Geoffrey Plumlee, Ph.D.
As the USGS Chief Scientist, Geoff provides strategic scientific vision and counsel to the Director and the USGS Executive Leadership Team on inter- and trans-disciplinary USGS science research priorities, opportunities, activities, capabilities, and partnerships, particularly those cross multiple Mission Areas and Regions.
Geoff serves as a USGS executive science liaison with the Department of the Interior (DOI) and other Federal agencies, and is the USGS/DOI principal or representative on various Federal interagency coordination bodies such as the NSTC Subcommittee on Global Change Research and the NSTC Joint Subcommittee on Environment, Innovation and Public Health.
Executive Biography
As Chief Scientist of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Dr. Geoff Plumlee provides strategic scientific vision and counsel to the USGS Director and Executive Leadership Team on inter- and transdisciplinary USGS science research priorities, opportunities, activities, capabilities, and partnerships, particularly those that cross multiple USGS Mission Areas and Regions. He serves as an executive science liaison for the USGS with the Department of the Interior (DOI) and other Federal agencies and is the USGS/DOI principal or representative on various Federal interagency committees such as the Subcommittee on Global Change Research and the NSTC Joint Subcommittee on Environment, Innovation and Public Health. As reflected in his role as a USGS executive champion or co-champion of two USGS Employee Resource Groups, Geoff is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive USGS workforce, and to enhancing USGS use-inspired science that better meets the needs of underrepresented and disadvantaged communities.
Geoff has been USGS Chief Scientist and Senior Science Advisor to the USGS Director since January 2019. From May 2016 to early 2020, Geoff was the USGS Associate Director for Environmental Health, where he led USGS research at the intersection of the environment and health.
Geoff brought to these executive leadership positions 33 years of research and science leadership experience with the USGS, as well as his ability to seek out and establish successful research collaborations with scientists from a broad range of earth, biological, health, social, emergency response, and engineering science disciplines. From 1983 through May 2016, Geoff helped lead and carry out many research projects on linkages between mineral resources, the environment, disasters, and human health.
Geoff is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America (GSA), Past Chair of the GSA Geology and Health Division, a leader in the founding of the American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) GeoHealth Section, past AGU Council Member, and past adjunct clinical assistant professor at the University of Colorado School of Public Health. He is author or coauthor of more than 140 scientific publications, including many in journals across a wide range of scientific disciplines. Geoff has received the Department of the Interior Superior and Meritorious Service awards, the inaugural AGU GeoHealth Section Award, the GSA Geology and Health Division Distinguished Service Award, and the Society of Economic Geologists Waldemar Lindgren (Early Career Scientist) Award.
Education and Certifications
Doctorate in Geochemistry from Harvard University, 1989
Bachelor’s of Science in Geology from the University of New Mexico, 1980
Abstracts and Presentations
Geoff’s key publications are listed under the publications tab below. PDF’s of specific publications, as well as a complete list of Geoff’s more than 140 publications, are available upon request.
Science and Products
Leachate Geochemical Results for Ash Samples from the June 2007 Angora Wildfire Near Lake Tahoe in Northern California
Leachate Geochemical Results for Ash and Burned Soil Samples from the October 2007 Southern California Wildfires
Preliminary analytical results for ash and burned soils from the October 2007 southern California wildfires
Characterization of flood sediments from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and potential implications for human health and the environment
USGS environmental characterization of flood sediments left in the New Orleans area after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, 2005 — Progress Report
The toxicological geochemistry of Earth materials: An overview of processes and the interdisciplinary methods used to understand them
Spectroscopic and x-ray diffraction analyses of asbestos in the World Trade Center dust: Asbestos content of the settled dust
Environmental assessment
The medical geochemistry of dusts, soils, and other Earth materials: Chapter 7
USGS environmental studies of the World Trade Center area, New York City, after September 11, 2001
Reconnaissance study of the geology of U.S. vermiculite deposits: Are asbestos minerals common constituents?
Are asbestos minerals common in US vermiculite deposits?
