Molly McLaughlin
Molly McLaughlin is the Quality Management System Manager for the Natural Hazards Mission Area.
Molly served in the role of Laboratory Manager for the Geology, Chemistry and Microbiology research labs at the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center from 2002 to 2018. Starting in 2018, she accepted a time-limited appointment to be the Natural Hazards Mission Area Quality Management System Manager, contributing to the development and implementation of a quality program across the Bureau’s laboratories. Prior to coming to the USGS, Molly spent 12 years in the health care field, working in both stateside and overseas hospitals as a clinical laboratory analyst in biochemistry and microbiology. Her undergraduate degrees are in Medical Laboratory Technology and Biology, and she holds a Master's Degree from the University of South Florida in Marine Science.
Science and Products
Distribution of Sediments at Crocker Reef, Florida, 2013-2014
Understanding the processes that govern whether a coral reef is accreting (growing) or dissolving are fundamental to questions of reef health and resiliency. The Reefscape Characterization task of the Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies (CREST) project is focused on geochemical, geologic, and metabolic processes that affect carbonate precipitation and dissolution on coral reefs. For the 1-km x...
Radium accumulation in carbonate river sediments at oil and gas produced water discharges: Implications for beneficial use as disposal management
In the western U.S., produced water from oil and gas wells discharged to surface water augments downstream supplies used for irrigation and livestock watering. Here we investigate six permitted discharges on three neighboring tributary systems in Wyoming. During 2013-16, we evaluated radium activities of the permitted discharges and the potential for radium accumulation in associated...
Authors
Bonnie McDevitt, Molly R. McLaughlin, Charles A. Cravotta, Moses A Ajemigbitse, Katherine J. Van Sice, Jens Blotevogel, Thomas Borch, Nathaniel R. Warner
Nearshore dynamics of artificial sand and oil agglomerates
Weathered oil can mix with sediment to form heavier-than-water sand and oil agglomerates (SOAs) that can cause beach re-oiling for years after a spill. Few studies have focused on the physical dynamics of SOAs. In this study, artificial SOAs (aSOAs) were created and deployed in the nearshore, and shear stress-based mobility formulations were assessed to predict SOA response. Prediction...
Authors
P. Soupy Dalyander, Nathaniel G. Plant, Joseph W. Long, Molly R. McLaughlin
Field observations of artificial sand and oil agglomerates
Oil that comes into the surf zone following spills, such as occurred during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) blowout, can mix with local sediment to form heavier-than-water sand and oil agglomerates (SOAs), at times in the form of mats a few centimeters thick and tens of meters long. Smaller agglomerates that form in situ or pieces that break off of larger mats, sometimes referred to as...
Authors
P. Soupy Dalyander, Joseph W. Long, Nathaniel G. Plant, Molly R. McLaughlin, Rangley C. Mickey
Microbial consortia of gorgonian corals from the Aleutian islands
Gorgonians make up the majority of corals in the Aleutian archipelago and provide critical fish habitat in areas of economically important fisheries. The microbial ecology of the deep-sea gorgonian corals Paragorgea arborea, Plumarella superba, and Cryogorgia koolsae was examined with culture-based and 16S rRNA gene-based techniques. Six coral colonies (two per species) were collected...
Authors
Michael A. Gray, Robert S. Stone, Molly R. McLaughlin, Christina A. Kellogg
Marine recreation and public health microbiology: Quest for the ideal indicator
Four-fifths of the population of the United States live in close proximity to the oceans or Great Lakes, and approximately 100 million Americans use the marine environment for recreation each year (Thurman 1994). Consequently, contamination of lakes, rivers, and coastal waters raises significant public health issues. Among the leading sources of chemical and biological contamination of...
Authors
Dale Griffin, Erin K. Lipp, Molly R. McLaughlin, Joan B. Rose
Rapid movement of wastewater from on-site disposal systems into surface waters in the lower Florida Keys
Viral tracer studies have been used previously to study the potential for wastewater contamination of surface marine waters in the Upper and Middle Florida Keys. Two bacteriophages, the marine bacteriophage ϕHSIC and the Salmonella phage PRD1, were used as tracers in injection well and septic tank studies in Saddlebunch Keys of the Lower Florida Keys and in septic tank studies in Boot...
