The copious rocks carried by the September 2013 Colorado floodwaters pulverized and diluted non-floatable materials from the built environment on the Left Hand Canyon.
Geoffrey Plumlee, Ph.D.
Dr. Geoff Plumlee is Chief Scientist Emeritus of the USGS. As USGS Chief Scientist, Geoff provided strategic scientific vision to the USGS Director and workforce on transdisciplinary earth-system science and science practices. After retiring, Geoff is now a USGS volunteer, bringing his earth-system science expertise to USGS projects on mineral resources, disasters, public health, and security.
Dr. Geoff Plumlee has had a nearly 42-year career in public service with the USGS, starting as a graduate student employee in 1983 and retiring in late 2024 as USGS Chief Scientist. In his five years as USGS Chief Scientist and Senior Science Advisor to the USGS Director, Geoff provided strategic scientific vision and counsel to the USGS Director, Executive Leadership Team, and workforce on transdisciplinary USGS earth-system science opportunities, activities, and partnerships. He served as an executive science liaison for USGS and Department of the Interior with other Federal agencies, promoted USGS science to support diplomacy and security, helped ensure rigorous USGS science practices and peer review, and was an executive champion for the USGS science / technical workforce. From 2016 to early 2020, Geoff was the USGS Associate Director for Environmental Health, where he led USGS research at the intersection of environment and health. As Acting Associate Director for Energy and Mineral Resources in 2018, he helped envision and lead early planning of the USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative. Geoff spent most of his USGS career from 1983 to 2016 as a research geologist and environmental geochemist—he helped initiate, lead, and/or participate in transdisciplinary earth-system research to inform decision making on topics related to mineral resources, the natural and built environments, natural and human-caused disasters, and the health of humans and other organisms. In a rotational assignment as a USGS Center Director and Mineral Resources Program Council member from early 1996 to late 2000, Geoff helped lead USGS mineral resource science and its applications to natural resources, the environment, and natural hazards.
Geoff continues his public service in retirement as the USGS Chief Scientist Emeritus, a volunteer position. He brings his earth-system science expertise to USGS projects that help inform decision making on topics such as mineral resources, disasters, public health, and security.
Dr. Plumlee’s success as a researcher, Center Director, and USGS Chief Scientist directly resulted from his ability to seek out and establish needed transdisciplinary research collaborations with colleagues from across the USGS and many external partners, including scientists from a broad range of earth, biological, physical, health, social, emergency response, and engineering science disciplines. In addition to his work within the United States, Geoff worked with scientists, diplomats, decision makers, and local communities on mineral resource, environmental health, and natural hazards projects in other countries such as the Philippines, Nigeria, Indonesia, and Poland. As an adjunct faculty member for 9 years with the University of Colorado School of Public Health, Geoff helped educate over 100 graduate students about how earth-system processes may influence public health.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 20
Michigan Bacteriological Research Core Technology Team
About the Research The Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) Core Technology Team (CTT) as part of the Environmental Health Program uses a wide array of traditional and modern molecular approaches to evaluate microbial pathogens and antimicrobial resistance pathways in the environment. The scientists use these approaches to advance the understanding of how environmental...
Behavioral Toxicology Core Technology Team
About the Research. The Environmental Health Program supports scientists in the Behavioral Toxicology Core Technology Team (CTT) at the Columbia Environmental Research Center. The scientists identify how contaminants alter the behavior of organisms and what implication those changes may have on individuals, populations, and communities.
Organic Chemistry Research Core Technology Team
About the Research The Organic Chemistry Research Laboratory Core Technology Team (CTT) as part of the Environmental Health Program focuses on the identification and quantitation of trace level organic contaminants (with a special focus on pesticides) in a wide array of environmental media (water, sediment/soil, plants, biota, etc.).
Microbial Biogeochemistry Core Technology Team
About the Research The Microbial Biogeochemistry Laboratory Core Technology Team (CTT) as part of the Environmental Health Program focuses on environmental questions in aquatic systems (sediment and water) involving the linkages between major biogeochemical cycles (those involving carbon, sulfur, iron and nitrogen) and those associated with contaminants of concern.
