Laurie S Balistrieri
Laurie is a Research Chemist at Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center. Since joining the USGS in 1986, her career is devoted to studying environmental geochemistry. She specializes in metal cycling in aquatic environments with a current focus on the toxicity of metal mixtures to aquatic life.
Laurie worked as a chemical oceanographer in the School of Oceanography at the University of Washington early in her career, and did various coastal and open-ocean cruises. Her research at that time examined the adsorption of metals onto synthetic metal oxide phases and natural particles, and she helped with porewater work on organic matter diagenesis. When she joined the USGS, Laurie continued her adsorption research and got involved in field studies that examined the behavior of metals in terrestrial ecosystems. She studied carbon cycling in wetlands in Louisiana, metal cycling in numerous natural and pit lakes in the Northern United States, the composition of hydrothermal vents in Yellowstone Lake and their effect on lake chemistry, and the behavior of contaminants resulting from historical mining activities in numerous river basins in Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Washington, and Vermont.
Professional Experience
Presently Research Chemist, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Grafton, Wisconsin.
Education and Certifications
M.S. - Oceanography, Univ. of Washington, School of Oceanography
Affiliations and Memberships*
Technical Advisory Group to Department of Interior on issues related to the Upper Columbia River Basin
Science and Products
Dissolved and labile concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in the South Fork Coeur d'Alene River, Idaho: Comparisons among chemical equilibrium models and implications for biotic ligand models
Understanding Metal Pathways in Mineralized Ecosystems
Assessing the concentration, speciation, and toxicity of dissolved metals during mixing of acid-mine drainage and ambient river water downstream of the Elizabeth Copper Mine, Vermont, USA
Modeling spatial and temporal variations in temperature and salinity during stratification and overturn in Dexter Pit Lake, Tuscarora, Nevada, USA
Hydrothermal vent fluids, siliceous hydrothermal deposits, and hydrothermally altered sediments in Yellowstone Lake
Authigenesis of trace metals in energetic tropical shelf environments
Modeling precipitation and sorption of elements during mixing of river water and porewater in the Coeur d'Alene River basin
Importance of Sediment-Water Interactions in Coeur d'Alene Lake, Idaho, USA: Management Implications
A study of porewater in water saturated sediments of levee banks and marshes in the lower Coeur d'Alene River valley, Idaho: Sampling, analytical methods, and results
Benthic flux of metals and nutrients into the water column of Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho: Report of an August, 1999, pilot study
Modelling removal mechanisms of Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd in acidic groundwater during the neutralization by ambient surface and ground waters
Science and Products
Dissolved and labile concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in the South Fork Coeur d'Alene River, Idaho: Comparisons among chemical equilibrium models and implications for biotic ligand models
Understanding Metal Pathways in Mineralized Ecosystems
Assessing the concentration, speciation, and toxicity of dissolved metals during mixing of acid-mine drainage and ambient river water downstream of the Elizabeth Copper Mine, Vermont, USA
Modeling spatial and temporal variations in temperature and salinity during stratification and overturn in Dexter Pit Lake, Tuscarora, Nevada, USA
Hydrothermal vent fluids, siliceous hydrothermal deposits, and hydrothermally altered sediments in Yellowstone Lake
Authigenesis of trace metals in energetic tropical shelf environments
Modeling precipitation and sorption of elements during mixing of river water and porewater in the Coeur d'Alene River basin
Importance of Sediment-Water Interactions in Coeur d'Alene Lake, Idaho, USA: Management Implications
A study of porewater in water saturated sediments of levee banks and marshes in the lower Coeur d'Alene River valley, Idaho: Sampling, analytical methods, and results
Benthic flux of metals and nutrients into the water column of Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho: Report of an August, 1999, pilot study
Modelling removal mechanisms of Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd in acidic groundwater during the neutralization by ambient surface and ground waters
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government