analysis of change and Feedback in the Earth Sciences", Tucson, AZ, March 26 - 28, 2007.
Abstract:	It is currently possible to measure landscape change over large areas and determine trends in environmental condition using advanced space-based technologies accompanied by geospatial data. There are numerous earth-observing satellite platforms for mapping and monitoring land cover and land-cover change, however the traditional workhorses have been the Landsat Multi-Spectral Scanner (MSS) and Thematic Mapper (TM) sensors. Landsat has had a long history of commercial availability (first launch July 1972), a well developed global archive, and has been widely used for land-cover change detection and monitoring. During the past two decades, important advances in the integration of remote imagery, computer processing, and spatial analysis technologies have been used to develop landscape information that can be integrated within hydrologic and habitat models to determine long-term change and make predictive inferences about the future. These technologies provide the basis for developing landscape composition and pattern indicators as sensitive measures of large-scale environmental change and thus provide an effective and economical method for evaluating watershed condition related to disturbance from human and natural stresses. The San Pedro River provides an excellent case study for using remote sensing as a method of detection and analysis of change. This project employed a system of land cover maps generated from a multi-date satellite imagery database which incorporates Landsat MSS imagery from the early 1970s, mid 1980s, and early 1990s and Landsat TM imagery from 1997 to examine change over approximately a 25-year period. Future environments were examined relative to their impact on wildlife habitat and surface water conditions, e.g. sediment yield and surface runoff, using hydrological and habitat process models. A base reference grid for land cover (year 2000) was modified to reflect stakeholder preferences twenty years into the future and the consequences of landscape change were evaluated relative to the selected future scenarios. The San Pedro provides an example of integrating modeling with advanced earth observing technology to produce information on trend and make plausible forecasts for the future in which to understand the impact of landscape change on environmental services.

PRESENTATION	Rapid Spatial Mapping of Chemicals Dispersed Across Surfaces Using An Autosampler/Dart/Tofms	06/07/2007

GRANGE, A. H. Rapid Spatial Mapping of Chemicals Dispersed Across Surfaces Using An Autosampler/Dart/Tofms. Presented at 55th American Society of Mass Spectrometry Conference on Mass Spectrometry, Indianapolis, IN, June 03 - 07, 2007.
Abstract:	Rapid identification and semi-quantitation of chemicals spatially dispersed and deposited on surfaces by accidental, deliberate, or weather-related events requires analysis of hundreds of samples, usually obtained by sampling with wipes. Hand-held devices used on-site such as ion mobility spectrometers can rule out a list of toxic compounds, but provide low selectivity and cannot identify unanticipated analytes. Recently developed ambient-air sampling ion sources such as Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART) and Desorption Electrospray Ionization (DESI) eliminate the need for sample extraction, clean-up, and chromatography. Compounds on surfaces are ionized in ambient air and the ions are mass analyzed. A DART/TOFMS provides exact masses sufficiently accurate to provide ion compositions for low mass ions and neutral losses from full scan data.

PRESENTATION	Etv/Este Radio Frequency Identification Project	05/09/2007

VARNER, K. E., D. KOPSICK, AND J. BEARDEN. Etv/Este Radio Frequency Identification Project. Presented at ETV/SBIR outreach Workshop Team Meeting, Dallas, TX, May 08 - 09, 2007.
Abstract:	The final product for book chapter is not available for this material. If further information is needed, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under the Contract Field.

PRESENTATION	The Effects of Light and Nutrients on An Invasive Buddleja Davidii and a Native Griselinia Littoralis	08/05/2007

TALLENT-HALSELL, N. G. AND L. WALKER. The Effects of Light and Nutrients on An Invasive Buddleja Davidii and a Native Griselinia Littoralis. Presented at Ecological Society of American/Society of Ecological Restoration Joint Meeting, San Jose, CO, August 05, 2007.
Abstract:	Buddleja davidii (Family: Buddlejaceae), an aggressive, highly invasive, ornamental shrub of Asian origin, may be suppressing slower-growing native species (e.g., Griselinia littoralis; Family: Griseliniaceae) on New Zealand floodplains, thus altering successional trajectories. This study sought to learn what effect Buddleja might have on a midsuccessional species when different treatments of light and nutrients were applied. Buddleja and Griselinia shoot relative growth rate and foliar N and P were significantly greater when grown in the 27% light-level than in the 90 and 10% light levels. In contrast, both species have reduced growth (Buddleja 97 and Griselinia 99 % less shoot relative growth rate) and higher mortality in 10% light than those grown in the 27 and 90% light levels. These results suggest that both species are better suited for growth in a mid-successional stand than at newly disturbed sites or under late-succession forest canopy. Buddleja growth and foliar N and P were significantly less when grown with another plant of equal or greater biomass regardless of species, while Griselinia growth was adversely affected by the presence of Buddleja. These results suggest that competition will suppress Buddleja growth. However, further investigation is needed to determine the response of Buddleja to another like-sized species under field conditions.

PRESENTATION	National Land Cover Dataset 2001	05/18/2007

WICKHAM, J. D. National Land Cover Dataset 2001. Presented at EPA Regional Workshop, Boston, MA, May 14 - 18, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. James Wickham will only be attending the meeting to give an update on the dataset.

PRESENTATION	Exposure of Riparian Ecosystems to Non-Indigenous Plant Species: A Conceptual Risk Assessment Model	10/14/2007

TALLENT-HALSELL, N. G. Exposure of Riparian Ecosystems to Non-Indigenous Plant Species: A Conceptual Risk Assessment Model. Presented at International Society for Exposure Analysis Conference, Durham, NC, October 14, 2007.
Abstract:	Biological invasions are one of the foremost threats to the integrity of riparian ecosystems worldwide, but little is known regarding the long-term invasion dynamics of non-indigenous plant species (NIPS) along rivers. Riparian ecosystems are of great importance because they maintain the physical and biochemical integrity of the landwater interface within watersheds. Indigenous plants that occur along rivers provide channel stabilization, buffer nutrient and contaminant inputs, and provide unique shelter, forage, and breeding habitat for wildlife including birds, mammals and fish. The indigenous plant species of riparian ecosystems have evolved under conditions specific to transverse and longitudinal extent of the river thus are generally tolerant of the typical and extreme conditions (i.e., drought, flooding, temperature, pests and diseases) inherent to the watershed. Natural- and human-caused disturbance such as dams, channel alterations, and urbanization alter energy and material flow into riverine ecosystems exposing the riparian corridor to NIPS. However, biotic invasion is possible only when a vulnerable habitat meets with a species whose traits allow establishment, growth, and spread. We propose using the risk assessment framework to assess the risk of NIPS on riparian ecosystems. We will present our conceptual Risk Assessment Model to assess the exposure of riparian ecosystems to non-indigenous plant species and invite discussion of this topic from the Exposure Sciences community. Our conceptual model uses a site and species specific case study (i.e., working with the Jamestown - S'Klallam tribe in the Dungeness River watershed in northwestern Washington) for problem formation, analyses, risk characterization and risk management. This process has revealed information gaps, exposure research needs such as how to characterize the vulnerability of riparian habitats to NIPS through mapping and identifying specific invasive species hazards. In addition we present an assessment of the potential costs to native species and ecosystem components and processes critical to the risk assessment process.

PRESENTATION	Modeling Land Use Change With GIS	05/09/2007

WADE, T. Modeling Land Use Change With GIS. Presented at ORD's ERP and Proposed Biofuels Study Workshop, Chicago, IL, May 09, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Regional Assessment of Landscape and Demographic Change Effects in the Mediterranean Region, the Morocco Case Study (1981 2003)	06/08/2007

NASH, M. S., D. J. CHALOUD, S. SARRI, AND W. G. KEPNER. Regional Assessment of Landscape and Demographic Change Effects in the Mediterranean Region, the Morocco Case Study (1981 2003). Presented at NATO Advanced Research Workshop, Newport, RI, June 04 - 08, 2007.
Abstract:	The effect of changes in landscape factors on socioeconomics was analyzed locally and regionally. The method presented here allows mapping changes in vegetation cover trends over large areas quickly and inexpensively, thus providing policy-makers with a technical capacity to locate and assess areas of environmental instability and improve their ability to positively respond or adapt to environmental change. In this specific example, changes in vegetation cover were assessed over a 23-year period (1981-2003) using 8 km Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data derived from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) from decadal composites for Morocco. A regression model of NDVI, over time, was developed to identify long-term trends in vegetation cover for each pixel in the study area as a case study for the lower Mediterranean Region (North Africa). Results were mapped using ArcView for visualization and assessments. Patches of decreasing or increasing vegetation cover were identified and analyzed; analysis was performed using ancillary data and published work. A decreasing trend in vegetation cover is an indicator of some type of stress, either natural (drought, fire) or anthropogenic (excessive grazing, urban growth) that relates to the life-support function of the environment upon which humans depend. The results can be used by authorities in developing management plans to preserve or conserve natural resources and maintain or improve the socioeconomic status of the resident population. Although Morocco was used solely as the case study for this presentation, the described approach has broad application throughout the world and thus offers a possible solution for combating changing conditions that affect human security.

