Few studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of phytoremediation of pharmaceutical compounds, although the persistent and non-acutely toxic nature of many of these compounds in today's water bodies may yield an ideal application for this practice. To quantify the potential effectiveness of plant uptake, kinetic and proportional bioconcentration factors (BCFk, and BCFp, respectively) in nanograms (ng) carbamazepine and amiodarone per gram (g) wet weight plant tissue for Lemna spp. were determined utilizing a 14-day continuous flow-through study. Samples were analyzed using isotope dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (ID-LC-MS/MS) running in positive ion mode. Kinetic BCF was estimated at 0.538, while proportional BCF was estimated at 0.485. Kinetic BCF for the amiodarone study was estimated at 23.033, whereas proportional BCF was estimated at 41.340. Possible contamination of the C18 column and peristaltic pump failure may have impacted uptake results. In light of variability and current lack of research in the field, this work should be considered exploratory rather than conclusive.

Water temperature directly affects biological and chemical processes of fresh water ecosystems. Elevated instream temperatures are commonplace in the Virgin River of southwestern Utah during summer due to a hot desert climate and high water demands that result in low stream flows. This is of concern since the Virgin River is home to two endangered species, the Virgin River Chub (Gila seminuda) and Woundfin (Plagopterus argentissimus). Efforts to model instream temperatures within the Virgin River have been undertaken to help mitigate elevated instream temperatures including the development of a two-zone temperature and solute (TZTS) model. This model was developed to approximate the dominant processes that influence instream temperatures and used both temperature and solute data in parameter estimation. Past model applications highlighted two concerns: (1) how to confidently estimate the high number of parameters and (2) whether Rhodamine WT (RhWT) could be used as a conservative solute tracer within the Virgin River. To begin addressing these issues, spatially representative data were collected to facilitate the physical estimation of two previously calibrated parameters: total average channel width (BTOT) and the fraction of channel width associated with dead zones (β). Methods for analyzing multispectral and thermal infrared imagery were developed to provide estimates of these parameters at different resolutions. Three different TZTS model calibration cases were then evaluated to determine how decreasing the calibrated parameters and increasing the resolution and frequency at which these parameters are estimated improved model predictions and/or decreased parameter uncertainty. While temperature predictions did not change significantly in each of the calibrations, parameter uncertainty was reduced. The concern regarding the use of RhWT resulted in a series of studies to quantify the potential losses of RhWT within this system. A batch sorption study resulted in distribution coefficient values lower than those found in literature. A photodegradation study suggested possible photolysis; however, a dual tracer study conducted within the Virgin River comparing Br- (conservative tracer) with RhWT confirmed that there was insignificant RhWT loss within this system.

No description available.