Thomas E Imbrigiotta
Tom Imbrigiotta has worked for the USGS since 1977 in Indiana and New Jersey on groundwater contamination and sampling devices. He has served the USGS New Jersey Water Science Center as Water Quality Specialist, Supervisory Hydrologist, and Research Hydrologist, and became a Scientist Emeritus Hydrologist in 2019.
Research Interests
- Quantifying natural attenuation and enhanced bioremediation processes in contaminant plumes
- Chemical diffusion from fractured rock into boreholes
- Rock core sampling for volatile organic compound (VOC) contaminants in fractured rock aquifers
- Regenerated-cellulose dialysis membrane (RCDM) passive diffusion samplers for VOCs, inorganics, perchlorate, and explosive compounds in wells
- Sampling methods for organics in groundwater
Professional Experience
2005-2019 Research hydrologist and project chief of the NAWC Navy project at the former Naval Air Warfare Center in West Trenton, NJ. Conducted research for the Toxics Substances Hydrology Program and a Strategic Environmental Research and Development (SERDP) project at the NAWC fractured rock research site.
Helped develop and test a downhole packer tool and uphole closed-loop sampling device to measure diffusion rates from the rock matrix and biodegradation rates in the borehole.
2014-2016 Water Quality Specialist, NJWSC
2009-2014 Supervisory Hydrologist, Hydrologic Research Program section of the NJWSC
2003-2008 Project chief, Environmental Security Technology Certification (ESTCP) study developing a RCDM diffusion sampler for groundwater in wells
1997-2005 Senior hydrologist studying natural attenuation mechanisms in New Jersey aquifers contaminated with VOCs
1988-1997 Project chief and coordinator of an interdisciplinary research study of the fate and transport of chlorinated solvents in an unconfined sand-and-gravel aquifer at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, the USGS Toxic Substances Hydrology Program's national research site for chlorinated solvent contamination research in unconsolidated aquifers
1984-1988 Project chief for evaluation of methods for sampling organics in groundwater
1977-1984 Project chief for investigations of groundwater quality in Indiana
Education and Certifications
M.S. Water Chemistry, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, 1982
B.S. Chemistry, Oakland Univ., Rochester, Michigan, 1975
Affiliations and Memberships*
Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council, PFAS Team 2017-2019, Passive Sampler Team 2002-2010
American Chemical Society 1974-1990, 1999-2008
American Geophysical Union 1990-2008
American Society for Testing and Materials 1986-1988
Indiana Water Resources Assoc. 1980-1984 (Sec. 1982-1984)
Honors and Awards
USGS Award for RCDM sampler patent application, 2005
USGS Awards for sampling course development and presentation, 1987, 1990
Science and Products
Estuarine bed-sediment-quality data collected in New Jersey and New York after Hurricane Sandy, 2013
High-resolution delineation of chlorinated volatile organic compounds in a dipping, fractured mudstone: depth- and strata-dependent spatial variability from rock-core sampling
Integration of stable carbon isotope, microbial community, dissolved hydrogen gas, and 2HH2O tracer data to assess bioaugmentation for chlorinated ethene degradation in fractured rocks
Enhanced dichloroethene biodegradation in fractured rock under biostimulated and bioaugmented conditions
Demonstration/validation of the snap sampler passive groundwater sampling device at the former McClellan Air Force Base
Demonstration and validation of a regenerated cellulose dialysis membrane diffusion sampler for monitoring groundwater quality and remediation progress at DoD sites: Perchlorate and ordnance compounds
Demonstration/validation of the Snap sampler passive groundwater sampling device
Flowpath independent monitoring of reductive dechlorination potential in a fractured rock aquifer
Protocol for use of regenerated cellulose dialysis membrane diffusion samplers (ER-0313)
Demonstration and validation of a regenerated cellulose dialysis membrane diffusion sampler for monitoring ground-water quality and remediation progress at DoD sites (ER-0313)
Contamination in fractured-rock aquifers: Research at the former Naval Air Warfare Center, West Trenton, New Jersey
Regenerated cellulose dialysis membrane sampler
Science and Products
Estuarine bed-sediment-quality data collected in New Jersey and New York after Hurricane Sandy, 2013
High-resolution delineation of chlorinated volatile organic compounds in a dipping, fractured mudstone: depth- and strata-dependent spatial variability from rock-core sampling
Integration of stable carbon isotope, microbial community, dissolved hydrogen gas, and 2HH2O tracer data to assess bioaugmentation for chlorinated ethene degradation in fractured rocks
Enhanced dichloroethene biodegradation in fractured rock under biostimulated and bioaugmented conditions
Demonstration/validation of the snap sampler passive groundwater sampling device at the former McClellan Air Force Base
Demonstration and validation of a regenerated cellulose dialysis membrane diffusion sampler for monitoring groundwater quality and remediation progress at DoD sites: Perchlorate and ordnance compounds
Demonstration/validation of the Snap sampler passive groundwater sampling device
Flowpath independent monitoring of reductive dechlorination potential in a fractured rock aquifer
Protocol for use of regenerated cellulose dialysis membrane diffusion samplers (ER-0313)
Demonstration and validation of a regenerated cellulose dialysis membrane diffusion sampler for monitoring ground-water quality and remediation progress at DoD sites (ER-0313)
Contamination in fractured-rock aquifers: Research at the former Naval Air Warfare Center, West Trenton, New Jersey
Regenerated cellulose dialysis membrane sampler
*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