PRESENTATION	Complementary Approaches to the Determination of Arsenic Species Relevant to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations	08/20/2007

HEITHMAR, E. M., G. MOMPLAISIR, AND C. G. ROSAL. Complementary Approaches to the Determination of Arsenic Species Relevant to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. Presented at National Environmental Monitoring Conference, Cambridge, MA, August 20, 2007.
Abstract:	Ion-exchange chromatography is the most often used analytical approach for arsenic speciation, due to the weak-acid nature of several of its species. However, no single technique can determine all potentially occurring arsenic species, especially in complex environmental matrices. Solid and liquid waste streams from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are particularly challenging, due to the likely presence of certain phenylarsonic acid derivatives and their transformation products. This laboratory has employed inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with both reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis to determine several arsenic species relevant to CAFOs. We have focused on roxarsone (4-hydroxy- 3-nitrophenylarsonic acid) and its potential transformation products, including phenylarsonic acid derivatives, as well as arsenate, arsenite, and pentavalent dimethyl and monomethyl arsenic acids. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry with on-line vacuum distillation has been applied to determine volatile arsenic species. We will present a brief discussion of the issue of organoarsenicals in CAFO waste, a description of the three analytical approaches, some example results from waste extracts, and finally a discussion of the strengths and limitations of the approaches.

PRESENTATION	Mercury Measurements Using Direct-Analyzer Methodology	07/23/2007

HINNERS, T. A. Mercury Measurements Using Direct-Analyzer Methodology. Presented at National Forum on Contaminants in Fish, Portland, MA, July 23, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Mercury Measurements Using Direct-Analyzer Methodology	07/23/2007

HINNERS, T. A. Mercury Measurements Using Direct-Analyzer Methodology. Presented at National Forum on Contaminants in Fish, Portland, MA, July 23, 2007.
Abstract:	Under EPA's Water Quality Research Program, exposure studies are needed to determine how well control strategies and guidance are working. Consequently, reliable and convenient techniques that minimize waste production are of special interest. While traditional methods for determining mercury in solid samples involve the use of aggressive chemicals to dissolve the matrix and the use of other chemicals to properly reduce the mercury to the volatile elemental form, pyrolysis-based analyzers can be used by directly weighing the solid in a sampling boat and initiating the instrumental analysis for total mercury.

PRESENTATION	Levels of Synthetic Musk Compounds in Municipal Wastewater for Estimating Biota Exposure in Receiving Water	11/15/2007

OSEMWENGIE, L. I. Levels of Synthetic Musk Compounds in Municipal Wastewater for Estimating Biota Exposure in Receiving Water. Presented at SETAC North America 28th Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, WI, November 11 - 15, 2007.
Abstract:	To test the ruggedness of a newly developed analytical method for synthetic musks, a 1-year monthly monitoring of synthetic musks in water and biota was conducted for Lake Mead (near Las Vegas, Nevada) as well as for combined sewage-dedicated effluent streams feeding Lake Mead. Data obtained from analyses of combined effluent streams from three municipal sewage treatment plants, from the effluent-receiving lake water, and from whole carp (Cyprinus carpio) tissue, indicated bioconcentration of synthetic musks in carp (1400-4500 pg/g). That same data were evaluated for the prediction of levels of synthetic musk compounds in fish, using values from the source (sewage treatment plant effluent [STP]). This study confirmed the presence of polycyclic and nitro musks in STP effluent, Lake Mead water, and carp. The concentrations of the polycyclic and nitro musks found in Lake Mead carp were considerably lower than previous studies in Germany, other European countries, and Japan. The carp samples were found to have mostly the mono-amino-metabolites of the nitro musks and intact polycyclic musks, principally HHCB (Galaxolide®) and AHTN (Tonalide®). Finally, the determination of sufficiently high levels of Galaxolide® and 4-amino musk xylene in STP effluent may be used to infer the presence of trace levels of other classes of musk compounds in the lake water. To be presented is an overview of the chemistry, the monitoring methodology, and the statistical evaluation of concentrations obtained from the analysis of a suite of these compounds (e.g., Galaxolide®, musk xylene, and amino musk xylene) in an aquatic ecological site.

PRESENTATION	Modis Land Cover (Mod12q1) Analysis: A Comparison to the Nlcd 2001 Dataset	06/05/2007

IIAMES, J. S. Modis Land Cover (Mod12q1) Analysis: A Comparison to the Nlcd 2001 Dataset. Presented at Atmospheric Modeling Division Briefing, Research Triangle Park, NC, June 05, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Use of Mopitt Carbon Monoxide to Assess Reallocation of Wildfire Emissions in Cmaq	06/08/2007

SZYKMAN, J., B. ROY, K. CHIEKO, T. PIERCE, B. PIERCE, G. POULIOT, AND J. GODOWITCH. Use of Mopitt Carbon Monoxide to Assess Reallocation of Wildfire Emissions in Cmaq. Presented at 2007 EastFIRE Conference, Fairfax, VA, June 05 - 08, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Medication Disposal as a Source for Drugs as Environmental Contaminants	06/18/2007

RUHOY, I. Medication Disposal as a Source for Drugs as Environmental Contaminants. Presented at Invited presentation at the Office of Water (HQ), Washington, DC, June 18, 2007.
Abstract:	The major routes by which pharmaceuticals enter the environment are excretion, bathing, and disposal of leftover, unwanted medications. Pharmaceuticals designed for humans and animals often remain unused. Leftover, accumulated drugs represent potentially environmentally unsound disposal and suboptimal delivery of health care. They also can pose acute exposure risks for humans and wildlife. Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) directly enter the environment primarily via sewage. Among the three routes of entry, the relative contributions of each are poorly understood. In contrast to excretion, which as a source comprises continual lowlevel contributions from multitudes of people, drug disposal comprises acute but transient and episodic contributions from fewer people. The only route that is subject most easily to pollution prevention or source control measures is disposal. A major unknown with respect to drugs as pollutants is what fractions of drug residues occurring in the ambient environment result from discarding leftover drugs. No studies exist that provide objective data from well-defined populations to support any type of conclusion. Given the importance of environmental stewardship to sustainability, a means for assessing the relative contributions of APIs resulting from disposal would be useful in justifying the resources that might be devoted to controlling this source - - for example, by way of consumer "take-back" programs. To gauge the significance of leftover drugs as potential pollutants, data are needed on the types, quantities, and frequencies with which drugs accumulate as household waste. Absence of this data prevents assessments of the significance of drug accumulation and disposal as a contributing source of drug residues in the environment. The presentation will comprise two parts - - an overview of the drug disposal issue and a new approach that allows for the first time a way to mine extensive data from one previously unrecognized source of pharmaceutical disposal. This source can be extrapolated to the population at large for a particular locale. The approach could allow for nationwide collection of data useful for estimating the magnitude and extent of consumer drug disposal as a source of environmental pollution. In addition to use in justifying and designing source control and pollution prevention efforts, the data could also have collateral outcomes, including assisting: (i) environmental scientists to better target APIs for monitoring purposes, (ii) assessment of risk to human health from chronic and/or acute exposures (e.g., imprudent consumption of leftover drugs), (iii) health care practitioners to address inefficient prescribing practices and patient non-compliance, and (iv) policymakers (including those in the insurance industry) to begin to understand and confront the growing issue of wasted and discarded medications.

PRESENTATION	Medication Disposal as a Source for Drugs as Environmental Contaminants	06/18/2007

RUHOY, I. Medication Disposal as a Source for Drugs as Environmental Contaminants. Presented at Invited Presentation at the Office of Water in DC, Washington, DC, June 18, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Presentation for the Ppcps in the Environment: An Overview of the Science	06/27/2007

DAUGHTON, C. G. Presentation for the Ppcps in the Environment: An Overview of the Science. Presented at 2007 American Water Resources Association Summer Speciality Conference on Emerging Contaminants in the Environment, Vail, CO, June 25 - 27, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	User-Customized Environmental Mapping and Decision Support Using Nasa World Wind and Doe Genie Pro Software	09/27/2007

PILANT, A. N., L. D. WORTHY, D. J. WILLIAMS, AND J. G. LYON. User-Customized Environmental Mapping and Decision Support Using Nasa World Wind and Doe Genie Pro Software. Presented at Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) Conference, Victoria, BC, CANADA, September 24 - 27, 2007.
Abstract:	Effective environmental stewardship requires timely geospatial information about ecology and environment for informed environmental decision support. Unprecedented public access to high resolution imagery from earth-looking sensors via online virtual earth browsers opens new possibilities for public involvement in the pursuit of environmental monitoring and analyses. Remote sensing information products (e.g., land cover maps) derived from aerial and satellite imagery are crucial to understanding and monitoring the inherently complex landscapes and ecosystems we inhabit. Typically these are produced by trained specialists using sophisticated image processing methods and software tools. However, limitations of this approach include: challenges to incorporating expert on the ground knowledge of local conditions, time lag between image acquisition and interpreted maps, and suitability of generic land cover classifications with respect to users' particular analysis needs. Can we put imagery and easy-to-use image processing tools on the desktops of local experts and decision-makers so they can use their specific knowledge to generate customized remote sensing information products? Toward this end, the EPA Environmental Feature Finder project seeks to improve connectivity between existing data, software and cyber infrastructure, most of which is open source. NASA World Wind virtual earth is used for image discovery, access and visualization. Los Alamos National Laboratory's Genie Pro assists users in performing automated feature extraction. Together they help user's produce their own land cover and environmental feature maps. This presentation will describe the software, data, interoperability issues and example applications in environmental analysis (e.g., impervious surfaces, vegetation and water-body mapping).