Organic Geochemistry Research Core Technology Team
About the Research The Organic Geochemistry Research Laboratory Core Technology Team (CTT) as part of the Environmental Health Program works to develop targeted and non-targeted analytical methods for the identification and quantitation of chemicals that can impact the health of humans and other organisms, and uses bioassays to screen for receptor inhibition.
Hydrogeophysics Core Technology Team
About the Research. The Hydrogeophysics Core Technology Team (CTT) as part of the Environmental Health Program specializes in locating and quantifying exchanges of groundwater and surface water, along with characterizing geologic structure and mapping hydrologic connectivity across varied landscapes.
Photomicroscopy and Flow Cytometry Core Technology Team
About the Research The Photomicroscopy and Flow Cytometry Core Technology Team (CTT) as part of the Environmental Health Program works to develop and apply biomarkers to evaluate the potential impacts of environmental contaminants at cellular and molecular levels. Because molecular and biochemical responses of cells are preceded by chemical changes in nuclei, cytoplasm, membranes, and...
Functional and Molecular Bioassay Core Technology Team
About the Research The Functional and Molecular Bioassay Core Technology Team (CTT) as part of the Environmental Health Program utilizes reporter assays, quantitative gene expression analyses, and high-throughput sequencing methods to produce functional endpoints across a broad scope of environmental topics and sample matrices.
Geospatial Analyses and Applications Core Technology Team
About the Research The Geospatial Analyses and Applications Core Technology Team (CTT) as part of the Environmental Health Program collaborates with teams across USGS to develop and apply geospatial analytical methods to answer broad-scale questions about source-sink and cause-effect relationships between contaminants and vulnerable communities.
Is Uranium in Water Resources near the Grand Canyon a Health Hazard?
The public is concerned that uranium in natural geologic formations, mine tailings, dusts, water, and other geologic materials can pose a health hazard to humans and wildlife. Our specialized teams of hydrologists, chemists, and geologists working together at a field site in the Grand Canyon region of the United States have shown: Elevated uranium concentrations (above the drinking water standard)...
Can There be Unintended Benefits when Wastewater Treatment Infrastructure is Upgraded?
Science from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and other entities has shown that a mixture of natural and synthetic estrogens and other similar chemicals are discharged from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to streams and rivers.
Can Spills from Swine Lagoons Result in Downstream Health Hazards?
Livestock manure spills have been shown to result from events such as equipment failures, over-application of manure to agricultural fields, runoff from open feedlots, storage overflow, accidents with manure transporting equipment, and severe weather. Our specialized teams of hydrologists, chemists, biologists and geologists, in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health...
Left Hand Canyon damage by the September 2013 Colorado floodwaters
The copious rocks carried by the September 2013 Colorado floodwaters pulverized and diluted non-floatable materials from the built environment on the Left Hand Canyon.
Left Hand Canyon highway damage
While sampling the sediments deposited by the September 2013 Colorado floods, the scientists observed that roads (Left Hand Canyon highway) and houses built on the outside bends of river meanders were particularly vulnerable to flood damages.
While sampling the sediments deposited by the September 2013 Colorado floods, the scientists observed that roads (Left Hand Canyon highway) and houses built on the outside bends of river meanders were particularly vulnerable to flood damages.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 20
Michigan Bacteriological Research Core Technology Team
About the Research The Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) Core Technology Team (CTT) as part of the Environmental Health Program uses a wide array of traditional and modern molecular approaches to evaluate microbial pathogens and antimicrobial resistance pathways in the environment. The scientists use these approaches to advance the understanding of how environmental...
Behavioral Toxicology Core Technology Team
About the Research. The Environmental Health Program supports scientists in the Behavioral Toxicology Core Technology Team (CTT) at the Columbia Environmental Research Center. The scientists identify how contaminants alter the behavior of organisms and what implication those changes may have on individuals, populations, and communities.
