Dr. Benjamin Linhoff is a research hydrologist for the USGS Water Resources Mission Area, Earth System Process Division.
Dr. Linhoff specializes in using hydrogeochemistry, biogeochemistry, and isotope geochemistry to answer questions related to groundwater hydrology and the fate and transport of nutrients, metals, and emerging contaminants in surface water and groundwater. His current research is on selenium biogeochemistry in the Kootenai River watershed, tracing PFAS through arid environments, the effect of wildfires on water quality, and groundwater quantity trends in the United States.
Prior to the USGS, his graduate research focused on developing chemical tracers of Greenland Ice Sheet hydrology and the chemical evolution of hypersaline soda lakes in Mongolia. Between graduate degrees, he worked in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory where he operated several mass spectrometers and researched groundwater quality in northern New Mexico.
Professional Experience
2023–present: Research Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Mission Area, Earth System Process Division
2021–2023: Research Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, New Mexico Water Science Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico
2016–2021: Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, New Mexico Water Science Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico
2009–2010: Post Masters Graduate Research Assistant, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico
2006: Fulbright Fellowship, Mongolia
Education and Certifications
PhD, Geochemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program, 2016
MS, Hydrology, The University of Texas at Austin, 2009
BS, Geology, Boise State, 2005
Affiliations and Memberships*
American Geophysical Union: 2009–present
Geochemical Society: 2005–present
Science and Products
Nitrate Contamination in the Albuquerque Basin
Groundwater flow model investigation of the vulnerability of water resources at Chaco Culture National Historical Park related to unconventional oil and gas development
Water quality at Chaco Culture National Historical Park and the potential effects of hydrocarbon extraction
Deciphering natural and anthropogenic nitrate and recharge sources in arid region groundwater
Utilizing multiple hydrogeologic and anthropogenic indicators to understand zones of groundwater contribution to water-supply wells near Kirtland Air Force Base Bulk Fuels Facility in southeast Albuquerque, New Mexico
Discovery of a large subsoil nitrate reservoir in an arroyo floodplain and associated aquifer contamination
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.
Albuquerque Region Nitrate Map Viewer
This interactive map summarizes historical groundwater sampling for nitrate in the Albuquerque Basin, potential sources of nitrate in groundwater, and other complementary data.
Science and Products
- Science
Nitrate Contamination in the Albuquerque Basin
Globally, nitrate is the most ubiquitous groundwater contaminate including within the Albuquerque Basin in New Mexico. Ingesting high concentrations of nitrate (> 10 mg/L as N) in drinking water can lead to an increased risk of cancer and in infants, methemoglobinemia. Historical groundwater sampling in Albuquerque and Kirtland Air Force Base have found high (> 10 mg/L as N) and sometime extreme (... - Publications
Groundwater flow model investigation of the vulnerability of water resources at Chaco Culture National Historical Park related to unconventional oil and gas development
Chaco Culture National Historical Park (CCNHP), located in northwestern New Mexico, protects the greatest concentration of Chacoan historical sites in the American Southwest. Geologically, CCNHP is located within the San Juan structural basin, which consists in part of complex Cretaceous stratigraphy and hosts a variety of energy resources. As part of a larger study to investigate the vulnerabilitAuthorsZachary M. Shephard, Andre B. Ritchie, Benjamin S. Linhoff, John Joseph LunzerWater quality at Chaco Culture National Historical Park and the potential effects of hydrocarbon extraction
Study regionChaco Culture National Historical Park (CCNHP) is in the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico, U.S.A. Its only water supply is in Gallup Sandstone aquifer, stratigraphically surrounded by layers long targeted for oil and natural gas extraction.Study focusTo assess groundwater flow direction, age, mixing between aquifers, and whether hydrocarbons extraction may affect water qualityAuthorsBenjamin S. Linhoff, Kimberly R. Beisner, Andrew Hunt, Zachary M. ShephardDeciphering natural and anthropogenic nitrate and recharge sources in arid region groundwater