PRESENTATION	Teacher Workship How to Use GIS in Your Classroom	07/11/2007

IIAMES, J. S. Teacher Workship How to Use GIS in Your Classroom. Presented at NERL Teacher Workshop, Research Triangle Park, NC, July 11, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Presentation on Ppcps in the Environment: An Overview of the Science	07/26/2007

DAUGHTON, C. G. Presentation on Ppcps in the Environment: An Overview of the Science. Presented at Lake Mead Water Quality Forum, Las Vegas, NV, July 26, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Emerging Contaminants: An Overview of on-Going Research	10/19/2007

ROSAL, C. G. Emerging Contaminants: An Overview of on-Going Research. Presented at 17th Annual Quality Assurance Conference, Dallas, TX, October 15 - 19, 2007.
Abstract:	This presentation covers an overview of research on emerging contaminants on-going at U.S. EPA's National Exposure Research Laboratory in Las Vegas. Due to the improvements and sophistication of recent analytical instruments, increasing numbers of chemicals are being detected in environmental media. These chemicals are often referred to as emerging contaminants. In reality, each of these contaminants has probably been in the environment since the time it was manufactured and used by society. They escaped detection because they were not on target list of pollutants to monitor or the instruments at the time were not sensitive enough to detect them (at concentrations of parts per billion and below). Among the emerging contaminants on which our laboratory focuses are pharmaceuticals (human and veterinary use) and personal care products (PPCPs) because of their widespread use. Presence of these materials in the environment poses potential exposure for a wide spectrum of organisms (especially aquatic life) as well as for humans (especially from drinking water supplies). Exposure assessment is the key to risk assessment and management. The following research projects are currently on-going: 1) Development of approaches to identify-categorize which emerging contaminants (or classes) present potential exposure risks for the environment or human health (e.g., macrolide antibiotics in biosolids, phototoxicity of sunscreen agents by computational chemistry), and 2) Development and application of analytical tools to determine exposure in various environmental compartments (water, sediments, fish tissue, aquatic plants) to human and veterinary-use pharmaceuticals and personal care products. Preliminary results will be presented for each of the studies.

PRESENTATION	Hydrologic Model Calibration and Uncertainty in Scenario Analysis	11/15/2007

SEMMENS, D. J. AND M. HERNANDEZ. Hydrologic Model Calibration and Uncertainty in Scenario Analysis. Presented at American Water Resources Association Annual Conference, Albuquerque, NM, November 12 - 15, 2007.
Abstract:	A systematic analysis of model performance during simulations based on observed land-cover/use change is used to quantify error associated with water-yield simulations for a series of known landscape conditions over a 24-year period with the goal of evaluating methodologies for forecasting future hydrologic response from baseline conditions (scenario assessment). Simulations were carried out using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) with parameter inputs derived from the Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) modeling interface. Calibrated and uncalibrated assessments of absolute and relative change in water yield over different lengths of time, and based on different precipitation inputs, are presented and compared to observed values. Results indicate that climatic uncertainty is the largest source of error in assessments of future landscape conditions, and for the study area natural climatic variability had a substantially greater impact on basin water yield than land-use change. Quantitative predictions of absolute water-yield change are only possible with a model calibrated to initial, baseline conditions and when future climatic conditions are precisely known. The use of statistically derived rainfall input intended to approximate the observed "future" conditions improved trend predictions, but failed to result in acceptable, quantitative predictions of water yield. For predictions of change in average annual water yield relative to baseline conditions, however, uncalibrated simulations performed equally well as the initially calibrated simulations in all cases. Analyses designed to forecast for comparison the hydrologic impacts associated with a range of different possible future land-cover/use scenarios can thus be reliably carried out when calibration is not possible.

PRESENTATION	Watershed Management and Arcgis: the Release of Agwa 2.0	11/15/2007

BURNS, S., S. SCOTT, A. CATE, D. GOODRICH, W. G. KEPNER, D. J. SEMMENS, M. HERNANDEZ, AND L. LEVICK. Watershed Management and Arcgis: the Release of Agwa 2.0. Presented at American Water Resource Association Annual Conference, Albuquerque, NM, November 12 - 15, 2007.
Abstract:	Focusing time, energy, and money where it can be best utilized is in the best interest of managers everywhere. By making tools more widely available that facilitate the identification of potential problem areas where additional monitoring can be undertaken or mitigation activities focused, we support watershed and natural resource managers, scientists, and stakeholders. Watershed assessments are an integral part of management for which hydrologic models are commonly utilized. The Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment tool (AGWA) is a GIS interface for data organization and parameterization, integration, and visualization of two physically-based hydrologic models, the Soil & Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and the Kinematic Runoff and Erosion (KINEROS2) model. Using commonly available GIS data layers for input and an intuitive interface, AGWA attempts to make the user experience as transparent as possible to appeal to audiences with or without a technical background. A digital elevation model (DEM) is used for watershed delineation and discretization, soils and land cover data layers are used for model element parameterization, and a variety of rainfall inputs are used to drive the models. The chosen model is then executed and the results are then imported in the GIS for visualization. AGWA can difference results from multiple simulations to examine relative change from alternative input scenarios (e.g. climate/storm change, land-cover change, present conditions and alternative futures). AGWA is now available as AGWA 1.5 for users with Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) ArcView 3.x and as AGWA 2.0, released Fall 2007, for users with ESRI ArcGIS 9.x. With the recent release of AGWA 2.0 for ArcGIS, AGWA now reaches an even wider audience. AGWA 2.0 also utilizes new features in ArcGIS 9.x that are not available in ArcView 3.x to make the tool more powerful, flexible, and easy to use than AGWA 1.5. The recent release of AGWA 2.0 will be presented.

PRESENTATION	Evaluation and Laboratory Validation of the Chemical Standard Analytical Protocol for Extractable Semivolatile Organic Compounds	08/24/2007

SCHUMACHER, B. A. AND J. H. ZIMMERMAN. Evaluation and Laboratory Validation of the Chemical Standard Analytical Protocol for Extractable Semivolatile Organic Compounds. Presented at National Environmental Monitoring Conference, Boston, MA, August 20 - 24, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Results from EPA Funded Research Programs on the Importance of Purge Volume, Sample Volume, Sample Flow Rate and Temporal Variations on Soil Gas Concentrations	09/28/2007

SCHUMACHER, B. A., B. HARTMAN, J. H. ZIMMERMAN, D. SPRINGER, J. ELLIOT, AND M. RIGBY. Results from EPA Funded Research Programs on the Importance of Purge Volume, Sample Volume, Sample Flow Rate and Temporal Variations on Soil Gas Concentrations. Presented at Air & Waste Management Association Conference, Vapor Intrusion: Learning from the Challenges, Providence, RI, September 26 - 28, 2007.
Abstract:	Two research studies funded and overseen by EPA have been conducted since October 2006 on soil gas sampling methods and variations in shallow soil gas concentrations with the purpose of improving our understanding of soil gas methods and data for vapor intrusion applications. All studies consisted of a team of researchers. The EPA studies were conducted at a site with chlorinated solvent contamination at Vandenberg Air Force Base (CA). The first study consisted of controlled experiments on soil gas collection methods including purge volume, sample volume, and sample flow rate. Sample flow rate was found to not have a significant effect on soil gas concentrations for flows ranging from 100 cc/min to 5000 cc/min. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between the measured trichloroethylene (TCE) concentrations and purge volume ranging from 1 to 20 dead-space (system) volumes. The effect of purge volume on the measured volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations was more pronounced than the effect of purge rate; however, this variability may not be significant in terms of site characterization. Measured VOC concentrations were observed to increase with increasing sample volume from 25 to 1,000 ml, but then drop off in the 6,000 ml samples. This observation is significant as the 6,000 ml sample size is commonly used to achieve very low detection levels with EPA method TO-15. The second study investigated the temporal variation in shallow soil gas concentrations. In this study, soil gas concentrations were measured continuously around the clock for a period of 6 weeks at twelve sampling points in an uncovered field ranging in depth from 3' below ground surface (bgs) to 17' bgs. The contamination source was TCE in groundwater. Over 11,000 analyses were collected by the automated continuous analyzer resulting in approximately 750 analyses per probe. Meteorological data were also collected. Observed TCE maximum and average concentration variations were less than 27% and 20%, respectively for all of the probes over the entire time period. Hence, meteorological variations had little effect on soil gas concentrations even as shallow as 3' bgs in a sandy soil with no surface covering.

