Christopher Fuller
Christopher Fuller is a Emeritus Scientist for the USGS Water Resources Mission Area. His research characterizes processes and mechanisms of metal sorption reactions through field studies and lab experiments to better understand the metal transport and natural attenuation in mine contaminated systems and to better understand geochemical processes affecting bioavailability of metal contaminants to aquatic organisms.
Professional societies/affiliations/committees/editorial boards
American Geophysical Union
American Chemical Society
Geochemical Society
Professional Experience
Professional Studies/Experience
2019 - current: Scientist Emeritus
2018 - 2019: Research Hydrologist (Geochemistry), Hydrological-Ecological Interactions Branch, Earth Surface Processes Division, Water Mission Area, U.S. Geological Survey
1982 - 2017: Research Hydrologist (Geochemistry), National Research Program, Western Region, U.S. Geological Survey
1976 - 1982: Research Technician, Unversity of Southern California
Education and Certifications
Education
1976: BS Chemistry, SUNY Oswego
1982: MS Geology, emphasis in Marine Geochemistry, University of Southern California
Honors and Awards
Honors, awards, recognition, elected offices
May 1996: Editors Citation for Excellence in Manuscript Review for the Soil Science Society of America Journal
May 2003. STAR award for instrumental role in developing cooperative project with BLM at the Fry Canyon permeable reactive barrier demonstration site.
November 2006 Superior Service Award
October 2007. STAR award “Chris has done an outstanding job in age dating over 90 lake sediment cores collected from Great Salt Lake in a very short time frame to accommodate a Utah Water Science Center cooperator. This work was published in Applied Geochemistry.
June 2014 Superior Service Award
Science and Products
Holocene environmental changes inferred from biological and sedimentological proxies in a high elevation Great Basin lake in the northern Ruby Mountains, Nevada, USA
Modeling tidal freshwater marsh sustainability in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta under a broad suite of potential future scenarios
Uranium Sequestration During Biostimulated Reduction and In Response to the Return of Oxic Conditions In Shallow Aquifers
Sedimentary organic biomarkers suggest detrimental effects of PAHs on estuarine microbial biomass during the 20th century in San Francisco Bay, CA, USA
Effects of permafrost thaw on CO2 and CH4 exchange in a western Alaska peatland chronosequence
The relative importance of oceanic nutrient inputs for Bass Harbor Marsh Estuary at Acadia National Park, Maine
Assessment of metal and trace element contamination in water, sediment, plants, macroinvertebrates, and fish in Tavasci Marsh, Tuzigoot National Monument, Arizona
Nutrient budgets, marsh inundation under sea-level rise scenarios, and sediment chronologies for the Bass Harbor Marsh estuary at Acadia National Park
Processes of zinc attenuation by biogenic manganese oxides forming in the hyporheic zone of Pinal Creek, Arizona
Uranium(VI) interactions with mackinawite in the presence and absence of bicarbonate and oxygen
A long-term comparison of carbon sequestration rates in impounded and naturally tidal freshwater marshes along the lower Waccamaw River, South Carolina
Dietary bioavailability of Cu adsorbed to colloidal hydrous ferric oxide
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 83
Holocene environmental changes inferred from biological and sedimentological proxies in a high elevation Great Basin lake in the northern Ruby Mountains, Nevada, USA
Multi-proxy analyses were conducted on a sediment core from Favre Lake, a high elevation cirque lake in the northern Ruby Mountains, Nevada, and provide a ca. 7600 year record of local and regional environmental change. Data indicate that lake levels were lower from 7600-5750 cal yr BP, when local climate was warmer and/or drier than today. Effective moisture increased after 5750 cal yr BP and remAuthorsDavid B. Wahl, Scott W. Starratt, Lysanna Anderson, Jennifer E. Kusler, Christopher C. Fuller, Jason A. Addison, Elmira WanModeling tidal freshwater marsh sustainability in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta under a broad suite of potential future scenarios
In this paper, we report on the adaptation and application of a one-dimensional marsh surface elevation model, the Wetland Accretion Rate Model of Ecosystem Resilience (WARMER), to explore the conditions that lead to sustainable tidal freshwater marshes in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta. We defined marsh accretion parameters to encapsulate the range of observed values over historic and modern tiAuthorsKathleen M. Swanson, Judith Z. Drexler, Christopher C. Fuller, David H. SchoellhamerUranium Sequestration During Biostimulated Reduction and In Response to the Return of Oxic Conditions In Shallow Aquifers
A proposed approach for groundwater remediation of uranium contamination is to generate reducing conditions by stimulating the growth of microbial populations through injection of electron donor compounds into the subsurface. Sufficiently reducing conditions will result in reduction of soluble hexavalent uranium, U(VI), and precipitation of the less soluble +4 oxidation state uranium, U(IV). ThisAuthorsChristopher C. Fuller, Kelly J. Johnson, Katherine Akstin, David M. Singer, Steven B. Yabusaki, Yi Fang, M. FuhrmannSedimentary organic biomarkers suggest detrimental effects of PAHs on estuarine microbial biomass during the 20th century in San Francisco Bay, CA, USA
