Black, F. J., Poulin, B. A., and Flegal, A. R. (2012) Factors controlling the abiotic photo-degradation of monomethylmercury in surface waters. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 84, 492-507, DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2012.01.019.
Brett A Poulin, PhD
Biography
Brett Poulin is an chemist with the Water Mission Area in Boulder, Colorado. He completed B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Biology, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Environmental Engineering. His research focuses on the chemistry of natural organic matter in natural and managed aquatic environments, with an emphasis on the use of diverse analytical approaches to characterize natural organic matter. These include optical measurements (e.g., UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy), molecular-level measurements (e.g., ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry), and atomic-level measurements (e.g., X-ray absorption spectroscopy). Current projects apply these tools to better quantify interactions between natural organic matter and trace metal contaminants (e.g., mercury) in wetlands and reservoirs. An emphasis is placed on measurements that aid development of contaminant fate and risk-based assessment models that inform water management decisions.
EDUCATION
2016 Ph.D., Environmental Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder
2013 M.S., Environmental Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder
2008 B.S., Chemistry, University of California at Santa Cruz
2008 B.S., Biology, University of California at Santa Cruz
AWARDS
2015 Pathfinder Graduate Student Fellowship, Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science Inc. (CUAHSI)
2012 Student Travel Fellowship, U.S. Department of Energy Subsurface Biogeochemical Research Meeting
2008 Thesis Honors, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California at Santa Cruz
2008 Undergraduate Deans Award, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California at Santa Cruz
2008 Undergraduate Chancellors Award, Division of Physical and Biologic Sciences, University of California at Santa Cruz
2007 STEPS Institute Undergraduate Research Grant, University of California at Santa Cruz
2007 Kresge College Undergraduate Project Award, University of California at Santa Cruz
2006 C.DELSI Undergraduate Research Award, University of California at Santa Cruz
Science and Products
Date published: October 23, 2019
Status: Active Shingobee Headwaters Aquatic Ecosystems Project (SHAEP)
The Shingobee Headwaters Aquatic Ecosystems Project (SHAEP) brings together scientists from the USGS along with students and professors from universities in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and California for a unique study opportunity. This diverse group of scientists research the physical, chemical, and biological processes of lakes, wetlands, and streams at local and watershed scales....
Contacts: Donald O Rosenberry, Dallas C Hudson, Paul F Schuster, Richard Webb, Mark M Dornblaser, Carol Kendall, Richard L Kiesling, Ph.D., Brett A Poulin, PhD, Rob Striegl, Bruce Carlson, Phil Gerla, Andrew Hafs, Tim Kroeger, Bob Melchior
Attribution: Water Resources
Date published: October 16, 2019
Status: Active Beavers Impacting Tundra Ecosystems (BITE)
The range expansion of the North American beaver (Castor canadensis) has implications for water quality, aquatic ecosystems, and fisheries in Arctic streams.
Contacts: Michael P Carey, Ph.D., Joshua C Koch, Ph.D., Brett A Poulin, PhD, Jonathan O’Donnell, PhD, Ken Tape, PhD
Year Published: 2019
Aquatic cycling of mercury
This chapter examines crucial processes in the aquatic cycling of mercury (Hg) that may lead to microbial production of neurotoxic and bioaccumulative methylmercury (MeHg), and highlights environmental conditions in the Everglades that make it ideal for MeHg production and bioaccumulation. The role of complexation of Hg2+ in surface water,...
Orem, William H.; Krabbenhoft, David P.; Poulin, Brett; Aiken, George A
Year Published: 2019
Sulfur contamination in the Everglades, a major control on mercury methylation
In this chapter sulfur contamination of the Everglades and its role as a major control on methylmercury (MeHg) production is examined. Sulfate concentrations over large portions of the Everglades (60% of the ecosystem) are elevated or greatly elevated compared to background conditions of <1 mg/L. Land and water management practices in...
Orem, William H.; Krabbenhoft, David P.; Poulin, Brett; George Aiken
Year Published: 2019
Geochemical factors controlling dissolved elemental mercury and methylmercury formation in Alaskan wetlands of varying trophic status
Transformations of aqueous inorganic divalent mercury (Hg(II)i) to volatile dissolved gaseous mercury (Hg(0)(aq)) and toxic methylmercury (MeHg) governs mercury bioavailability and fate in northern ecosystems. This study quantified concentrations of aqueous mercury species (Hg(II)i, Hg(0)(aq), MeHg) and relevant geochemical constituents in pore...
Poulin, Brett; Ryan, Joseph N.; Tate, Michael; Krabbenhoft, David; Hines, Mark E; Barkay, Tamar; Schaefer, Jeffra; Aiken, George R.