Science and Products
- Science
Filter Total Items: 20
- Data
- Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 90
Leachate Geochemical Results for Ash Samples from the June 2007 Angora Wildfire Near Lake Tahoe in Northern California
This report releases leachate geochemical data for ash samples produced by the Angora wildfire that burned from June 24 to July 2, 2007, near Lake Tahoe in northern California. The leaching studies are part of a larger interdisciplinary study whose goal is to identify geochemical characteristics and properties of the ash that may adversely affect human health, water quality, air quality, animal haAuthorsPhilip L. Hageman, Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Deborah A. Martin, Todd M. Hoefen, Monique Adams, Paul J. Lamothe, Todor I. Todorov, Michael W. AnthonyLeachate Geochemical Results for Ash and Burned Soil Samples from the October 2007 Southern California Wildfires
This report is the second release of leachate geochemical data included as part of a multidisciplinary study of ash and burned soil samples from the October 2007 wildfires in southern California. Geochemical data for the first set of samples were released in an Open-File Report (Plumlee and others, 2007). This study is a continuation of that work. The objectives of this leaching study are to aidAuthorsPhilip L. Hageman, Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Deborah A. Martin, Todd M. Hoefen, Gregory P. Meeker, Monique Adams, Paul J. Lamothe, Michael W. AnthonyPreliminary analytical results for ash and burned soils from the October 2007 southern California wildfires
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected ash and burned soils from about 28 sites in southern California wildfire areas (Harris, Witch, Ammo, Santiago, Canyon and Grass Valley) from Nov. 2 through 9, 2007 (table 1). USGS researchers are applying a wide variety of analytical methods to these samples, with the goal of helping identify characteristics of the ash and soils from wildland and suburbaAuthorsGeoffrey S. Plumlee, Deborah A. Martin, Todd Hoefen, Raymond F. Kokaly, Philip Hageman, Alison Eckberg, Gregory P. Meeker, Monique Adams, Michael Anthony, Paul J. LamotheCharacterization of flood sediments from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and potential implications for human health and the environment
The flooding in the greater New Orleans, La., area that resulted from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in August and September 2005 left behind accumulations of sediments up to many centimeters thick on streets, lawns, parking lots, and other flat surfaces (fig. 1). During the flood dewatering and subsequent cleanup, there were concerns that these sediments might contain pathogens and chemical contaminAuthorsGeoffrey S. Plumlee, William T. Foreman, Dale W. Griffin, John K. Lovelace, Gregory P. Meeker, Charles R. DemasUSGS environmental characterization of flood sediments left in the New Orleans area after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, 2005 — Progress Report
Introduction: The flooding in the greater New Orleans area that resulted from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in September, 2005, left behind accumulations of sediments up to many centimeters thick on streets, lawns, parking lots, and other flat surfaces. These flood sediment deposits have been the focus of extensive study by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Louisiana Department of EAuthorsGeoffrey S. Plumlee, Gregory P. Meeker, John K. Lovelace, Robert J. Rosenbauer, Paul J. Lamothe, Edward T. Furlong, Charles R. DemasThe toxicological geochemistry of Earth materials: An overview of processes and the interdisciplinary methods used to understand them
A broad spectrum of earth materials have been linked to, blamed for, and/or debated as sources for disease. In some cases, the links are clear. For example, excessive exposures to mineral dusts have long been recognized for their role in diseases such as: asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancers (asbestos); silicosis and lung cancer (silica dusts); and coal-workers pneumoconiosis (coal dust). LeAuthorsGeoffrey S. Plumlee, Suzette A. Morman, Thomas L. ZieglerSpectroscopic and x-ray diffraction analyses of asbestos in the World Trade Center dust: Asbestos content of the settled dust
On September 17 and 18, 2001, samples of settled dust and airfall debris were collected from 34 sites within a 1-km radius of the WTC collapse site, including a sample from an indoor location unaffected by rainfall, and samples of insulation from two steel beams at Ground Zero. Laboratory spectral and x-ray diffraction analyses of the field samples detected trace levels of serpentine minerals, incAuthorsGregg A. Swayze, Roger N. Clark, Stephen J. Sutley, Todd M. Hoefen, Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Gregory P. Meeker, Isabelle Brownfield, Keith E. Livo, Laurie C. MorathEnvironmental assessment
Final report of the Independent US Assessment Team, Section 5.AuthorsGeoffrey S. Plumlee, T.P. Boyle, M.J. Logsdon, R.S. CarrThe medical geochemistry of dusts, soils, and other Earth materials: Chapter 7
A quick scan of newspapers, television, science magazines, or the internet on any given day has a fairly high likelihood of encountering stories (accompanied by headlines such as those above) regarding human health concerns linked to dusts, soils, or other Earth materials. Many such concerns have been recognized and studied for decades, but new concerns arise regularly.AuthorsGeoffrey S. Plumlee, Thomas L. ZieglerUSGS environmental studies of the World Trade Center area, New York City, after September 11, 2001
Two days after the September 11, 2001, attack on World Trade Center (WTC), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was asked by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Public Health Service to conduct a remote sensing and mineralogical characterization study of lower Manhattan around the WTC. This study, conducted in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationAuthorsRoger N. Clark, Greg Meeker, Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Gregg A. SwayzeReconnaissance study of the geology of U.S. vermiculite deposits: Are asbestos minerals common constituents?
Unusually high incidences of asbestos-related mortality and respiratory disease in the small town of Libby, Montana, have been linked to amphibole mineral fibers intergrown with the vermiculite deposits mined and milled near the town from 1923 to 1990. A study conducted by the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry concluded that mortality due to asbestosis in Libby mine and mill woAuthorsBradley S. Van Gosen, Heather Lowers, Alfred L. Bush, Gregory P. Meeker, Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Isabelle K. Brownfield, Stephen J. SutleyAre asbestos minerals common in US vermiculite deposits?
No abstract available.AuthorsBradley S. Van Gosen, Heather A. Lowers, Alfred L. Bush, Gregory P. Meeker, Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Isabelle K. Brownfield, Stephan J. Sutley - News