PRESENTATION	Complementary Approaches to the Determinationof Arsenic Species Relevant to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations	08/22/2007

HEITHMAR, E. M., G. MOMPLAISIR, AND C. G. ROSAL. Complementary Approaches to the Determinationof Arsenic Species Relevant to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. Presented at National Environmental Monitoring Conference, Cambridge, MA, August 22, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (Agwa): A GIS-Based Hyrdologic Modeling Tool for Watershed Assessment and Analysis	11/15/2007

GUERTIN, P., D. GOODRICH, W. G. KEPNER, D. J. SEMMENS, M. HERNADEZ, S. BURNS, A. CATE, L. LEVICK, AND S. MILLER. Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (Agwa): A GIS-Based Hyrdologic Modeling Tool for Watershed Assessment and Analysis. Presented at American Water Resources Association, 2007 Annual Conference, Albuquerque, NM, November 12 - 15, 2007.
Abstract:	The Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment tool (AGWA) is a GIS interface jointly developed by the USDA Agricultural Research Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the University of Arizona, and the University of Wyoming to automate the parameterization and execution of the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and KINEmatic Runoff and EROSion (KINEROS2) hydrologic models. The application of these two models allows AGWA to conduct hydrologic modeling and watershed assessments at multiple temporal and spatial scales. AGWA's current outputs are runoff (volumes and peaks) and sediment yield, plus nitrogen and phosphorus with the SWAT model. AGWA uses commonly available GIS data layers to fully parameterize, execute, and visualize results from both SWAT and KINEROS2. Through an intuitive interface the user selects an outlet from which AGWA delineates and discretizes the watershed using a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) based on the individual model requirements. The watershed model elements are then intersected with soils and land cover data layers to derive the requisite model input parameters. AGWA can currently use STATSGO, SSURGO and FAO soils and nationally available NLCD land-cover/use data. Users are also provided the capability to utilize their own classified land-cover/use data. The chosen model is then executed, and the results are imported back into AGWA for visualization. This allows managers to identify potential problem areas where additional monitoring can be undertaken or mitigation activities can be focused. AGWA can difference results from multiple simulations to examine relative change from alternative input scenarios (e.g. climate/storm change, land-cover change, present conditions and alternative futures). In addition, a variety of new capabilities are being incorporated into AGWA including pre- and post-fire watershed assessment, options for user-defined land-cover and climate change, implementation of stream buffer zones, and installation of retention and detention structures. There are currently two versions of AGWA available; AGWA 1.5 for users with Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) ArcView 3.x and AGWA 2.0, released in Fall, 2007, for users with ESRI ArcGIS 9.x. For more information on AGWA visit the AGWA website located at: http://www.epa.gov/nerlesd1/land-sci/agwa/index.htm or htp://www.tucson.ars.ag.gov/agwa/.

PRESENTATION	Landscape Influences on Lake Chemistry and Ostracod Community Structure of Small Dimictic Lakes in Southern Wisconsin Dimictic Lakes	09/20/2007

ALLEN, P. Landscape Influences on Lake Chemistry and Ostracod Community Structure of Small Dimictic Lakes in Southern Wisconsin Dimictic Lakes. Presented at ERD Athens Laboratory Seminar Series, Athens, GA, September 20, 2007.
Abstract:	The natural land cover patterns that characterize the southern part of Wisconsin are legacies of a glaciated past. Land cover pattern and geomorphology control the hydrologic connections between water resources and the land by which ecosystems, including lakes are organized. Landscapes are the combined result of natural forces and human action. Anthropogenic disturbance changes land patterns and modifies natural landscape functions (e.g. the flow of nutrients); it induces chemical changes in lakes that directly and indirectly affect aquatic community structure and function and the ecological services that lakes provide. I collected water and sediment from 12 small dimictic lakes during the spring and late summer of 2002 and 2003. I analyzed samples for trace elements, productivity surrogates, and atrazine. Further, I assessed land cover patterns at local (catchment, riparian) and regional (watershed) spatial scales and used correlation analyses, regression analyses, and nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMS) ordination techniques to (1) evaluate sources of atrazine in the study lakes, (2) explore the relationships between water chemistry and landscape attributes different scales, and (3) test for associations between ostracods (benthic microcrustaceans) and water chemistry (including trace elements and productivity surrogates) together with land use to identify the important productivity measures and potential indicator species of lake and landscape condition and macrophyte occurrence. Atrazine was found in ecologically relevant concentrations in water (0.70 µg/L) and sediment (130 µg/L), which warrants further investigation. Landscape attributes associated with undesirable water quality attributes (e.g. nutrient enrichment, increased sedimentation) were correlated with agriculture, whereas desirable water quality (e.g. decreased dissolved solids, nutrients and sediment), was correlated with forests and wetlands. Total dissolved solids, lake depth, and chlorophyll a differentially explain most of the variability in both species richness and abundance of ostracods. Species richness and the number of ostracod feeding guilds were highest in lakes of intermediate depth due to an increase in habitat complexity. Additionally, invasive macrophyte species associated with human impacts (e.g. riparian agriculture) reduce optimal ostracod habitat and may limit their distributions. Thus, southeastern Wisconsin lakes integrate the effects of geomorphology and land use on water chemistry and hydrobiology.

PRESENTATION	The Effects of Light and Nutrients on Buddleja Davidii and Griselinia Littoralis: A Shadehouse Experiment	08/05/2007

TALLENT-HALSELL, N. G. AND L. WALKER. The Effects of Light and Nutrients on Buddleja Davidii and Griselinia Littoralis: A Shadehouse Experiment. Presented at Ecological Society of America/Society of Ecological Restoration Joint Meeting, San Jose, CA, August 05, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Coroner Inventories: A New Tool for Examining Pollution By Leftover Drugs	09/06/2007

RUHOY, I. Coroner Inventories: A New Tool for Examining Pollution By Leftover Drugs. Presented at Seminar for US EPA Office of Research and Development, Research Triangle Park, NC, September 06, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Property Changes in Aqueous Solutions Due to Surfactant Treatment of Pce: Implications to Geophysical Measurements	12/14/2007

WERKEMA, D. D. Property Changes in Aqueous Solutions Due to Surfactant Treatment of Pce: Implications to Geophysical Measurements. Presented at American Geophysical Union Fall 2007 Meeting, San Francisco, CA, December 10 - 14, 2007.
Abstract:	Select physicochemical properties of aqueous solutions composed of surfactants, dye, and perchloroethylene (PCE) were evaluated through a response surface quadratic design model of experiment. Nine surfactants, which are conventionally used in the remediation of PCE, were evaluated with varying concentrations of PCE and indicator dyes in aqueous solutions. Two hundred forty experiments were performed using PCE as a numerical factor (coded A) from 0 to 200 parts per million (ppm), dye type (coded B) as a 3-level categorical factor, and surfactant type (coded C) as a 10-level categorical factor. Five responses were measured: temperature (oC), pH, conductivity (µS/cm), dissolved oxygen (DO, mg/L), and density (g/mL). Diagnostics proved a normally distributed predictable response for all measured responses except pH. The Box-Cox plot for transforms recommended a power transform for the conductivity response with lambda (ë) = 0.50, and for the DO response, ë=2.2. The overall mean of the temperature response proved to be a better predictor than the linear model. The conductivity response is best fitted with a linear model using significant coded terms B and C. Both DO and density also showed a linear model with coded terms A, B, and C for DO; and terms A and C for density. Some of the surfactant treatments of PCE significantly alter the conductivity, DO, and density of the aqueous solution. However, the magnitude of the density response is so small that it does not exceed the instrument tolerance. Results for the conductivity and DO responses provide predictive models for the surfactant treatment of PCE and may be useful in determining the potential for geophysically monitoring surfactant enhanced aquifer remediation (SEAR) of PCE. As the aqueous physicochemical properties change due to surfactant remediation efforts, so will the properties of the subsurface pore water which are influential factors in geophysical measurements. Geoelectrical methods are potentially the best suited to measure SEAR alterations in the subsurface because the conductivity of the pore fluid has the largest relative change. This research has provided predictive models for alterations in the physicochemical properties of the pore fluid to SEAR of PCE. Future investigations should address the contribution of the solid matrix in the subsurface and the solid-fluid interaction during SEAR of PCE contamination.

PRESENTATION	Research Towards Developing Methods for Selected Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (Ppcps) Adapted for Biosolids	09/27/2007

JONES-LEPP, T. L. Research Towards Developing Methods for Selected Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (Ppcps) Adapted for Biosolids. Presented at Pacific Southwest Organic Residuals Conference, Davis, CA, September 25 - 27, 2007.
Abstract:	Development, standardization, and validation of analytical methods provides state-of-the-science techniques to evaluate the presence, or absence, of select PPCPs in biosolids. This research provides the approaches, methods, and tools to assess the exposures and reduce the human health risks from several specific PPCP biosolids contaminants (i.e., macrolide and fluoroquinolone antibiotics, and synthetic musks). Having available sound measurement methods for the analysis of PPCPs in biosolids is expected to foster the development of improved treatment techniques, thereby reducing the risk from possible human health or ecological impacts from land application of biosolids.