Hydrocarbon contaminants are ubiquitous in urban aquatic ecosystems, and the ability of some microbial strains to degrade certain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is well established. However, detrimental effects of petroleum hydrocarbon contamination on nondegrader microbial populations and photosynthetic organisms have not often been considered. In the current study, fatty acid methyl estAuthorsElena B. Nilsen, Robert J. Rosenbauer, Christopher C. Fuller, Bruce E. JaffeEffects of permafrost thaw on CO2 and CH4 exchange in a western Alaska peatland chronosequence
Permafrost soils store over half of global soil carbon (C), and northern frozen peatlands store about 10% of global permafrost C. With thaw, inundation of high latitude lowland peatlands typically increases the surface-atmosphere flux of methane (CH4), a potent greenhouse gas. To examine the effects of lowland permafrost thaw over millennial timescales, we measured carbon dioxide (CO2) and CH4 excAuthorsCarmel E. Johnston, Stephanie A. Ewing, Jennifer W. Harden, Ruth K. Varner, Kimberly P. Wickland, Joshua C. Koch, Christopher C. Fuller, Kristen L. Manies, M. Torre JorgensonThe relative importance of oceanic nutrient inputs for Bass Harbor Marsh Estuary at Acadia National Park, Maine
The U.S. Geological Survey and Acadia National Park (ANP) collaborated on a study of nutrient inputs into Bass Harbor Marsh Estuary on Mount Desert Island, Maine, to better understand ongoing eutrophication, oceanic nutrient inputs, and potential management solutions. This report includes the estimation of loads of nitrate, ammonia, total dissolved nitrogen, and total dissolved phosphorus to the eAuthorsThomas G. Huntington, Charles W. Culbertson, Christopher Fuller, Patricia Glibert, Luke SturtevantAssessment of metal and trace element contamination in water, sediment, plants, macroinvertebrates, and fish in Tavasci Marsh, Tuzigoot National Monument, Arizona
Tavasci Marsh is a large freshwater marsh within the Tuzigoot National Monument in central Arizona. It is the largest freshwater marsh in Arizona that is unconnected to the Colorado River and is designated as an Important Bird Area by the Audubon Society. The marsh has been altered significantly by previous land use and the monument’s managers are evaluating the restoration of the marsh. In lightAuthorsKimberly R. Beisner, Nicholas V. Paretti, Anne M.D. Brasher, Christopher C. Fuller, Matthew P. MillerNutrient budgets, marsh inundation under sea-level rise scenarios, and sediment chronologies for the Bass Harbor Marsh estuary at Acadia National Park
Eutrophication in the Bass Harbor Marsh estuary on Mount Desert Island, Maine, is an ongoing problem manifested by recurring annual blooms of green macroalgae species, principally Enteromorpha prolifera and Enteromorpha flexuosa, blooms that appear in the spring and summer. These blooms are unsightly and impair the otherwise natural beauty of this estuarine ecosystem. The macroalgae also threatenAuthorsThomas G. Huntington, Charles W. Culbertson, Christopher C. Fuller, Patricia Glibert, Luke SturtevantProcesses of zinc attenuation by biogenic manganese oxides forming in the hyporheic zone of Pinal Creek, Arizona
The distribution and speciation of Zn sorbed to biogenic Mn oxides forming in the hyporheic zone of Pinal Creek, AZ, was investigated using extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and microfocused synchrotron X-ray fluorescence (μSXRF) mapping, and chemical extraction. μSXRF and chemical extractions show that contaminant Zn co-varied with Mn in streambed sediment grain coatings. Bulk andAuthorsChristopher C. Fuller, John R. BargarUranium(VI) interactions with mackinawite in the presence and absence of bicarbonate and oxygen
Mackinawite, Fe(II)S, samples loaded with uranium (10-5, 10-4, and 10-3 mol U/g FeS) at pH 5, 7, and 9, were characterized using X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction to determine the effects of pH, bicarbonate, and oxidation on uptake. Under anoxic conditions, a 5 g/L suspension of mackinawite lowered 5 × 10-5 M uranium(VI) to below 30 ppb (1.26 × 10-7 M) U. Between 82 and 88% of thAuthorsTanya J. Gallegos, Christopher C. Fuller, Samuel M. Webb, William J. BettertonA long-term comparison of carbon sequestration rates in impounded and naturally tidal freshwater marshes along the lower Waccamaw River, South Carolina
Carbon storage was compared between impounded and naturally tidal freshwater marshes along the Lower Waccamaw River in South Carolina, USA. Soil cores were collected in (1) naturally tidal, (2) moist soil (impounded, seasonally drained since ~1970), and (3) deeply flooded “treatments” (impounded, flooded to ~90 cm since ~2002). Cores were analyzed for % organic carbon, % total carbon, bulk densityAuthorsJudith Z. Drexler, Ken W. Krauss, M. Craig Sasser, Christopher C. Fuller, Christopher M. Swarzenski, Amber Powell, Kathleen M. Swanson, James L. OrlandoDietary bioavailability of Cu adsorbed to colloidal hydrous ferric oxide
The dietary bioavailability of copper (Cu) adsorbed to synthetic colloidal hydrous ferric oxide (HFO) was evaluated from the assimilation of 65Cu by two benthic grazers, a gastropod and a larval mayfly. HFO was synthesized, labeled with 65Cu to achieve a Cu/Fe ratio comparable to that determined in naturally formed HFO, and then aged. The labeled colloids were mixed with a food source (the diatomAuthorsDaniel J. Cain, Marie-Noële Croteau, Christopher C. Fuller