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
Hydraulic and solute-transport properties and simulated advective transport of contaminated ground water in a fractured-rock aquifer at the Naval Air Warfare Center, West Trenton, New Jersey, 2003
Laboratory comparison of polyethylene and dialysis membrane diffusion samplers
Comparison of dialysis membrane diffusion samplers and two purging methods in bedrock wells
Soil respiration at the Amargosa Desert Research site: A section in U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program: Proceedings of the technical meeting, Charleston, South Carolina, March 8-12, 1999: Volume 3 (Part C) (WRI 99-4018C)
Surfactant-enhanced remediation of a trichloroethene-contaminated aquifer. 2. Transport of TCE
Surfactant-enhanced remediation of a trichloroethene-contaminated aquifer. 1. Transport of triton X-100
Case study: Natural attenuation of a trichloroethene plume at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey
US Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program: Proceedings of the technical meeting, Colorado Springs, Colorado, September 20-24, 1993
Chemical and biological processes affecting the fate and transport of trichloroethylene in the subsurface at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey
A review of intrinsic bioremediation of TCE in ground water at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey and St. Joseph, Michigan
Contamination of ground water with trichloroethylene at the Building 24 site at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey
Effects of sample isolation and handling on the recovery of purgeable organic compounds
Science and Products
Hydraulic and solute-transport properties and simulated advective transport of contaminated ground water in a fractured-rock aquifer at the Naval Air Warfare Center, West Trenton, New Jersey, 2003
Laboratory comparison of polyethylene and dialysis membrane diffusion samplers
Comparison of dialysis membrane diffusion samplers and two purging methods in bedrock wells
Soil respiration at the Amargosa Desert Research site: A section in U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program: Proceedings of the technical meeting, Charleston, South Carolina, March 8-12, 1999: Volume 3 (Part C) (WRI 99-4018C)
Surfactant-enhanced remediation of a trichloroethene-contaminated aquifer. 2. Transport of TCE
Surfactant-enhanced remediation of a trichloroethene-contaminated aquifer. 1. Transport of triton X-100
Case study: Natural attenuation of a trichloroethene plume at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey
US Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program: Proceedings of the technical meeting, Colorado Springs, Colorado, September 20-24, 1993
Chemical and biological processes affecting the fate and transport of trichloroethylene in the subsurface at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey
A review of intrinsic bioremediation of TCE in ground water at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey and St. Joseph, Michigan
Contamination of ground water with trichloroethylene at the Building 24 site at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey
Effects of sample isolation and handling on the recovery of purgeable organic compounds
*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