Melinda L Erickson, PhD, PE
Dr. Melinda (Mindy) Erickson is a supervisory research hydrologist in the USGS Upper Midwest Water Science Center - Minnesota office. She is also an adjunct associate professor and Fellow at the University of Minnesota (Fellow, Institute on the Environment. Faculty member Department of Soil, Water, and Climate; Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering; and Water Resources Science).
I am the Team Leader for the Center’s Groundwater Characterization Team, and I am a groundwater contaminant subject matter expert on several national and international interdisciplinary project teams. I have been working in the hydrogeology field since 1993, starting first in environmental consulting and then moving into groundwater-related research in 1998. I was a research scientist for the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency before moving to the federal government with USGS in 2009. My favorite research topic is occurrence, geochemistry, and mobilization of arsenic in natural groundwater systems. Developing models for the behavior of arsenic in the natural environment is elusive due to its complex associations with other metals and minerals, and the interplay of redox, pH, biogeochemistry, and hydrogeology. Even after 20 years of arsenic research, I continue to be fascinated.
Professional Experience
U.S. Geological Survey, Research Hydrologist (2009 - present)
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Environmental Research Scientist (2006 – 2009)
Minnesota Department of Transportation, Senior Research Analyst/GIS Specialist (2005 – 2006)
Minnesota Department of Health, Hydrologist (1998 – 2000)
Remediation Technologies, Inc. (RETEC), Project Manager/Project Engineer (1993 – 1997)
Education and Certifications
PhD, Water Resources Science, University of Minnesota, 2005
MS, Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota, 1992
BS, Geo-Engineering, University of Minnesota, 1990
Affiliations and Memberships*
Groundwater journal, Associate Editor (2020 - present)
University of Minnesota, Fellow - Institute on the Environment (2020 - present)
University of Minnesota, Adjunct Associate Professor - Departments of Soil, Water and Climate (2017 - present); Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering; Water Resources Science (2007 - present)
Minnesota Groundwater Association, elected President term (2010 - 2012)
Minnesota Groundwater Association, Member (1992 - present)
Abstracts and Presentations
Erickson, ML. 2021. “Arsenic in Minnesota groundwater: What can we do about it?” Invited presentation to the Minnesota Legislative Subcommittee on Water Policy, November 22, 2021.
Erickson, ML. 2021. What have we learned from 60,000 arsenic measurements in new wells? A lot! Invited presentation at Minnesota Groundwater Association Spring Conference, April 27, 2021.
Erickson, ML. 2020. Drinking Water Quality Across the Glacial Aquifer System, Northern US: Measured and Modeled Concentrations of Arsenic and Manganese. Invited presentation at the MN chapter of AIPG monthly meeting. January 7, 2020, St. Paul, MN.
Erickson, ML, SM Elliott, CJ Brown, PE Stackelberg, KM Ransom, 2019. Modeling and mapping high arsenic and manganese concentrations in the glacial aquifer system, northern USA: Using machine learning methods to predict water quality conditions in an extensive, stratigraphically complex, unconsolidated drinking water aquifer system. Invited presentation at the American Geophysical Union Annual Meet
Erickson, ML, HR Malenda, EC Berquist, JD Ayotte. 2018. Geochemical evolution of groundwater after drinking water well installation: effects on arsenic mobilization. Invited presentation at the Geological Society of America annual meeting, November 4-7, 2018. Indianapolis, IN.
Erickson, ML. 2018. Arsenic and manganese in glacial aquifers: Results for Minnesota and plans for coast-to-coast modeling and mapping, Invited presentation to the Iowa Association of Water Agencies, January 18, 2018, Ankeny, IA.
Science and Products
Pharmaceutical compounds in shallow groundwater in non-agricultural areas of Minnesota: study design, methods, and data, 2013
Contaminants of emerging concern in ambient groundwater in urbanized areas of Minnesota, 2009-12
Land-cover effects on the fate and transport of surface-applied antibiotics and 17-beta-estradiol on a sandy outwash plain, Anoka County, Minnesota, 2008–09
Steroidal hormones and other endocrine active compounds in shallow groundwater in nonagricultural areas of Minnesota—Study design, methods, and data, 2009–10
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
- Science
- Data
- Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 28
Pharmaceutical compounds in shallow groundwater in non-agricultural areas of Minnesota: study design, methods, and data, 2013
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, completed a study on the occurrence of pharmaceutical compounds and other contaminants of emerging concern in shallow groundwater in non-agricultural areas of Minnesota during 2013. This report describes the study design and methods for the study on the occurrence of pharmaceuticals and other contaminants of emAuthorsSarah M. Elliott, Melinda L. EricksonContaminants of emerging concern in ambient groundwater in urbanized areas of Minnesota, 2009-12
A study of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in ambient groundwater in urbanized areas of Minnesota was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. For this study, water samples were collected from November 2009 through June 2012 from 118 wells located in different land-use settings. The sampled wells primarily were screened in vulnerabAuthorsMelinda L. Erickson, Susan K. Langer, Jason L. Roth, Sharon E. KroeningLand-cover effects on the fate and transport of surface-applied antibiotics and 17-beta-estradiol on a sandy outwash plain, Anoka County, Minnesota, 2008–09
A plot-scale field experiment on a sandy outwash plain in Anoka County in east-central Minnesota was used to investigate the fate and transport of two antibiotics, sulfamethazine (SMZ) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX), and a hormone, 17-beta-estradiol (17BE), in four land-cover types: bare soil, corn, hay, and prairie. The SMZ, SMX, and 17BE were applied to the surface of five plots of each land-cover tAuthorsJared J. Trost, Richard L. Kiesling, Melinda L. Erickson, Peter J. Rose, Sarah M. ElliottSteroidal hormones and other endocrine active compounds in shallow groundwater in nonagricultural areas of Minnesota—Study design, methods, and data, 2009–10
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, completed a study on the occurrence of steroidal hormones and other endocrine active compounds in shallow groundwater in nonagricultural areas of Minnesota during 2009–10. This report describes the study design and methods, and presents the data collected on steroidal hormones and other related compounds. EnvirAuthorsMelinda L. EricksonNon-USGS Publications**
Erickson, M.L. and R.J. Barnes (2005) Well Characteristics Influencing Arsenic Concentrations in Ground Water. Water Research (39:16) pp 4029-4039Erickson, M.L. and R.J. Barnes. (2005). Glacial Sediment Causing Regional-Scale Elevated Arsenic in Drinking Water. Ground Water 43(6) pp 796-805.Erickson, M.L. and R.J. Barnes. (2006). Arsenic Concentration Variability in Public Water System Wells in Minnesota, USA. Applied Geochemistry. (21:2) pp 305–317Erickson, M.L. (2005) Arsenic in Upper Midwest Ground Water: Occurrence and Geochemical Mobilization Mechanisms. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
- News
*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