Matthew S. Varonka, Ph.D.
Matthew Varonka is a Research Chemist with the USGS Geology, Energy & Minerals (GEM) Science Center in Reston, VA.
Matthew works in the Eastern Energy and Environmental Laboratory (EEEL), which is involved in a variety of research goals relating energy and the environment. Matt graduated from Penn State University with a B.S. in chemistry and went on to earn a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from Georgetown University before joining the USGS in 2010.
Science and Products
Advancements in Geochemistry and Geomicrobiology of Energy Resources (AGGER)
Black Bear Creek Watershed Hydrologic Summary for the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma
Subject-Area Specialists
Interpretive Reports
Oklahoma Water Science Center Publications
Other Reports and Data Releases
Fact Sheets
Open-File Reports
Hexane extractable material in water-based and oil-based drilling fluid wastes collected from sites in Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Wyoming in 2021
Chemistry data from leachates of hydraulic fracturing proppants collected from southeastern New Mexico, 2018-2019
Proppants used during hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells are manufactured to maximize petroleum yield by controlling the size, shape, density, and strength of the proppant material. The most common types of proppants are mined silica sand and manufactured ceramics, some of which are further modified with organic resin coatings to improve performance. Much of the work on the environmental an
Aqueous and solid phases partitioning of elemental constituents associated with Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory (MSEEL) gas well produced wastewater, Morgantown, WV, 2016 - 2019
Geochemical Data for Coal Wastes from Bituminous Coal Mining in Pennsylvania, 2022
Organic Compounds Identified via Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry in Produced Water Samples Collected at the Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory (MSEEL) 2015-2019, Morgantown Industrial Park (MIP), West Virginia
Geochemistry and microbiology data collected to study the effects of oil and gas wastewater dumping on arid lands in New Mexico
Chemical characterization of water, sediments, and fish from Water Conservation Areas and Canals of the Florida Everglades (USA), 2012 to 2019
Carbon and Nitrogen in Sediments from Hg-Contaminated Streams and Lakes in Texas, Virginia, and Tennessee
Absorbance and Fluorescence Excitation-Emission Matrix Data for Produced Waters from Oil and Gas Producing Basins in the United States
Total and Methyl Mercury Water and Fish Concentrations within Everglades National Park
Chemistry Data from the Birney Test Site, Montana, 2018-2020
Data on Produced Water Quality and Quantities from Hydraulically Fractured Williston Basin Oil Wells
Produced water geochemistry from hydraulically stimulated Niobrara Formation petroleum wells: Origin of salinity and temporal perspectives on treatment and reuse
Non-mercury methylating microbial taxa are integral to understanding links between mercury methylation and elemental cycles in marine and freshwater sediments
Chemical composition of leachates from hydraulic fracturing proppants from surficial releases in southeastern New Mexico
Illegal dumping of oil and gas wastewater alters arid soil microbial communities
Dissolved organic matter within oil and gas associated wastewaters from U.S. unconventional petroleum plays: Comparisons and consequences for disposal and reuse
Decadal trends of mercury cycling and bioaccumulation within Everglades National Park
In situ enhancement and isotopic labeling of biogenic coalbed methane
Oil and gas wastewater components alter streambed microbial community structure and function
Insights on geochemical, isotopic, and volumetric compositions of produced water from hydraulically fractured Williston Basin oil wells
Tracing produced water origins from wells hydraulically fractured with freshwater-based fluids is sometimes predicated on assumptions that (1) each geological formation contains compositionally unique brine and (2) produced water from recently hydraulically fractured wells resembles fresher meteoric water more so than produced water from older wells. These assumptions are not valid in Williston Ba
Water resources in the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal jurisdictional area, west-central Oklahoma, with an analysis of data gaps through 2015
Origin and geochemistry of formation waters from the lower Eagle Ford Group, Gulf Coast Basin, south central Texas
Organic compounds in produced waters from the Bakken Formation and Three Forks Formation in the Williston Basin, North Dakota
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
Advancements in Geochemistry and Geomicrobiology of Energy Resources (AGGER)
Black Bear Creek Watershed Hydrologic Summary for the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma
Subject-Area Specialists
Interpretive Reports
Oklahoma Water Science Center Publications
Other Reports and Data Releases
Fact Sheets
Open-File Reports
Hexane extractable material in water-based and oil-based drilling fluid wastes collected from sites in Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Wyoming in 2021
Chemistry data from leachates of hydraulic fracturing proppants collected from southeastern New Mexico, 2018-2019
Proppants used during hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells are manufactured to maximize petroleum yield by controlling the size, shape, density, and strength of the proppant material. The most common types of proppants are mined silica sand and manufactured ceramics, some of which are further modified with organic resin coatings to improve performance. Much of the work on the environmental an
Aqueous and solid phases partitioning of elemental constituents associated with Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory (MSEEL) gas well produced wastewater, Morgantown, WV, 2016 - 2019
Geochemical Data for Coal Wastes from Bituminous Coal Mining in Pennsylvania, 2022
Organic Compounds Identified via Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry in Produced Water Samples Collected at the Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory (MSEEL) 2015-2019, Morgantown Industrial Park (MIP), West Virginia
Geochemistry and microbiology data collected to study the effects of oil and gas wastewater dumping on arid lands in New Mexico
Chemical characterization of water, sediments, and fish from Water Conservation Areas and Canals of the Florida Everglades (USA), 2012 to 2019
Carbon and Nitrogen in Sediments from Hg-Contaminated Streams and Lakes in Texas, Virginia, and Tennessee
Absorbance and Fluorescence Excitation-Emission Matrix Data for Produced Waters from Oil and Gas Producing Basins in the United States
Total and Methyl Mercury Water and Fish Concentrations within Everglades National Park
Chemistry Data from the Birney Test Site, Montana, 2018-2020
Data on Produced Water Quality and Quantities from Hydraulically Fractured Williston Basin Oil Wells
Produced water geochemistry from hydraulically stimulated Niobrara Formation petroleum wells: Origin of salinity and temporal perspectives on treatment and reuse
Non-mercury methylating microbial taxa are integral to understanding links between mercury methylation and elemental cycles in marine and freshwater sediments
Chemical composition of leachates from hydraulic fracturing proppants from surficial releases in southeastern New Mexico
Illegal dumping of oil and gas wastewater alters arid soil microbial communities
Dissolved organic matter within oil and gas associated wastewaters from U.S. unconventional petroleum plays: Comparisons and consequences for disposal and reuse
Decadal trends of mercury cycling and bioaccumulation within Everglades National Park
In situ enhancement and isotopic labeling of biogenic coalbed methane
Oil and gas wastewater components alter streambed microbial community structure and function
Insights on geochemical, isotopic, and volumetric compositions of produced water from hydraulically fractured Williston Basin oil wells
Tracing produced water origins from wells hydraulically fractured with freshwater-based fluids is sometimes predicated on assumptions that (1) each geological formation contains compositionally unique brine and (2) produced water from recently hydraulically fractured wells resembles fresher meteoric water more so than produced water from older wells. These assumptions are not valid in Williston Ba
Water resources in the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal jurisdictional area, west-central Oklahoma, with an analysis of data gaps through 2015
Origin and geochemistry of formation waters from the lower Eagle Ford Group, Gulf Coast Basin, south central Texas
Organic compounds in produced waters from the Bakken Formation and Three Forks Formation in the Williston Basin, North Dakota
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.