Addressing Knowledge Gaps on the Potential Effects of Critical Minerals on Aquatic Life
USGS Friday's Findings Webinar - August 21, 2026
Join this Friday's Findings to learn how USGS is investigating the potential effects of critical minerals on aquatic life and characterizing the bioavailability and toxicity of these elements in aquatic ecosystems.
Date
Friday, August 21, 2026, 2:00–2:30 pm ET / 11:00–11:30 am PT
Speaker
Christopher Kotalik, Research Ecologist, Columbia Environmental Research Center
Webinar Summary
Critical minerals are essential to economic growth and national security, and strengthening their supply chains supports long-term domestic resilience. Although our understanding of the environmental fate, bioavailability, and toxicity of many critical minerals is still developing, expanding this knowledge improves our ability to understand how these elements behave in aquatic systems. This presentation provides an overview of key considerations for evaluating how critical minerals interact with aquatic ecosystems and highlights research approaches used to characterize their bioavailability and potential effects on aquatic life.
Series Info
Friday’s Findings is a twice‑monthly public webinar series hosted by the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area.