Laurie S Balistrieri
Laurie is a Research Chemist at Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center. Since joining the USGS in 1986, her career is devoted to studying environmental geochemistry. She specializes in metal cycling in aquatic environments with a current focus on the toxicity of metal mixtures to aquatic life.
Laurie worked as a chemical oceanographer in the School of Oceanography at the University of Washington early in her career, and did various coastal and open-ocean cruises. Her research at that time examined the adsorption of metals onto synthetic metal oxide phases and natural particles, and she helped with porewater work on organic matter diagenesis. When she joined the USGS, Laurie continued her adsorption research and got involved in field studies that examined the behavior of metals in terrestrial ecosystems. She studied carbon cycling in wetlands in Louisiana, metal cycling in numerous natural and pit lakes in the Northern United States, the composition of hydrothermal vents in Yellowstone Lake and their effect on lake chemistry, and the behavior of contaminants resulting from historical mining activities in numerous river basins in Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Washington, and Vermont.
Professional Experience
Presently Research Chemist, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Grafton, Wisconsin.
Education and Certifications
M.S. - Oceanography, Univ. of Washington, School of Oceanography
Affiliations and Memberships*
Technical Advisory Group to Department of Interior on issues related to the Upper Columbia River Basin
Science and Products
Assessing the influence of reacting pyrite and carbonate minerals on the geochemistry of drainage in the Coeur d'Alene mining district
Drainage from adits and tailings piles in the Coeur d'Alene mining district, Idaho; sampling, analytical methods and results
Preliminary estimates of benthic fluxes of dissolved metals in Coeur d'Alene Lake, Idaho
Distribution and mobility of molybdenum in the terrestrial environment
The geochemical cycling of stable Pb, 210Pb, and 210Po in seasonally anoxic Lake Sammamish, Washington, USA
The biogeochemistry of wetlands in the San Luis Valley, Colorado: The effects of acid drainage from natural and mine sources
The effect of acidic, metal-enriched drainage from the Wightman Fork and Alamosa River on the composition of selected wetlands in San Luis Valley, Colorado
Geochemistry of sediments from coastal marshes of Louisiana
The geochemical cycling of trace elements in a biogenic meromictic lake
Analytical results for As species and related elements in interstitial porewater and sediment from the Maurice River and Union Lake in Vineland, New Jersey
Understanding our fragile environment; Lessons from geochemical studies
Hydrological, geomorphological, and chemical effects of Hurricane Andrew on coastal marshes of Louisiana
Science and Products
- Science
- Data
- Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 53
Assessing the influence of reacting pyrite and carbonate minerals on the geochemistry of drainage in the Coeur d'Alene mining district
The relative abundance of minerals that react to generate or consume acid in mineralized areas is critical in determining the quality of water draining from such areas. This work examines the fundamental reactions that influence the pH and composition of drainage from mine adits and tailings piles. We construct triangle diagrams that predict stoichiometric relationships between concentrations of dAuthorsLaurie S. Balistrieri, S. E. Box, A. A. Bookstrom, M. IkramuddinDrainage from adits and tailings piles in the Coeur d'Alene mining district, Idaho; sampling, analytical methods and results
This report contains information about collecting, handling, and analyzing waters draining from adits and seeping from beneath tailings piles in the Coeur d'Alene mining district during August 1996, November 1996, and June 1997. Data include temperature, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, alkalinity, flow, and total acid soluble and dissolved (<0.45 \im) major and trace ion concentrations for 11AuthorsLaurie S. Balistrieri, A. A. Bookstrom, S. E. Box, Mohammed IkramuddinPreliminary estimates of benthic fluxes of dissolved metals in Coeur d'Alene Lake, Idaho
This report presents porewater and selected water column data collected from Coeur d'Alene Lake in September of 1992. Despite probable oxidation of the porewater samples during collection and handling, these data are used to calculate molecular diffusive fluxes of dissolved metals (that is, Zn, Pb, Cu, and Mn) across the sediment-water interface. While these data and calculations provide preliminaAuthorsLaurie S. BalistrieriDistribution and mobility of molybdenum in the terrestrial environment
Molybdenum (Mo) is an essential element for many plants and animals (Newton and Otsuka, 1980). Because of its chemical properties, Mo readily provides sites for reactions and catalysis in biochemical systems (Haight and Boston, 1973). It is therefore important to understand the processes that control the distribution, speciation, and behavior of Mo in the surficial environment. These processes wilAuthorsKathleen S. Smith, Laurie S. Balistrieri, Steven M. Smith, Ronald C. SeversonThe geochemical cycling of stable Pb, 210Pb, and 210Po in seasonally anoxic Lake Sammamish, Washington, USA