Organic Chemistry Research Core Technology Team
About the Research The Organic Chemistry Research Laboratory Core Technology Team (CTT) as part of the Environmental Health Program focuses on the identification and quantitation of trace level organic contaminants (with a special focus on pesticides) in a wide array of environmental media (water, sediment/soil, plants, biota, etc.).
Microbial Biogeochemistry Core Technology Team
About the Research The Microbial Biogeochemistry Laboratory Core Technology Team (CTT) as part of the Environmental Health Program focuses on environmental questions in aquatic systems (sediment and water) involving the linkages between major biogeochemical cycles (those involving carbon, sulfur, iron and nitrogen) and those associated with contaminants of concern.
Organic Geochemistry Research Core Technology Team
About the Research The Organic Geochemistry Research Laboratory Core Technology Team (CTT) as part of the Environmental Health Program works to develop targeted and non-targeted analytical methods for the identification and quantitation of chemicals that can impact the health of humans and other organisms, and uses bioassays to screen for receptor inhibition.
Hydrogeophysics Core Technology Team
About the Research. The Hydrogeophysics Core Technology Team (CTT) as part of the Environmental Health Program specializes in locating and quantifying exchanges of groundwater and surface water, along with characterizing geologic structure and mapping hydrologic connectivity across varied landscapes.
Photomicroscopy and Flow Cytometry Core Technology Team
About the Research The Photomicroscopy and Flow Cytometry Core Technology Team (CTT) as part of the Environmental Health Program works to develop and apply biomarkers to evaluate the potential impacts of environmental contaminants at cellular and molecular levels. Because molecular and biochemical responses of cells are preceded by chemical changes in nuclei, cytoplasm, membranes, and...
Functional and Molecular Bioassay Core Technology Team
About the Research The Functional and Molecular Bioassay Core Technology Team (CTT) as part of the Environmental Health Program utilizes reporter assays, quantitative gene expression analyses, and high-throughput sequencing methods to produce functional endpoints across a broad scope of environmental topics and sample matrices.
Geospatial Analyses and Applications Core Technology Team
About the Research The Geospatial Analyses and Applications Core Technology Team (CTT) as part of the Environmental Health Program collaborates with teams across USGS to develop and apply geospatial analytical methods to answer broad-scale questions about source-sink and cause-effect relationships between contaminants and vulnerable communities.
Is Uranium in Water Resources near the Grand Canyon a Health Hazard?
The public is concerned that uranium in natural geologic formations, mine tailings, dusts, water, and other geologic materials can pose a health hazard to humans and wildlife. Our specialized teams of hydrologists, chemists, and geologists working together at a field site in the Grand Canyon region of the United States have shown: Elevated uranium concentrations (above the drinking water standard)...
Can There be Unintended Benefits when Wastewater Treatment Infrastructure is Upgraded?
Science from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and other entities has shown that a mixture of natural and synthetic estrogens and other similar chemicals are discharged from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to streams and rivers.
Can Spills from Swine Lagoons Result in Downstream Health Hazards?
Livestock manure spills have been shown to result from events such as equipment failures, over-application of manure to agricultural fields, runoff from open feedlots, storage overflow, accidents with manure transporting equipment, and severe weather. Our specialized teams of hydrologists, chemists, biologists and geologists, in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health...
Left Hand Canyon damage by the September 2013 Colorado floodwaters
The copious rocks carried by the September 2013 Colorado floodwaters pulverized and diluted non-floatable materials from the built environment on the Left Hand Canyon.
The copious rocks carried by the September 2013 Colorado floodwaters pulverized and diluted non-floatable materials from the built environment on the Left Hand Canyon.
Left Hand Canyon highway damage
While sampling the sediments deposited by the September 2013 Colorado floods, the scientists observed that roads (Left Hand Canyon highway) and houses built on the outside bends of river meanders were particularly vulnerable to flood damages.
While sampling the sediments deposited by the September 2013 Colorado floods, the scientists observed that roads (Left Hand Canyon highway) and houses built on the outside bends of river meanders were particularly vulnerable to flood damages.