PRESENTATION	Airborne Hyperspectral Identification of Invasive and Opportunistic Wetlands Plant Species	09/14/2007

LOPEZ, R. D. AND J. LIN. Airborne Hyperspectral Identification of Invasive and Opportunistic Wetlands Plant Species. Presented at Society of Wetland Scientist Workshop on Monitoring Great Lakes coastal Wetlands Using Remote Sensing Techniques, Ann Arbor, MI, September 13 - 14, 2007.
Abstract:	Coastal wetlands are among the most fragmented and disturbed ecosystems and the Great Lakes are no exception. One possible result is the observed increase in the presence and dominance of invasive and other opportunistic plant species, such as the common reed (Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud). Hyperspectral and multispectral airborne remote sensing data were used to quantify the distribution of P. australis in several coastal wetlands of western Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair, and Lake Huron. The initial accuracy of species and structural-characteristic assessments for Phragmites is in excess of 90%. The precision and detail of field-based calibration data was important for the successful semi-automated mapping of P. australis. Additional, contemporaneous, efforts to assess landscape conditions in the coastal zone of the Great Lakes, using satellite multispectral remote sensing data, are ongoing. Results from both coastal wetland assessment efforts are being used to measure landscape characteristics at multiple scales, focusing on ecosystem connectivity and anthropogenic impact. Results from P. australis and coastal zone assessments are actively being used to develop broad-scale indicators of coastal wetland condition in the Great Lakes.

PRESENTATION	Exposure of Amphibians to Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and California Cascades: Relationship Between Tadpole Tissue and Sediment Concentrations	11/15/2007

STANLEY, K., R. HUBER, C. DAVIDSON, D. F. BRADFORD, N. G. TALLENT-HALSELL, AND S. SIMONICH. Exposure of Amphibians to Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and California Cascades: Relationship Between Tadpole Tissue and Sediment Concentrations. Presented at SETAC, Milwaukee, WI, November 11 - 15, 2007.
Abstract:	Pesticides and other semi-volatile organic compounds (SOCs) undergo regional and longrange atmospheric transport. One such example is the transport of current-use pesticides from the intensely cultivated Central Valley of California into the adjacent Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains. Amphibian species, including the mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa) and the Cascades frog (Rana cascadae), are declining in these ranges and pesticides have been implicated in these declines. Upon entering mountain ecosystems, pesticides and other SOCs may be deposited into the aquatic environment where they may accumulate in the sediment. Tadpoles live in close contact with the sediment; this may be an important route of exposure for these organisms. Tadpole and sediment samples were collected concurrently from 28 lakes in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and 32 lakes in the Cascade Mountains in the summer of 2005. Pacific tree frog tadpoles (Pseudacris regilla) were collected as a surrogate species for mountain yellow-legged frog at all Southern Sierra sites and at Cascades sites where the Cascades frogs are no longer common. Using methods developed in our laboratory, tissue and sediment samples were processed and analyzed for over seventy SOCs, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and several classes of pesticides. Of these, the most commonly detected compounds in both matrices included the widely used pesticides endosulfan and dacthal. The relationship between SOC concentrations in the tadpole tissue and sediment will be discussed and correlations with regional pesticide use in California will be presented.

PRESENTATION	US Land-Cover Monitoring and Detection of Changes in Scale and Context of Forest	11/11/2007

WICKHAM, J. D., K. RITTERS, AND T. G. WADE. US Land-Cover Monitoring and Detection of Changes in Scale and Context of Forest. Presented at Proceedings of Forest Stat 07, Montpelier, FRANCE, November 05 - 11, 2007.
Abstract:	Disparate land-cover mapping programs, previously focused solely on mission-oriented goals, have organized themselves as the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium with a unified goal of producing land-cover nationwide at routine intervals. Under MRLC, United States land-cover mapping programs are maturing into an integrated land-cover monitoring program. MRLC has produced land-cover data for ca. 1992 and 2001, and development of data for 2006 is underway. We have used these temporal land-cover data (1992, 2001) to detect changes in the scale at which forest dominates the landscape, and to model how continuing land-cover change will affect the landscape context of remaining forest. Numerous attributes of forest condition have been proposed and implemented, but the spatial scale of forest dominance has not been among them. The spatial scale of forest dominance is an important indicator of forest condition in humid temperate climates because our biogeography textbooks (European and American) teach us that forest is the predominant vegetation in these climates in the absence of anthropogenic use of the land. Present day estimates of the spatial extent of forest dominance can be compared to our biogeographic reference points to guide management options. We used area-density scaling to estimate changes in the spatial scale of forest dominance for two regions in the eastern United States. Forest dominance was define using thresholds of >50% and ¡Ý60%. Spatial scales ranges from ~2 to ~5300ha. The ratio of dominant forest loss to forest loss ranged from 1.4 to 11.5 depending on the spatial scale and region. The relationship between forest loss and dominant forest loss was nonlinear, indicating that continued forest loss has the potential to cause abrupt transitions in the scale at which forest dominants the landscape. The relationship between forest loss and the spatial scale of dominant forest suggests that the landscape context of extant forest will change with continuing forest loss. We modeled this relationship by applying a first-order Markov chain to a landscape classification scheme. The landscape classification scheme defines (and maps) landscapes based on the dominant land cover and other minor but significant landcover types. An example landscape would be: dominated by natural vegetation but with significant inclusions of agriculture. There are 19 classes in the scheme. The Markov results are consistent with the area-density scaling results. The Markov steady state solution suggests that areas not dominated by anthropogenic use of the land will decline to 2.5% of the landscape and that 75% of the remaining forest cover will be within that landscape type.

PRESENTATION	User-Customized Environmental Mapping and Decision Support Using Nasa World Wind and Doe Genie Software	09/27/2007

PILANT, A. N., L. D. WORTHY, D. J. WILLIAMS, J. G. LYON, AND D. WILHELM. User-Customized Environmental Mapping and Decision Support Using Nasa World Wind and Doe Genie Software. Presented at Free and Open Source Software Geospatial 2007 Conference, Las Vegas, NV, September 21, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	New National Landscapes Dataset: A Work in Progress	09/20/2007

CHALOUD, D. J. New National Landscapes Dataset: A Work in Progress. Presented at Joint EPA GIS Work Group and Statistics User Group Fall Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, September 18 - 20, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Developing Methods for Emerging Contaminants in Biosolids	09/27/2007

JONES-LEPP, T. L. Developing Methods for Emerging Contaminants in Biosolids. Presented at Pacific Souothwest Organic Residuals Conference, Davis, CA, September 25 - 27, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Overview of Volluntary Stewardship Efforts to Address Pharmaceutical Disposal	11/15/2007

RUHOY, I. Overview of Volluntary Stewardship Efforts to Address Pharmaceutical Disposal. Presented at Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Milwaukee, WI, November 11 - 15, 2007.
Abstract:	This presentation will provide an overview of current federal regulatory guidance for pharmaceutical disposal, currently funded pilot programs for take-back pilot studies, and state programs. The EPA Office of Water's role is to protect our Nation's watersheds and drinking water supplies against chemicals in our waterways. Therefore, current regulations and stewardship efforts to control pharmaceuticals in waterways is of premier importance to our office. The Federal guidelines for the proper disposal of prescription drugs released by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy in February 2007 will be presented. The guidelines recommend disposal of prescription drugs by removing the drug from its container, mixing with an undesirable substance (coffee grounds and kitty litter), and then placing in a trash receptacle in a sealed container. Current drug take-back pilot studies sponsored by the Office of Children's Health Protection (OCHP) will be presented and an overview of state efforts to address pharmaceutical disposal will also be addressed.

PRESENTATION	Habitat Distribution Models for 37 Vertebrate Species in T He Mojave Desert Ecoregion of Nevada, Arizona, and Utah	10/18/2007

BOYKIN, K., D. F. BRADFORD, AND W. G. KEPNER. Habitat Distribution Models for 37 Vertebrate Species in T He Mojave Desert Ecoregion of Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. Presented at Clark County Desert Conservation Program Coordination Meeting, Henderson, NV, October 18, 2007.
Abstract:	Thirty-seven covered species in the Clark County Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP) were previously modeled through the Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project (SWReGAP), using a deductive approach. To increase the applicability of such habitat models in the region pertinent to the MSHCP, we revised the 37 deductive models for the Mojave Desert Ecoregion using additional information and finer scale datasets that were not available for the original SWReGAP models (e.g., SSURGO [soils], mesquite/acacia). We also explored an inductive modeling approach (Maximum Entropy) using locality records for four species: desert iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis), common chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater), phainopepla (Phainopepla nitens), and desert kangaroo rat (Dipodomys deserti). Differences in extent of habitat predicted between the original and revised deductive models ranged from nil to dramatic, with the revised models for the majority of species predicting greater habitat extent than the original models. A gap analysis was conducted by determining the extent of habitat predicted by the revised models within each SWReGAP conservation status category and within each MSHCP land-management category (IMA, LIMA, etc.). The results were generally similar for the two categorization schemes. For most species, the fraction of the species' range in the most protected SWReGAP conservation categories was much higher for the Mojave Desert Ecoregion and Clark County than for species' ranges throughout the 5-state SWReGAP study area.