Recently, the subsoils of ephemeral stream (arroyos) floodplains in the northern Chihuahuan Desert were discovered to contain large naturally occurring NO3− reservoirs (floodplain: ~38,000 kg NO3-N/ha; background: ~60 kg NO3-N/ha). These reservoirs may be mobilized through land use change or natural stream channel migration which makes differentiating between anthropogenic and natural groundwaterAuthorsBenjamin S. LinhoffUtilizing multiple hydrogeologic and anthropogenic indicators to understand zones of groundwater contribution to water-supply wells near Kirtland Air Force Base Bulk Fuels Facility in southeast Albuquerque, New Mexico
In 1999, a jet-fuels release was discovered at the Bulk Fuels Facility on Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Contaminants had reached the water table and migrated north-northeast toward water-supply wells. Monitoring wells were installed downgradient from the facility to determine the primary zones of groundwater production for water-supply wells and assess contaminant presence. TheAuthorsRebecca E. Travis, Meghan T. Bell, Benjamin S. Linhoff, Kimberly R. BeisnerDiscovery of a large subsoil nitrate reservoir in an arroyo floodplain and associated aquifer contamination
In an area of elevated nitrate (NO3) groundwater concentrations in the northern Chihuahuan Desert in central New Mexico (United States), a large reservoir of nitrate was found in the subsoil of an arroyo floodplain. Nitrate inventories in the floodplain subsoils ranged from 10,000 to 38,000 kg NO3-N/ha—over twice as high as any previously measured arid region. The floodplain subsoil NO3 reservoirAuthorsBenjamin Shawn Linhoff, John Joseph LunzerNon-USGS Publications**
Hawkings, J.R., Linhoff, B.S., Wadham, J.L., Stibal, M., Lamborg, C.H., Carling, G.T., Lamarche-gagnon, G., Kohler, T.J., Ward, R., Hendry, K.R., Falteisek, L., Kellerman, A.M., Cameron, K.A., Hatton, J.E., Tingey, S., Holt, A.D., Vinšová, P., 2021. Large subglacial source of mercury from the southwestern margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Nat. Geosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-021-00753-wChandler, D.M., Wadham, J.L., Nienow, P.W., Doyle, S.H., Tedstone, A.J., Telling, J., Hawkings, J., Alcock, J.D., Linhoff, B., Hubbard, A., 2021. Rapid development and persistence of efficient subglacial drainage under 900 m-thick ice in Greenland. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 566, 116982. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2021.116982Linhoff, B., Charette, M., and Wadham, J., 2020, Rapid mineral surface weathering beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet shown by radium and uranium isotopes: Chemical Geology, v. 547, p. 119663, doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2020.119663Linhoff, B.S., Charette, M.A., Nienow, P.W., Wadham, J.L., Tedstone, A.J., and Cowton, T., 2017, Utility of222Rn as a passive tracer of subglacial distributed system drainage: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 462, p. 180–188, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2016.12.039.Linhoff, B., Longmire, P., Rearick, M., McQuillan, D., and Perkins, G., 2016, Water quality and hydrogeochemistry of a basin and range watershed in a semi-arid region of northern New Mexico: Environmental Earth Sciences, v. 75, p. 640, doi:10.1007/s12665-015-5179-8.Placzek, C.J., Heikoop, J.M., House, B., Linhoff, B.S., and Pelizza, M., 2016, Uranium isotope composition of waters from South Texas uranium ore deposits: Chemical Geology, v. 437, p. 44–55, doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2016.05.008.Linhoff, B.S., Bennett, P.C., Puntsag, T., and Gerel, O., 2011, Geochemical evolution of uraniferous soda lakes in Eastern Mongolia: Environmental Earth Sciences, v. 62, p. 171–183, doi:10.1007/s12665-010-0512-8.**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.
- Web Tools
Albuquerque Region Nitrate Map Viewer
This interactive map summarizes historical groundwater sampling for nitrate in the Albuquerque Basin, potential sources of nitrate in groundwater, and other complementary data.
*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