Sacramento Valley

Air samples collected in the Sacramento Valley area of California near sites where methyl parathion was heavily used on rice were analyzed by Seiber et al. (1989). Methyl parathion concentrations ranged from 0.2 (minimum detectable level) to 25.67 ng/m depending on the location and time of sampling. Methyl paraoxon, the oxygen analog of methyl parathion, was also detected at a maximum of 3.07 ng/m. The highest concentrations of both compounds were found at sites near locations of heaviest use. 

Seiber JN, McChesney MM, Woodrow JE. 1989. Airborne residues resulting from use of methyl parathion, molinate and thiobencarb on rice in the Sacramento Valley, California. Environ Toxicol Chem 8 577-588. 

The Sacramento Valley is a tectonically controlled basin bounded on the east by the Sierra Nevada, on the west by the Coast Ranges, and on the north by the Klamath Mountains. The alluvium of the valley reflects inputs from these bounding... 

Ground water on the west side of the Sacramento Valley has particularly high concentrations of dissolved Cr ranging up to 50 pg/L and averaging 16.4 pg/ L. We interpret that this pattern reflects the enrichment in soil/alluvium Cr content on the west side of the Valley. 

We have studied the interaction of geologic, geochemical, geomorphic, hydrologic, and anthropogenic processes in the Sacramento Valley of north-central California, U.S.A. 

Our results demonstrate significant spatial differentiation in the geochemistry of Sacramento Valley soil between the eastern and western sides of the valley that is related to the geomorphic separation of the valley by a levee along the Sacramento River. The western valley contains an elevated component of material derived from ultramafic rocks compared to the eastern side. 

Ground water in the Sacramento Valley likewise has an east-west differentiation that reflects the geologic differentiation in valley materials... 

Chromium in ground water is elevated in parts of the Sacramento Valley, particularly the western side. 

Kelley, R. 1998. Battling the Inland Sea Floods, Public Policy and the Sacramento Valley. University of California Press, Berkeley, California. 

Clark, S., Klonsky, K., Livingston, P. and Temple, S. 1999. Crop-yield and economic comparisons of organic, low-input, and conventional farming systems in California s Sacramento Valley. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 14(3) 109-121. 

Other examples of deep-basin waters related to simple mixing of meteoric water with marine connate waters have been documented in the Dnepr-Donets basin, Ukraine (Vetshteyn et al., 1981) and the Sacramento Valley, California (Berry, 1973 Kharaka et al., 1985). Knauth (1988) used water isotopes and chemical data for waters in the Palo Duro Basin, Texas, to indicate extensive mixing between bittern brines and two... 

Davisson M. L. and Criss R. E. (1993) Stable isotope imaging of a dynamic groundwater system in the southwestern Sacramento Valley, CA. J. Hydrol. 144, 213-246. 

May in California s Sacramento Valley and last half of April to the first half of May in the rest of the country. 

Molinate. The thiolcarbamate molinate also appeared to be a good target for ELISA but for different reasons than existed for paraquat. The herbicide is used extensively on rice in the Sacramento Valley and each year is detected as a contaminant in drainwaters from the field and in the Sacramento River. There are many water samples taken each year for molinate analysis and some other chemicals used for pest control on rice. Thus, an ELISA could be put to immediate use supplementing or perhaps replacing entirely the conventional method based upon extraction of water, followed by GC analysis of the extract. 

Beebe is partieularly known for hydraulics by his 1917 Report written jointly with Ross Riegel (1881-1966). This woik, made for the Miami Conservancy District, deals with hydraulic jiunps both in prismatic and in expanding stilling basins. Until then, few experimental works were conducted on this important free surface phenomenon. The main works further were conducted for either small supercritical approach flow Froude numbers, or for extremely small approach flow depths, resulting in scale effects. The results were not readily available but demonstrated that these complex hydraulic processes were amenable by hydraulic modeling. Beebe was also involved in the 1930s in the control of debris flow at Mount Shasta In 1924, a large mud flow had deposited almost one million m of debris which muddied the Sacramento River. Beebe outlined means to coimter future similar scenarios, which had also occurred in the 19 century, and were a constant threat to the Sacramento Valley. 

Tibbetts, F.H., Edmonston, A.D. (1930). Sacramento Valley Duty of water. San Francisco. http //www.water.ca.gov/swp/history.cfm P... 

Heuer, W.H., Handbury, T.H., Harts, W.W. (1905). Sacramento Valley river improvement Government pohey and works. Hall San Francisco. (P)... 

Unfortunately, one of the pathways of dissipation of molinate is by volatilization from the paddy water, so t t air quality remains a concern. The diurnal pattern of molinate flux from a treated paddy heavily instrumented with air sanq)lers and meteorological devices showed significant flux to the air still occurred on the 7 day after application, with about the same intensity as on the first and second days. At least half of the molinate dissipation is by volatilization, the other half by hydrolysis and other breakdown mechanisms. Air sampling conducted in the small towns in and around the rice growing region in the Sacramento Valley confirmed the presence of molinate 43). Since molinate has potential adverse reproductive effects along with its eerie sweet odor, this has been a point of contention in California, and will require additional work. 

Fig. S-1. Field ofsaffbwers in bloom in the Sacramento Valley of California. The safflower is a relative of the thistle family. (Courtesy, Pacific Oilseeds Incorporated, Woodland, Calif.)...

Unpublished data collected by Kharaka on formation water from oil and gas wells in the Sacramento Valley, California, indicate the following organic species phenols (<20mg/l), 4-methyl phenol (<2mg/l) benzoic acid (<5mg/l), 4-methyl benzoic acid (<4mg/l), 2-hydroxybenzoic acid (<0.2mg/l), 3-hydroxybenzoic acid (<1.2mg/l), 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (<0.2mg/l), and citric acid (<4mg/l). 

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