PRESENTATION	Discarded Drugs as Environmental Contaminants	11/01/2007

RUHOY, I. AND C. G. DAUGHTON. Discarded Drugs as Environmental Contaminants. Presented at 4th Annual Unused Drug Return Conference, Portland, ME, October 31 - November 01, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Nist and Omb Driven Information Technology-Information Management Quality Checklist	10/25/2007

BRILIS, G. Nist and Omb Driven Information Technology-Information Management Quality Checklist. Presented at EPA ORD Quality Assurance Conference, Gulf Breeze, FL, October 22 - 25, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Pros & Cons of Standard Operating Procedures in Geospatial Quality Assurance Documentation	10/18/2007

BRILIS, G. Pros & Cons of Standard Operating Procedures in Geospatial Quality Assurance Documentation. Presented at Region 6, 2007 Annual Quality Assurance Conference, Dallas, TX, October 15 - 18, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Information Technology-Information Management Quality Assurance in Geospatial Related Activities	09/21/2007

BRILIS, G. Information Technology-Information Management Quality Assurance in Geospatial Related Activities. Presented at Inter-agency Digital Imagery Working Grouup, Denver, CO, September 18 - 21, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Overview of the EPA Geospatial Quality Council	09/21/2007

BRILIS, G. Overview of the EPA Geospatial Quality Council. Presented at Inter-agency Digital Imagery Working Group, Denver, CO, September 18 - 21, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Quality Planning in Geospatial Projects	09/21/2007

BRILIS, G. Quality Planning in Geospatial Projects. Presented at Inter-agency Digital Imagery Working Group, Denver, CO, September 18 - 21, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Overview of the US EPA Quality System	09/21/2007

BRILIS, G. Overview of the US EPA Quality System. Presented at Inter-agency Digital Imagery Working Group, Denver, CO, September 18 - 21, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Facilitating Quality in Geospatial Projects: An Introduction to the Geospatial Quality Control	10/18/2007

BRILIS, G. Facilitating Quality in Geospatial Projects: An Introduction to the Geospatial Quality Control. Presented at Region 6, 2007 Annual QA Conference, Dallas, TX, October 15 - 18, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Digital Image Sources	10/16/2007

IIAMES, J. S. Digital Image Sources. Presented at Remote Sensing/GIS Workshop, Research Triangle Park, NC, October 16, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Emerging Contaminants: An Overview of on-Going Research	10/19/2007

ROSAL, C. G. Emerging Contaminants: An Overview of on-Going Research. Presented at 17th Annual Quality Assurance Conference, Dallas, TX, October 15 - 19, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Remote Sensing Fundamentals	10/16/2007

PILANT, A. N. Remote Sensing Fundamentals. Presented at EPA-Nature Conservancy Geospatial Workshop, Research Triangle Park, NC, October 16, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	Providing Better Characterization of Ambient Air Quality for Exposure Modeling and Public Health Risk Assessment	10/18/2007

FOLEY, K., V. GARCIA, S. RAO, AND D. M. HOLLAND. Providing Better Characterization of Ambient Air Quality for Exposure Modeling and Public Health Risk Assessment. Presented at 17th Annual Conference of the International Society of Exposure Analysis, Durham, NC, October 14 - 18, 2007.
Abstract:	There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact Field.

PRESENTATION	A Simple Method to Locate Changes in Land Use from Long Term Remote Sensing Data	10/26/2007

CHALOUD, D. J., W. G. KEPNER, AND M. S. NASH. A Simple Method to Locate Changes in Land Use from Long Term Remote Sensing Data. Presented at Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy/EPA Coordination Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, October 26, 2007.
Abstract:	Presentation materials. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Principal Investigator.

PRESENTATION	Geospatial Data Quality: Essential Elements	10/18/2007

BRILIS, G. Geospatial Data Quality: Essential Elements. Presented at Region 6, 2007 Annual QA Conference, Dallas, TX, October 15 - 18, 2007.
Abstract:	Presentation materials. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Principal Investigator.

PRESENTATION	Levels of Synthetic Musk Compounds in Municipal Wastewater for Estimating Biota Exposure in Receiving Waters	11/11/2007

OSEMWENGIE, L. I. Levels of Synthetic Musk Compounds in Municipal Wastewater for Estimating Biota Exposure in Receiving Waters. Presented at Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) 27th Annual meeting , Milwaukee, WI, November 11 - 15, 2007.
Abstract:	Presentation materials. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Principal Investigator

PRESENTATION	Discarded Drugs as Environmental Contaminants (1)	11/08/2007

DAUGHTON, C. G. AND I. RUHOY. Discarded Drugs as Environmental Contaminants (1). Presented at Safe Medicine Disposal Symposium, Rohnert Park, CA, November 08, 2007.
Abstract:	Presentation materials. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Principal Investigator.

PRESENTATION	Discarded Drugs as Environmental Contaminants (2)	11/15/2007

DAUGHTON, C. G. AND I. Ruhoy. Discarded Drugs as Environmental Contaminants (2). Presented at Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) North American 28th Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, WI, November 15, 2007.
Abstract:	Presentation materials. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Prinicpal Investigator.

PRESENTATION	Great Lakes Basin Land-Cover Data: Issues and Opportunities	11/01/2007

IIAMES, J. S. AND R. S. LUNETTA. Great Lakes Basin Land-Cover Data: Issues and Opportunities. Presented at 2007 Specialty Conference , Ottawa, BC, CANADA, November 01, 2007.
Abstract:	Presentation materials. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Principal Investigator

PRESENTATION	Property Changes in Aqueous Solutions Due to Surfactant Treatment of Pce: Implications to Geophysical Measurements	12/14/2007

WERKEMA, D. D. Property Changes in Aqueous Solutions Due to Surfactant Treatment of Pce: Implications to Geophysical Measurements. Presented at American Geophysical Union Fall 2007 Meeting, San Francisco, CA, December 10 - 14, 2007.
Abstract:	Presentation materials. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Principal Investigator.

PRESENTATION	Remote Sensing Quality Assurance and Error Propagation	05/07/2007

BRILIS, G. Remote Sensing Quality Assurance and Error Propagation. Presented at American Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing, 2007 Annual Conference, Tampa, FL, May 07 - 11, 2007.
Abstract:	The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been recognized by many organizations, private and public, as having one of the most extensive and effective Quality Systems.

PRESENTATION	Geospatial Information Technology and Information Management Quality Assurance	05/07/2007

BRILIS, G. Geospatial Information Technology and Information Management Quality Assurance. Presented at American Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing, 2007 Annual Conference, Tampa, FL, May 07 - 11, 2007.
Abstract:	This presentation establishes come principles that can be used to evaluate and monitor the IT and IM systems. In addition, the critical juncture of the computer-human interface is also discussed.

PRESENTATION	US EPA Geospatial Quality Council: Ensuring Quality Geospatial Solutions	05/07/2007

BRILIS, G. US EPA Geospatial Quality Council: Ensuring Quality Geospatial Solutions. Presented at American Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing, 2007 Annual Conference, Tampa, FL, May 07 - 11, 2007.
Abstract:	This presentation will discuss the history, strategy, products, and future plans of the EPA Geospatial Quality Council (GQC). A topical review of GQC products will be presented including: o Guidance for Geospatial Data Quality Assurance Project Plans. o GPS - Technical Implementation Guidance, o Peer Review as a QA Tool, o US EPA Geospatial Quality Council website, and o GIS for QA professionals, a web-accessible course.

PRESENTATION	Planning Quality in Geospatial Projects	05/07/2007

BRILIS, G. Planning Quality in Geospatial Projects. Presented at American Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing, 2007 Annual Conference, Tampa, FL, May 07 - 11, 2007.
Abstract:	This presentation will briefly review some legal drivers and present a structure for the writing of geospatial Quality Assurance Projects Plans. In addition, the Geospatial Quality Council geospatial information life-cycle and sources of error flowchart will be reviewed.

PUBLISHED REPORT	Integrated Earth Observations: Application to Air Quality and Human Health	02/05/2007

FOLEY, G. AND J. G. LYON. Integrated Earth Observations: Application to Air Quality and Human Health. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-07/007 (NTIS PB2007-106541), 2007.
Abstract:	In February 2005, ministers from 60 countries and the European Commission met in Brussels, Belgium to endorse the 10-year plan for a Global Earth Observation System of Systems(GEOSS) prepared by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), a partnership of nations and international organizations. This multinational project integrates surface-based, airborne, and space-based remote sensing and in-situ networks to improve knowledge of the environmental factors that affect human health and well-being. Shortly thereafter, in April 2005, the US Government released its Strategic Plan for the US Integrated Earth Observation System (IEOS), which provides a framework for US contributions to the GEOSS, and also strives to meet requirements for high-quality data on the state of the Earth as a basis for policy and decisionmaking and to provide more accurate exposure assessments for the health and environment research communities. The plan was drafted by the US Group on Earth Observations (USGEO),an interagency subcommittee that reports to the National Science and Technology Council's Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. Both the GEOSS and the IEOS emphasize consideration of user needs in the development of Earth observation data architectures. Toward this end, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) co-sponsored a workshop that united 40 health and Earth observation scientists in a dialogue over data-user requirements. The results of the workshop titled Integrated Earth Observations: Application to Air Quality and Human Health, which was held at NIEHS on 1-2 August 2005, are described in this report. Experts in meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, satellite engineering, and groundbased air measurements represented the Earth observation sciences. Health scientists provided expertise in epidemiology, exposure assessment, biostatistics, spatial statistics, clinical research, toxicology, informatics, and modeling. Participants were tasked with two key objectives: 1) To determine whether integrated Earth observations could provide useful public health tools for research, policy decisions, and environmental and health planning; and 2) To identify opportunities for improving user access to Earth observation data generated by producers, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The focus on air quality derives from substantial evidence that ozone and respirable particulates produce a spectrum of health effects. Long implicated as respiratory toxicants, these pollutants have more recently been linked to cardiovascular disease, in addition to developmental problems and birth defects. Remote sensing will augment ground-based air quality sampling and help fill pervasive data gaps that impede efforts to study air pollution and protect public health. Expanded Earth observations could support detailed inquiry into environment-disease interactions, and help create predictive exposure models that support science-based environmental and health decisionmaking.

