Ronald W Harvey
Ronald W Harvey is a Scientist Emeritus Research Hydrologist for the USGS Water Resources Mission Area.
Ronald Harvey earned his PhD in Environmental Sciences from Stanford in 1981. Following an NRC postdoctoral fellowship, he conducted research for USGS National Research Program in Menlo Park, CA (1982-1990) and in Boulder, CO (1991-present). From 2002 to 2005 he served as the first president of the International Society for Subsurface Microbiology (ISSM). He is a former chair of the Environmental (Q) Division of the American Society for Microbiology and is an adjunct professor in Environmental Engineering at the Univ. Colorado. His research focuses on subsurface microbial transport and ecology. He has authored/co-authored over 100 papers in his field. Field studies involve microbial transport and ecology of granular, fractured-rock, and karst-limestone aquifers throughout the country.
Mentorship/Outreach
- Adjunct Professor (1991-present), Univ. Colorado;
- Visiting Professor (2000) Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland;
- Consulting Asst. Prof. (1983) Stanford University;
- Lectures: 36 lectures at 25 different academic institutions and USDOE National Labs
- Thesis committees: 16 graduate students at 7 U.S. and 3 foreign universities
- Postdoctoral advisor: 3 (currently faculty at Univ. Colo., Univ. Kansas, Colo. Sch. Mines)
- Written opinions: 10 on hiring/tenure/promotion decisions for U.S. universities
- Foreign Universities: “Official opponent”: Univ. Lund (Sweden), “Outside examiner”: Univ. Neuchâtel (Switzerland) “Outside examiner”: Univ. Waterloo (Canada)
- USGS: Technical advice/assistance regarding groundwater contamination problems for researchers in 30 different USGS Water Science Centers (WSC). Asked by WSC Directors/Associates & USGS program managers (e.g., Offices of Groundwater, Water Quality, Toxics) to provide technical input on microbiological issues.
- USDOE: Advice provided to Subsurface Science Program (SSP) over eight years facilitated an emphasis on subsurface microbial transport patterned, in part, after my earlier USGS Cape Cod site research. Chaired DOE’s formal peer review of SSP transport study.
- USEPA: Advisory
Professional Experience
Professional Studies/Experience
USGS National Research Program (NRP) Project Chief (1985-present);
Adjunct Professor (1991-present), Univ. Colorado;
NRP Asst. Research Advisor for Ecology (2003-2005),
Research Advisor for Ecology (2006-2009),
President (2002-2005) Int’l Society for Subsurface Microbiology (ISSM),
Visiting Professor (2000) Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland;
Consulting Asst. Prof. (1983) Stanford University;
National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow (1981-1983),
Water Quality Specialist, State of California, (1974-1976)
Education and Certifications
Education
PhD (1981), Environ. Sci., Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA;
MS (1974), Environ. Eng., USC, Los Angeles, CA;
BS (1973), Biol. Sci., U. Mass/Lowell Inst. Tech., Lowell, MA
Science and Products
Coupled effect of chemotaxis and growth on microbial distributions in organic-amended aquifer sediments: Observations from laboratory and field studies
Pathogen and chemical transport in the karst limestone of the Biscayne aquifer: 2. Chemical retention from diffusion and slow advection
Pathogen and chemical transport in the karst limestone of the Biscayne aquifer: 3. Use of microspheres to estimate the transport potential of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts
Overview of issues in subsurface and landfill microbiology
Transport of microorganisms in the terrestrial subsurface: In situ and laboratory methods
Use of carboxylated microspheres to assess transport potential of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts at the Russian River water supply facility, Sonoma County, California
Revisiting the cape cod bacteria injection experiment using a stochastic modeling approach
Role of chemotaxis in the transport of bacteria through saturated porous media
Effect of ferric oxyhydroxide grain coatings on the transport of bacteriophage PRD1 and Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in saturated porous media
Assessing the vulnerability of a municipal well field to contamination in a karst aquifer
Use of PRD1 bacteriophage in groundwater viral transport, inactivation, and attachment studies
Transport of Cryptosporidium oocysts in porous media: Role of straining and physicochemical filtration
Science and Products
- Science
- Data
- Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 81
Coupled effect of chemotaxis and growth on microbial distributions in organic-amended aquifer sediments: Observations from laboratory and field studies
The inter-relationship of growth and chemotactic response exhibited by two common soil-inhabiting bacteria was investigated to determine its impact on bacterial migration. Filter-chambers were used to simulate aquifer sediments characterized by vertical gradients of organic contaminants in both artificial groundwater flow systems in the laboratory and within the screened intervals of observation wAuthorsM. Wang, R.M. Ford, R.W. HarveyPathogen and chemical transport in the karst limestone of the Biscayne aquifer: 2. Chemical retention from diffusion and slow advection
A tracer experiment, using a nonreactive tracer, was conducted as part of an investigation of the potential for chemical and pathogen migration to public supply wells that draw groundwater from the highly transmissive karst limestone of the Biscayne aquifer in southeastern Florida. The tracer was injected into the formation over approximately 1 h, and its recovery was monitored at a pumping well aAuthorsAllen M. Shapiro, Robert A. Renken, Ronald W. Harvey, Michael R. Zygnerski, David W. MetgePathogen and chemical transport in the karst limestone of the Biscayne aquifer: 3. Use of microspheres to estimate the transport potential of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts
The vulnerability of a municipal well in the Northwest well field in southeastern Florida to potential contamination by Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts was assessed in a large‐scale, forced‐gradient (convergent) injection and recovery test. The field study involved a simultaneous pulse introduction of a nonreactive tracer (SF6, an inert gas) and oocyst‐sized (1.6, 2.9, and 4.9 μm diameter) carboxylAuthorsRonald W. Harvey, David W. Metge, Allen M. Shapiro, Robert A. Renken, Christina L. Osborn, Joseph N. Ryan, Kevin J. Cunningham, Lee L. LandkamerOverview of issues in subsurface and landfill microbiology
To date, the majority of evidence indicates that most subsurface environments possess climax ecological communities that are well adapted to the environment in which they live. Like their counterparts on the surface, subsurface ecosystems are characterized by a high degree of microbiological diversity, they possess trophic structure, and they exhibit material cycling and energy transfer. Members oAuthorsRonald W. Harvey, Joseph M. Suflita, Michael K. McInerney, Aaron L. MillsTransport of microorganisms in the terrestrial subsurface: In situ and laboratory methods
This chapter describes and discusses laboratory and field techniques for studying microbial transport behavior in aquifer materials and model porous media. Changes in ionic strength (I) during transport studies may occur inadvertently as a result of using halides as conservative tracers and may lead to density-induced sinking of the tracer cloud. Substantive increases in I as a result of injectionAuthorsRonald W. Harvey, Hauke Harms, Lee L. LandkamerUse of carboxylated microspheres to assess transport potential of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts at the Russian River water supply facility, Sonoma County, California
Carboxylated microspheres were employed as surrogates to assess the transport potential of Cryptosporidium parvumoocysts during forced- and natural-gradient tests conducted in July and October 2004. The tests involved poorly-sorted, near-surface sediments where groundwater is pumped from an alluvial aquifer underlying the Russian River, Sonoma County, CA. In an off channel infiltration basin and wAuthorsDavid W. Metge, Ronald W. Harvey, Robert Anders, Donald O. Rosenberry, Donald Seymour, Jay JasperseRevisiting the cape cod bacteria injection experiment using a stochastic modeling approach
Bromide and resting-cell bacteria tracer tests conducted in a sandy aquifer at the U.S. Geological Survey Cape Cod site in 1987 were reinterpreted using a three-dimensional stochastic approach. Bacteria transport was coupled to colloid filtration theory through functional dependence of local-scale colloid transport parameters upon hydraulic conductivity and seepage velocity in a stochastic advectiAuthorsReed M. Maxwell, Claire Welty, Ronald W. HarveyRole of chemotaxis in the transport of bacteria through saturated porous media
Populations of chemotactic bacteria are able to sense and respond to chemical gradients in their surroundings and direct their migration toward increasing concentrations of chemicals that they perceive to be beneficial to their survival. It has been suggested that this phenomenon may facilitate bioremediation processes by bringing bacteria into closer proximity to the chemical contaminants that thAuthorsR.M. Ford, Ronald W. HarveyEffect of ferric oxyhydroxide grain coatings on the transport of bacteriophage PRD1 and Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in saturated porous media
To test the effect of geochemical heterogeneity on microorganism transport in saturated porous media, we measured the removal of two microorganisms, the bacteriophage PRD1 and oocysts of the protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium parvum, in flow-through columns of quartz sand coated by different amounts of a ferric oxyhydroxide. The experiments were conducted over ranges of ferric oxyhydroxide coatingAuthorsR.A. Abudalo, Y.G. Bogatsu, J. N. Ryan, R.W. Harvey, D.W. Metge, M. ElimelechAssessing the vulnerability of a municipal well field to contamination in a karst aquifer
Proposed expansion of extractive lime-rock mines near the Miami-Dade County Northwest well field and Everglades wetland areas has garnered intense scrutiny by government, public, environmental stakeholders, and the media because of concern that mining will increase the risk of pathogen contamination. Rock mines are excavated to the same depth as the well field's primary producing zone. The underlyAuthorsR.A. Renken, K.J. Cunningham, M.R. Zygnerski, M.A. Wacker, A.M. Shapiro, R.W. Harvey, D.W. Metge, C.L. Osborn, J. N. RyanUse of PRD1 bacteriophage in groundwater viral transport, inactivation, and attachment studies
PRD1, an icosahedra-shaped, 62 nm (diameter), double-stranded DNA bacteriophage with an internal membrane, has emerged as an important model virus for studying the manner in which microorganisms are transported through a variety of groundwater environments. The popularity of this phage for use in transport studies involving geologic media is due, in part, to its relative stability over a range ofAuthorsRonald W. Harvey, Joseph N. RyanTransport of Cryptosporidium oocysts in porous media: Role of straining and physicochemical filtration
The transport and filtration behavior of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in columns packed with quartz sand was systematically examined under repulsive electrostatic conditions. An increase in solution ionic strength resulted in greater oocyst deposition rates despite theoretical predictions of a significant electrostatic energy barrier to deposition. Relatively high deposition rates obtained withAuthorsN. Tufenkji, G.F. Miller, J. N. Ryan, R.W. Harvey, M. Elimelech