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
Assessing the influence of reacting pyrite and carbonate minerals on the geochemistry of drainage in the Coeur d'Alene mining district
Drainage from adits and tailings piles in the Coeur d'Alene mining district, Idaho; sampling, analytical methods and results
Preliminary estimates of benthic fluxes of dissolved metals in Coeur d'Alene Lake, Idaho
Distribution and mobility of molybdenum in the terrestrial environment
The geochemical cycling of stable Pb, 210Pb, and 210Po in seasonally anoxic Lake Sammamish, Washington, USA
The biogeochemistry of wetlands in the San Luis Valley, Colorado: The effects of acid drainage from natural and mine sources
The effect of acidic, metal-enriched drainage from the Wightman Fork and Alamosa River on the composition of selected wetlands in San Luis Valley, Colorado
Geochemistry of sediments from coastal marshes of Louisiana
The geochemical cycling of trace elements in a biogenic meromictic lake
Analytical results for As species and related elements in interstitial porewater and sediment from the Maurice River and Union Lake in Vineland, New Jersey
Understanding our fragile environment; Lessons from geochemical studies
Hydrological, geomorphological, and chemical effects of Hurricane Andrew on coastal marshes of Louisiana
Science and Products
Assessing the influence of reacting pyrite and carbonate minerals on the geochemistry of drainage in the Coeur d'Alene mining district
Drainage from adits and tailings piles in the Coeur d'Alene mining district, Idaho; sampling, analytical methods and results
Preliminary estimates of benthic fluxes of dissolved metals in Coeur d'Alene Lake, Idaho
Distribution and mobility of molybdenum in the terrestrial environment
The geochemical cycling of stable Pb, 210Pb, and 210Po in seasonally anoxic Lake Sammamish, Washington, USA
The biogeochemistry of wetlands in the San Luis Valley, Colorado: The effects of acid drainage from natural and mine sources
The effect of acidic, metal-enriched drainage from the Wightman Fork and Alamosa River on the composition of selected wetlands in San Luis Valley, Colorado
Geochemistry of sediments from coastal marshes of Louisiana
The geochemical cycling of trace elements in a biogenic meromictic lake
Analytical results for As species and related elements in interstitial porewater and sediment from the Maurice River and Union Lake in Vineland, New Jersey
Understanding our fragile environment; Lessons from geochemical studies
Hydrological, geomorphological, and chemical effects of Hurricane Andrew on coastal marshes of Louisiana
*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