PUBLISHED REPORT	A Literature Review of Wipe Sampling Methods for Chemical Warfare Agents and Toxic Industrial Chemicals	01/30/2007

BILLETS, S. A Literature Review of Wipe Sampling Methods for Chemical Warfare Agents and Toxic Industrial Chemicals. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-07/004 (NTIS PB2007-106103), 2007.
Abstract:	Wipe sampling is an important technique for the estimation of contaminant deposition in buildings, homes, or outdoor surfaces as a source of possible human exposure. Numerous methods of wipe sampling exist, and each method has its own specification for the type of wipe, wetting solvent, and determinative step to be used, depending upon the contaminant of concern. The objective of this report is to concisely summarize the findings of a literature review that was conducted to identify the state-of-the-art wipe sampling techniques for a target list of compounds. This report describes the methods used to perform the literature review; a brief review of wipe sampling techniques in general; an analysis of physical and chemical properties of each target analyte; an analysis of wipe sampling techniques for the target analyte list; and a summary of the wipe sampling techniques for the target analyte list, including existing data gaps. In general, no overwhelming consensus can be drawn from the current literature on how to collect a wipe sample for the chemical warfare agents, organophosphate pesticides, and other toxic industrial chemicals of interest to this study. Different methods, media, and wetting solvents have been recommended and used by various groups and different studies. For many of the compounds of interest, no specific wipe sampling methodology has been established for their collection. Before a wipe sampling method (or methods) can be established for the compounds discussed in this report, two steps must be taken: (1) conduct investigative research to fill in the gaps in wipe sampling knowledge, and (2) conduct method validation to optimize the methods.

PUBLISHED REPORT	Performance of Statistical Tests for Site Versus Background Soil Comparisons When Distributional Assumptions Are Not Met	03/30/2007

ENGLUND, E. J. Performance of Statistical Tests for Site Versus Background Soil Comparisons When Distributional Assumptions Are Not Met. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-07/020 (NTIS PB2007-107708).
Abstract:	Statistical distributions of site and background soil samples often do not meet the assumptions of statistical tests. This is true even of non-parametric tests. This paper evaluates several statistical tests over a variety of cases involving realistic population distribution scenarios and sampling schemes. Over the range of cases, performance was erratic for most tests. When planning a project, the sampling scheme must be designed together with the statistical test, and the choice of test may vary depending on which scenario best matches the conceptual model for the site.

PUBLISHED REPORT	Proucl 4.0 User's Guide	04/30/2007

SINGH, A., R. MAICHLE, AND J. M. NOCERINO. Proucl 4.0 User's Guide. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-07/038 (NTIS PB2007-107918), 2007.
Abstract:	Statistical inference, including both estimation and hypotheses testing approaches, is routinely used to: estimate environmental parameters of interest, such as exposure point concentration (EPC) terms, not-to-exceed values, and background level threshold values (BTVs) for contaminants of potential concern (COPCs); identify areas of concern (AOCs) at a contaminated site; compare contaminant concentrations found at two or more AOCs of a contaminated site; compare contaminant concentrations found at an AOC with background or reference area contaminant concentrations, and; compare site concentrations with a cleanup standard to verify the attainment of cleanup standards. Several exposure and risk management and cleanup decisions in support of United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) projects are made based upon the mean concentrations of the COPCs. A 95% upper confidence limit (UCL95) of the unknown population (e.g., an AOC) arithmetic mean (AM), µ1, can be used to: estimate the EPC term of the AOC under investigation; determine the attainment of cleanup standards; compare site mean concentrations with reference area mean concentrations, and estimate background level mean contaminant concentrations. The background mean contaminant concentration level may be used to compare the mean of an area of concern. It should be noted that it is not appropriate to compare individual point-by-point site observations with the background mean concentration level. ProUCL Version 4.0 (ProUCL 4.0) is an upgrade of ProUCL Version 3.0 (EPA, 2004). ProUCL 4.0 contains statistical methods to address various environmental issues for both full data sets without nondetects (NDs) and for data sets with NDs (also known as left-censored data sets). ProUCL 4.0 retains all of the capabilities of ProUCL 3.0, including Goodness-of-Fit tests for a normal, lognormal, and a gamma distribution and computation of UCLs based upon full data sets without nondetects. ProUCL 4.0 has improved graphical methods, which may be used to compare the concentrations of two or more populations such as: site versus background populations; surface versus subsurface concentrations; concentrations of two or more AOCs, and identification of mixture samples and/or potential outliers. ProUCL 4.0 serves as a companion software package for the UCL Computation Guidance Document for Hazardous Waste Sites (EPA, 2002a) and the Background Guidance Document for CERCLA Sites (EPA, 2002b). ProUCL 4.0 is also useful to verify the attainment of cleanup standards (EPA, 1989). ProUCL 4.0 can also be used to perform two sample hypotheses tests and to compute various upper limits often needed in groundwater monitoring applications (EPA, 1992 and EPA, 2004).

PUBLISHED REPORT	Draft Technical Guide for Proucl Software 4.0	04/30/2007

SINGH, A., A. SINGH, AND J. M. NOCERINO. Draft Technical Guide for Proucl Software 4.0. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-07/041 (NTIS PB2007-107919), 2007.
Abstract:	Statistical inference, including both estimation and hypotheses testing approaches, is routinely used to: estimate environmental parameters of interest, such as exposure point concentration (EPC) terms, not-to-exceed values, and background level threshold values (BTVs) for contaminants of potential concern (COPCs); identify areas of concern (AOCs) at a contaminated site; compare contaminant concentrations found at two or more AOCs of a contaminated site; compare contaminant concentrations found at an AOC with background or reference area contaminant concentrations, and; compare site concentrations with a cleanup standard to verify the attainment of cleanup standards. Several exposure and risk management and cleanup decisions in support of United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) projects are made based upon the mean concentrations of the COPCs. A 95% upper confidence limit (UCL95) of the unknown population (e.g., an AOC) arithmetic mean (AM), µ1, can be used to: estimate the EPC term of the AOC under investigation; determine the attainment of cleanup standards; compare site mean concentrations with reference area mean concentrations, and estimate background level mean contaminant concentrations. The background mean contaminant concentration level may be used to compare the mean of an area of concern. It should be noted that it is not appropriate to compare individual point-by-point site observations with the background mean concentration level. ProUCL Version 4.0 (ProUCL 4.0) is an upgrade of ProUCL Version 3.0 (EPA, 2004). ProUCL 4.0 contains statistical methods to address various environmental issues for both full data sets without nondetects (NDs) and for data sets with NDs (also known as left-censored data sets). ProUCL 4.0 retains all of the capabilities of ProUCL 3.0, including Goodness-of-Fit tests for a normal, lognormal, and a gamma distribution and computation of UCLs based upon full data sets without nondetects. ProUCL 4.0 has improved graphical methods, which may be used to compare the concentrations of two or more populations such as: site versus background populations; surface versus subsurface concentrations; concentrations of two or more AOCs, and identification of mixture samples and/or potential outliers. ProUCL 4.0 serves as a companion software package for the UCL Computation Guidance Document for Hazardous Waste Sites (EPA, 2002a) and the Background Guidance Document for CERCLA Sites (EPA, 2002b). ProUCL 4.0 is also useful to verify the attainment of cleanup standards (EPA, 1989). ProUCL 4.0 can also be used to perform two sample hypotheses tests and to compute various upper limits often needed in groundwater monitoring applications (EPA, 1992 and EPA, 2004).