Year Published: 2017
Effects of sulfide concentration and dissolved organic matter characteristics on the structure of nanocolloidal metacinnabar
Understanding the speciation of divalent mercury (Hg(II)) in aquatic systems containing dissolved organic matter (DOM) and sulfide is necessary to predict the conversion of Hg(II) to bioavailable methylmercury. We used X-ray absorption spectroscopy to characterize the structural order of mercury in Hg(II)–DOM–sulfide systems for a range of sulfide...
Poulin, Brett; Gerbig, Chase A.; Kim, Christopher S.; Stegemeier, John P.; Ryan, Joseph N.; Aiken, George R.View Citation
Poulin, B.A., Gerbig, C. A., Kim, C.S., Stegemeier, J.P., Ryan, J.N., and Aiken, G.R. Effects of Sulfide Concentration and Dissolved Organic Matter Characteristics on the Structure of Nanocolloidal Metacinnabar. 2017. Environmental Science & Technology 51, 13133-13142. DOI:10.1021/acs.est.7b02687.
Year Published: 2017
Spatial dependence of reduced sulfur in Everglades dissolved organic matter controlled by sulfate enrichment
Sulfate inputs to the Florida Everglades stimulate sulfidic conditions in freshwater wetland sediments that affect ecological and biogeochemical processes. An unexplored implication of sulfate enrichment is alteration of the content and speciation of sulfur in dissolved organic matter (DOM), which influences the reactivity of DOM with trace metals...
Poulin, Brett A.; Ryan, Joseph N.; Nagy, Kathryn L.; Stubbins, Aron; Dittmar, Thorsten; Orem, William H.; Krabbenhoft, David P.; Aiken, George R.View Citation
Poulin, B. A., J. N. Ryan, K. L. Nagy, A. Stubbins, T. Dittmar, W. Orem, D. P. Krabbenhoft, and G. R. Aiken (2017), Spatial Dependence of Reduced Sulfur in Everglades Dissolved Organic Matter Controlled by Sulfate Enrichment, Environ. Sci. Technol., 51(7), pp 3630-3639, doi:10.1021/acs.est.6b04142.
Year Published: 2016
Mercury transformation and release differs with depth and time in a contaminated riparian soil during simulated flooding
Riparian soils are an important environment in the transport of mercury in rivers and wetlands, but the biogeochemical factors controlling mercury dynamics under transient redox conditions in these soils are not well understood. Mercury release and transformations in the Oa and underlying A horizons of a contaminated riparian soil were...
Poulin, Brett; Aiken, George R.; Nagy, Kathryn L.; Manceau, Alain; Krabbenhoft, David P.; Ryan, Joseph N.View Citation
Brett A. Poulin, B. A., George R. Aiken, G. R., David P. Krabbenhoft. D. P., Kathryn L. Nagy, K. L., Joseph N. Ryan, J. N., Manceau, A., 2016, Mercury transformation and release differs with depth and time in a contaminated riparian soil during simulated flooding: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 176, 118–138, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2015.12.024.
Year Published: 2015
Formation of mercury sulfide from Hg(II)−thiolate complexes in natural organic matter
Methylmercury is the environmental form of neurotoxic mercury that is biomagnified in the food chain. Methylation rates are reduced when the metal is sequestered in crystalline mercury sulfides or bound to thiol groups in macromolecular natural organic matter. Mercury sulfide minerals are known to nucleate in anoxic zones, by reaction of the thiol...
Alain Manceau; Cyprien Lemouchi; Mironel Enescu; Anne-Claire Gaillot; Martine Lanson; Valerie Magnin; Pieter Glatzel; Poulin, Brett; Ryan, Joseph N.; Aiken, George R.; Isabelle Gautier-Lunea; Kathryn L. NagyView Citation
Manceau, A., Lemouchi, C., Enescu, M., Gaillot, A.-C., Lanson, M., Magnin, V., Glatzel, P., Poulin, B. A., Ryan, J. N., Aiken, G. R., Gautier-Luneau, I., and Nagy, K. L. (2015) Formation of mercury sulfide from Hg(II)–thiolate complexes in natural organic matter. Environmental Science & Technology 49, 9787-9796, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5b02522.
Year Published: 2014
Effects of iron on optical properties of dissolved organic matter
Iron is a source of interference in the spectroscopic analysis of dissolved organic matter (DOM); however, its effects on commonly employed ultraviolet and visible (UV–vis) light adsorption and fluorescence measurements are poorly defined. Here, we describe the effects of iron(II) and iron(III) on the UV–vis absorption and fluorescence of...
Poulin, Brett; Ryan, Joseph N.; Aiken, George R.View Citation
Poulin, B. A., Ryan, J. N., and Aiken, G. R. (2014) Effects of iron on optical properties of dissolved organic matter. Environmental Science & Technology 48, 10098-10106, DOI: 10.1021/es502670r.