Melinda L Erickson, PhD, PE
Dr. Melinda (Mindy) Erickson is a research hydrologist in the USGS Upper Midwest Water Science Center - Minnesota office. She is also an adjunct associate professor and Fellow at the University of Minnesota (Fellow, Institute on the Environment. Faculty member Department of Soil, Water, and Climate; Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering; and Water Resources Science).
I am a groundwater contaminant subject matter expert on several national and international interdisciplinary project teams. I have been working in the hydrogeology field since 1993, starting first in environmental consulting and then moving into groundwater-related research in 1998. I was a research scientist for the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency before moving to the federal government with USGS in 2009. My favorite research topic is occurrence, geochemistry, and mobilization of arsenic in natural groundwater systems. Developing models for the behavior of arsenic in the natural environment is elusive due to its complex associations with other metals and minerals, and the interplay of redox, pH, biogeochemistry, and hydrogeology. Even after 25 years of arsenic research, I continue to be fascinated.
Professional Experience
U.S. Geological Survey, Research Hydrologist (2009 - present)
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Environmental Research Scientist (2006 – 2009)
Minnesota Department of Transportation, Senior Research Analyst/GIS Specialist (2005 – 2006)
Minnesota Department of Health, Hydrologist (1998 – 2000)
Remediation Technologies, Inc. (RETEC), Project Manager/Project Engineer (1993 – 1997)
Education and Certifications
PhD, Water Resources Science, University of Minnesota, 2005
MS, Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota, 1992
BS, Geo-Engineering, University of Minnesota, 1990
Affiliations and Memberships*
Groundwater journal, Associate Editor (2020 - present)
University of Minnesota, Fellow - Institute on the Environment (2020 - present)
University of Minnesota, Adjunct Associate Professor - Departments of Soil, Water and Climate (2017 - present); Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering; Water Resources Science (2007 - present)
Minnesota Groundwater Association, elected President term (2010 - 2012)
Minnesota Groundwater Association, Member (1992 - present)
Honors and Awards
2022 Civil Servant of the Year, Upper Midwest Water Science Center, in recognition to sustained commitment to and participation in mentoring.
FY16 Groundwater Report of the Year – co-author on winning report titled “Statistical analysis of lake levels and field study of groundwater and surface-water exchanges in the northeast Twin Cities Me
2005 – Honorable Mention, Best Dissertation in the Field of Natural Sciences and Engineering Competition, The Universities Council on Water Resources.
1990 – National Science Foundation: Award for Creativity in Engineering, Fellowship for graduate study.
Abstracts and Presentations
Erickson, ML, CJ Brown, EJ Tomaszewski, JD Ayotte, DB Kent, JK Böhlke, and S Qi. Prioritizing Water Availability Study Settings to Address Geogenic Contaminants, Domestic Well Water Use, and Other Societal Factors. Invited presentation at the American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting (https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm23/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/1265381), December 11 – 15, 2023. San Francisco, CA.
Erickson ML, O Miller, M Cashman, J Degnan, E Stets. Groundwater Quality Across the United States: Water Availability Implications. Oral presentation at the American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting (https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm23/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/1265036), December 11 – 15, 2023. San Francisco, CA.
Erickson, ML. Private Domestic Wells: Challenges to Equity in Drinking Water Quality. Invited presentation at the Minnesota Groundwater Association Fall Conference (https://www.mgwa.org/conferences/mgwa-2023-fall-conference/), November 14, 2023. Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Erickson, ML. Incorporating historical disparities into national prioritization of geogenic constituent water quality studies. Invited presentation at a joint meeting of the MN Section of American Institute of Professional Geologists and the MN Chapter of the Association for Women Geoscientists, April 18, 2023.
Erickson, ML and EC Berquist. What have we learned from 60,000 arsenic measurements in new wells? A lot! Invited presentation at Minnesota Department of Health, October 12, 2022.
Erickson, ML. 2021. “Arsenic in Minnesota groundwater: What can we do about it?” Invited presentation to the Minnesota Legislative Subcommittee on Water Policy, November 22, 2021.