PUBLISHED REPORT	Final Project Report for the Development of An Active Soil Gas Sampling Method	07/30/2007

SCHUMACHER, B. A., J. H. ZIMMERMAN, J. ELLIOT, D. SPRINGER, B. HARTMAN, AND G. SWANSON. Final Project Report for the Development of An Active Soil Gas Sampling Method. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-07/076 (NTIS PB2007-112084), 2007.
Abstract:	The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is charged by Congress with protecting the nation's natural resources. Under the mandate of national environmental laws, the EPA strives to formulate and implement actions leading to a compatible balance between human activities and the ability of natural systems to support and nurture life. To meet this mandate, the EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) provides data and scientific support that can be used to solve environmental problems, build the scientific knowledge base needed to manage ecological resources wisely, understand how pollutants affect public health, and prevent or reduce environmental risks. The National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) is the Agency's center for investigation of technical and management approaches for identifying and quantifying risks to human health and the environment. Goals of the laboratory's research program are to (1) develop and evaluate methods and technologies for characterizing and monitoring air, soil, and water; (2) support regulatory and policy decisions; and (3) provide the scientific support needed to ensure effective implementation of environmental regulations and strategies. Tetra Tech EM Inc. prepared this Project Report for NERL to document the results of an investigation into the effects of purge rate, purge volume, and sample volume on soil gas sample results. Field work for this investigation was conducted during October 2006 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (AFB)Installation Restoration Program (IRP) Site 15. Vandenberg AFB is home to the U.S. Air Force Western Missile Test Range and is headquarters for the 30th Space Wing, which manages Department of Defense space and missile testing, and placing satellites into polar orbit from the West Coast. The Vandenberg AFB IRP, overseen by Mr. Michael McElligott, supported this project by providing access to IRP Site 15 to conduct the testing, facilitating and expediting dig permit reviews, and providing logistical support during the field sampling activities.

PUBLISHED REPORT	Southwest Region Threatened, Endangered, and at-Risk Species Workshop: Managing Within Highly Variable Environments Hydrology and Ecology of Intermittent Stream and Dry Wash Ecosystems	12/30/2007

Levick, L., D. Goodrich, M. Hernandez, D. J. SEMMENS, J. Stromberg, R. LEIDY, M. Apodaca, P. Guertin, M. Tluczek, AND W. G. KEPNER. Southwest Region Threatened, Endangered, and at-Risk Species Workshop: Managing Within Highly Variable Environments Hydrology and Ecology of Intermittent Stream and Dry Wash Ecosystems. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/R-07/142 (NTIS PB2008-105119), 2007.
Abstract:	Ephemeral (dry washes) and intermittent streams make up approximately 59% of all streams in the U.S. (excluding Alaska), and over 81% in the arid and semi-arid Southwest (Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and California) according to the National Hydrography Dataset. They are often the headwaters or major tributaries of most perennial streams in the Southwest, and make up 94% of stream miles in Arizona. Given their vast extent, ephemeral and intermittent streams are crucial to the overall health of a watershed, providing a wide array of functions including forage, cover, nesting, and movement corridors for wildlife. Because of the relatively higher moisture content in dryland streams, vegetation and wildlife abundance and diversity is higher than in the surrounding uplands. Ephemeral and intermittent streams provide the same hydrologic functions as perennial streams by moving water, nutrients, and sediment through the watershed. When functioning properly, dryland streams provide many of the same services as perennial riparian-wetland areas, such as landscape hydrologic connections; stream energy dissipation during high-water flows that reduces erosion and improves water quality; surface and subsurface water storage and exchange; groundwater recharge and discharge; sediment transport, storage, and deposition aiding in floodplain maintenance and development; nutrient cycling; wildlife habitat and movement/migration; support for vegetation communities that help stabilize stream banks and provide wildlife services; and water supply and water quality filtering. Ecologically sustainable land and wildlife management requires a landscape or watershed-scale approach to ecosystem protection, and would be meaningless and ineffective if these supporting waterways are significantly degraded.

PUBLISHED REPORT	Final Project Report for Investigation of the Influence of Temporal Variation on Active Soil Gas/Vapor Sampling	12/31/2007

SCHUMACHER, B. A., J. Elliott, D. Springer, B. Hartman, AND G. Swanson. Final Project Report for Investigation of the Influence of Temporal Variation on Active Soil Gas/Vapor Sampling. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/R-07/141 (NTIS PB2008-105120), 2007.
Abstract:	Soil gas data are widely used in site investigation and remediation projects to delineate volatile organic compound (VOC) vapor plumes, as a screening tool to refine soil and groundwater sampling efforts, to track the progress of soil remediation, and to identify potential risks from the inhalation of indoor air potentially contaminated by soil gas. The overall goal of any monitoring or sampling program is to collect representative samples; that is, samples that are representative of the environmental, chemical, and physical conditions present during the time of sample collection. However, due to numerous environmental as well as sampling and analytical variables, the representativeness of a sample can often be compromised, the degree to which is often not well understood or quantified. This study was to quantitatively assess the influence of temporal variations on soil gas sample results. it was designed to assess the effect of atmospheric variables (ambient temperature, barometric pressure, precipitation, and wind speed) on soil gas results. Variations in soil gas concentrations due to atmospheric conditions have not been well documented; however, recent data from three sites have shown temporal variability in soil gas concentrations to be typically less than a factor of two (McHugh, 2005; McAlary et al., 2002; Anders and Wertz, 2006). While these data provide some indication that temporal variations have a limited impact on soil gas concentrations, none of these data sets were controlled studies conducted with the intent of determining impacts caused by temporal variations. With the increased use of quantitative soil gas data for vapor intrusion assessments, there is a large demand around the country for data documenting the level of impact that temporal variations have on measured soil gas concentrations. Developing a better understanding of the correlation between atmospheric changes and soil gas concentrations from fixed locations can lead to a better understanding of soil gas movement, and can enable an investigator to optimize the timing of sample collection in order to yield representative samples and better assess risk.

SITE DOCUMENT	Interim Report on the Evolution and Performance of the Eichrom Technologies Procept Rapid Dioxin Assay for Soil and Sediment Samples	01/10/2007

BILLETS, S. Interim Report on the Evolution and Performance of the Eichrom Technologies Procept Rapid Dioxin Assay for Soil and Sediment Samples. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/540/R-07/001 (NTIS PB2007-104861), 2007.
Abstract:	A demonstration of screening technologies for determining the presence of dioxin and dioxin-like compounds in soil and sediment was conducted under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's(EPA's) Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation Program in Saginaw, Michigan in 2004. The objectives of the demonstration included evaluating each participating technology's accuracy, precision, sensitivity, sample throughput, tendency for matrix effects, and cost. The test also included an assessment of how well the technology's results compared to those generated by established laboratory methods using high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). The demonstration objectives were accomplished by evaluating the results generated by each technology from 209 soil, sediment, and extract samples. The test samples included performance evaluation (PE) samples (i.e., contaminant concentrations were certified or the samples were spiked with known contaminants) and environmental samples collected from 10 different sampling locations. The PE and environmental samples were distributed to the technology developers in blind, random order. One of the participants in the original SITE demonstration was Hybrizyme Corporation, which demonstrated the use of the AhRC PCR Kit. The AhRC PCR Kit was a technology that reported the concentration of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) binding compounds in a sample, with units reported as Ah Receptor Binding Units (AhRBU). At the time of the original demonstration, this particular technology was intended for use as a screening tool to rank samples from those inducing the greatest AhR activity to those inducing the least AhR activity rather than to provide highly quantitative dioxin concentration in units of toxicity equivalents (TEQ). After the SITE Dioxin demonstration, this technology was exclusively licensed to Eichrom Technologies. Eichrom focused their efforts on developing optimal sample preparation procedures for the assay and reporting TEQ values instead of AhRBU. The technology is now marketed under the trade name Procept Rapid Dioxin Assay. The developers and potential users of the technologies provided feedback after the demonstration. There was significant interest in evaluating the performance of these technologies on a site-specific basis. This would more closely represent the expected application of the technologies than was the case during the original demonstration, which targeted technology performance when challenged with a broad range of sample types. Consequently, a second test (referred to as the site-specific study) was conducted in which the developers were given a total of 112 samples that were segregated by site of origin. In contrast to the original demonstration, in which all sample information was unknown, environmental information for each site was provided to the developers to more closely represent the background information that would be available to contractors supporting a site-specific application. Each batch included some samples previously analyzed as part of the SITE Dioxin Demonstration and some unique samples in archive that were not used as part of the SITE Dioxin Demonstration, along with replicates and quality control (QC) samples. Only dioxin and furan concentrations were evaluated in this study. The developers were given the HRMS data from the SITE Dioxin Demonstration so that they would have the opportunity to utilize a site-specific calibration and knowledge regarding typical congener patterns at a particular site. Data analysis focused on analytical performance on a site-specific basis, and included an evaluation of comparability to the HRMS total dioxin/furan toxicity equivalents (TEQD/F) results, precision on replicate analyses, and QC sample results. This report describes the experimental design of the site-specific study, the analytical methods used, and comparisons of the TEQD/F results from the HRMS data to those reported by Eichrom Technologies Procept Rapid Dioxin Assay. The data generated and evaluated during the site-specific study showed that the TEQ data produced by the Procept Rapid Dioxin Assay was more comparable to the HRMS TEQD/F data than was the data reported using the Hybrizyme AhRC PCR Kit in the original SITE demonstration. The Procept Rapid Dioxin Assay could be used as an effective screening tool to determine areas of greatest concern for cleanup at a site and could help to minimize the number of more expensive analyses needed for specific analytes, particularly considering that the cost and the time to analyze samples is significantly less than that of HRMS analyses.

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