The geochemical processes controlling the behavior of stable Pb, 210Pb, and 210po in seasonally anoxic Lake Sammamish, Washington were identified from water column distributions and box model calculations. Total (sum of dissolved and particulate) inventories of stable Pb, 210Pb, and 210Po increased in the whole lake during the latter part of the oxic stage of the lake and were attributed to diffusAuthorsLaurie S. Balistrieri, James Murray, Barbara PaulThe biogeochemistry of wetlands in the San Luis Valley, Colorado: The effects of acid drainage from natural and mine sources
The Summitville Mine, located near the old mining town of Summitville in Rio Grande County, Colorado, operated between July 1986 and December 1992 as a large-tonnage open-pit heap-leach gold mine. During its 6 years of existence the trace metal levels in drainage water from the mine site were elevated over historical (pre-1986) levels (Moran and Wentz, 1974) due to input from three sources—heap leAuthorsLarry P. Gough, Laurie S. Balistrieri, F. E. Lichte, T.M. Yanosky, Ronald C. Severson, A.S. ArchuletaThe effect of acidic, metal-enriched drainage from the Wightman Fork and Alamosa River on the composition of selected wetlands in San Luis Valley, Colorado
The biogeochemistry of selected wetlands in the San Luis Valley, Colorado, was examined to assess the effect of acidic, metal-enriched water draining mineralized areas near and around the Summitville Mine. The sampling protocols, analytical methods, and chemical composition of water and stream bed sediment from the Wightman Fork and Alamosa River as well as water, surface sediment or cores, and roAuthorsLaurie S. Balistrieri, L. P. Gough, R. C. Severson, M. R. Montour, Paul H. Briggs, B. M. Adrian, K. J. Curry, D. L. Fey, P. L. Hageman, C. S. PappGeochemistry of sediments from coastal marshes of Louisiana
As a part of the U.S. Geological Survey Global Change and Climate History Program we have been studying the biogeochemistry of coastal marshes in Terrebonne Basin, Louisiana. Louisiana has about 40 percent of the coastal wetlands in the conterminous U.S. and it is losing wetlands at one of the highest rates in the U.S. with the conversion of about 65 km2/yr of marsh to open water (Britsch and DunbAuthorsL. L. Jackson, Laurie S. Balistrieri, K. S. Smith, Katherine Walton-Day, D.L. Kirshcenman, P.S. Briggs, D. L. Fey, S. J. SutleyThe geochemical cycling of trace elements in a biogenic meromictic lake
The geochemical processes affecting the behavior and speciation of As, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn in Hall Lake, Washington, USA, are assessed by examining dissolved and acid soluble particulate profiles of the elements and utilizing results from thermodynamic calculations. The water column of this meromictic lake is highly stratified and contains distinctive oxic, suboxic, and anoxiAuthorsLaurie S. Balistrieri, J.W. Murray, B. PaulAnalytical results for As species and related elements in interstitial porewater and sediment from the Maurice River and Union Lake in Vineland, New Jersey
Union Lake, the Maurice River, and the Blackwater Branch , a tributary of the Maurice River, all parts of a small watershed near Vineland, New Jersey, are contaminated by arsenic (As) from a local chemical factory (fig. l)(Faust and others, 1987). An indepth study to be used for the design of the remedial action at the Vineland Chemical Co. Superfund site was initiated by the U.S. Environmental PrAuthorsW. H. Ficklin, Laurie S. Balistrieri, P. L. Hageman, C. S. Papp, D. L. Fey, Matthew WestgateUnderstanding our fragile environment; Lessons from geochemical studies
An understanding of our fragile environment can begin with a recognition of the importance of certain elements, commonly called "minerals substances" (such as iron and zinc), in the lives of humans and animals and in the soils that support plants. This recognition is well deserved because these elements are essential for the life or optimum health of an organism. Some elements such as carbon, hydrAuthorsLarry P. Gough, Sigrid Asher-Bolinder, Laurie S. Balistrieri, George N. Breit, Thomas J. Casadevall, James G. Crock, Kimberley I. Cunningham, Joseph S. Duval, James A. Erdman, Barbara M. Erickson, Walter H. Ficklin, Larry L. Jackson, Rama K. Kotra, Joel S. Leventhal, James M. McNeal, William R. Miller, James K. Otton, Douglass E. Owen, Geoffrey S. Plumlee, G. Michael Reimer, Ronald C. Severson, Kathleen S. Smith, Ronald R. Tidball, Robert A. ZielinskiHydrological, geomorphological, and chemical effects of Hurricane Andrew on coastal marshes of Louisiana
Hydrological conditions are reported for the hurricane-induced storm surge at marsh sites in Terrebonne and Barataria Basins. There was a 6 hour or greater delay in the arrival of the storm surge at interior marsh sites compared to coastal locations. A water surge of about 1.5 m with a salinity of 10–15‰ was recorded at an intermediate salinity marsh site in Terrebonne Basin where significant geomAuthorsLarry L. Jackson, A.L. Foote, Laurie S. Balistrieri
*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