Authors
John H. Paul, Molly R. McLaughlin, Dale Griffin, Erin K. Lipp, Rodger Stokes, Joan B. Rose
Science and Products
Distribution of Sediments at Crocker Reef, Florida, 2013-2014
Understanding the processes that govern whether a coral reef is accreting (growing) or dissolving are fundamental to questions of reef health and resiliency. The Reefscape Characterization task of the Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies (CREST) project is focused on geochemical, geologic, and metabolic processes that affect carbonate precipitation and dissolution on coral reefs. For the 1-km x...
Radium accumulation in carbonate river sediments at oil and gas produced water discharges: Implications for beneficial use as disposal management
In the western U.S., produced water from oil and gas wells discharged to surface water augments downstream supplies used for irrigation and livestock watering. Here we investigate six permitted discharges on three neighboring tributary systems in Wyoming. During 2013-16, we evaluated radium activities of the permitted discharges and the potential for radium accumulation in associated...
Authors
Bonnie McDevitt, Molly R. McLaughlin, Charles A. Cravotta, Moses A Ajemigbitse, Katherine J. Van Sice, Jens Blotevogel, Thomas Borch, Nathaniel R. Warner
Nearshore dynamics of artificial sand and oil agglomerates
Weathered oil can mix with sediment to form heavier-than-water sand and oil agglomerates (SOAs) that can cause beach re-oiling for years after a spill. Few studies have focused on the physical dynamics of SOAs. In this study, artificial SOAs (aSOAs) were created and deployed in the nearshore, and shear stress-based mobility formulations were assessed to predict SOA response. Prediction...
Authors
P. Soupy Dalyander, Nathaniel G. Plant, Joseph W. Long, Molly R. McLaughlin
Field observations of artificial sand and oil agglomerates
Oil that comes into the surf zone following spills, such as occurred during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) blowout, can mix with local sediment to form heavier-than-water sand and oil agglomerates (SOAs), at times in the form of mats a few centimeters thick and tens of meters long. Smaller agglomerates that form in situ or pieces that break off of larger mats, sometimes referred to as...
Authors
P. Soupy Dalyander, Joseph W. Long, Nathaniel G. Plant, Molly R. McLaughlin, Rangley C. Mickey
Microbial consortia of gorgonian corals from the Aleutian islands
Gorgonians make up the majority of corals in the Aleutian archipelago and provide critical fish habitat in areas of economically important fisheries. The microbial ecology of the deep-sea gorgonian corals Paragorgea arborea, Plumarella superba, and Cryogorgia koolsae was examined with culture-based and 16S rRNA gene-based techniques. Six coral colonies (two per species) were collected...
Authors
Michael A. Gray, Robert S. Stone, Molly R. McLaughlin, Christina A. Kellogg
Marine recreation and public health microbiology: Quest for the ideal indicator
Four-fifths of the population of the United States live in close proximity to the oceans or Great Lakes, and approximately 100 million Americans use the marine environment for recreation each year (Thurman 1994). Consequently, contamination of lakes, rivers, and coastal waters raises significant public health issues. Among the leading sources of chemical and biological contamination of...
Authors
Dale Griffin, Erin K. Lipp, Molly R. McLaughlin, Joan B. Rose
Rapid movement of wastewater from on-site disposal systems into surface waters in the lower Florida Keys
Viral tracer studies have been used previously to study the potential for wastewater contamination of surface marine waters in the Upper and Middle Florida Keys. Two bacteriophages, the marine bacteriophage ϕHSIC and the Salmonella phage PRD1, were used as tracers in injection well and septic tank studies in Saddlebunch Keys of the Lower Florida Keys and in septic tank studies in Boot...
Authors
John H. Paul, Molly R. McLaughlin, Dale Griffin, Erin K. Lipp, Rodger Stokes, Joan B. Rose