Erickson, ML. 2021. What have we learned from 60,000 arsenic measurements in new wells? A lot! Invited presentation at Minnesota Groundwater Association Spring Conference, April 27, 2021.
Erickson, ML. 2020. Drinking Water Quality Across the Glacial Aquifer System, Northern US: Measured and Modeled Concentrations of Arsenic and Manganese. Invited presentation at the MN chapter of American Institute of Professional Geologists meeting. January 7, 2020, St. Paul, MN.
Erickson, ML. 2020. Drinking Water Quality Across the Glacial Aquifer System, Northern US: Measured and Modeled Concentrations of Arsenic and Manganese. Invited presentation at the MN chapter of AIPG monthly meeting. January 7, 2020, St. Paul, MN.
Erickson, ML, SM Elliott, CJ Brown, PE Stackelberg, KM Ransom, 2019. Modeling and mapping high arsenic and manganese concentrations in the glacial aquifer system, northern USA. Invited presentation (https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm19/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/485927) at the American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting, December 9 – 13, 2019. San Francisco, CA.
Erickson, ML, SM Elliott, CJ Brown, PE Stackelberg, KM Ransom, 2019. Modeling and mapping high arsenic and manganese concentrations in the glacial aquifer system, northern USA: Using machine learning methods to predict water quality conditions in an extensive, stratigraphically complex, unconsolidated drinking water aquifer system. Invited presentation at the American Geophysical Union Annual Meet
Erickson, ML, HR Malenda, EC Berquist, JD Ayotte. 2018. Geochemical evolution of groundwater after drinking water well installation: effects on arsenic mobilization. Invited presentation at the Geological Society of America annual meeting, November 4-7, 2018. Indianapolis, IN.
Erickson, ML, HR Malenda, EC Berquist, JD Ayotte. 2018. Geochemical evolution of groundwater after drinking water well installation: effects on arsenic mobilization. Invited presentation at the Geological Society of America annual meeting, November 4-7, 2018. Indianapolis, IN.
Erickson, ML. 2018. Arsenic and manganese in glacial aquifers: Results for Minnesota and plans for coast-to-coast modeling and mapping, Invited presentation to the Iowa Association of Water Agencies, January 18, 2018, Ankeny, IA.
Science and Products
Wastewater indicators, hormones, sterols, antibiotics, and pharmaceuticals in soil at an agricultural field irrigated with domestic septage, central Minnesota, September 2014
Predicting geogenic arsenic in drinking water wells in glacial aquifers, north-central USA: Accounting for depth-dependent features
Detecting sulfamethoxazole and carbamazepine in groundwater: Is ELISA a reliable screening tool?
Solid-phase arsenic speciation in aquifer sediments: A micro-X-ray absorption spectroscopy approach for quantifying trace-level speciation
Simulation and assessment of groundwater flow and groundwater and surface-water exchanges in lakes of the northeast Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Minnesota, 2003 through 2013: Chapter B of Water levels and groundwater and surface-water exchanges in lakes
Statistical analysis of lake levels and field study of groundwater and surface-water exchanges in the northeast Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Minnesota, 2002 through 2015: Chapter A of Water levels and groundwater and surface-water exchanges in lakes
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Wastewater indicators, hormones, sterols, antibiotics, and pharmaceuticals in soil at an agricultural field irrigated with domestic septage, central Minnesota, September 2014
Predicting geogenic arsenic in drinking water wells in glacial aquifers, north-central USA: Accounting for depth-dependent features
Detecting sulfamethoxazole and carbamazepine in groundwater: Is ELISA a reliable screening tool?
Solid-phase arsenic speciation in aquifer sediments: A micro-X-ray absorption spectroscopy approach for quantifying trace-level speciation
Simulation and assessment of groundwater flow and groundwater and surface-water exchanges in lakes of the northeast Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Minnesota, 2003 through 2013: Chapter B of Water levels and groundwater and surface-water exchanges in lakes
Statistical analysis of lake levels and field study of groundwater and surface-water exchanges in the northeast Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Minnesota, 2002 through 2015: Chapter A of Water levels and groundwater and surface-water exchanges in lakes
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
*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