Thomas E Imbrigiotta
Tom Imbrigiotta has worked for the USGS since 1977 in Indiana and New Jersey on groundwater contamination and sampling devices. He has served the USGS New Jersey Water Science Center as Water Quality Specialist, Supervisory Hydrologist, and Research Hydrologist, and became a Scientist Emeritus Hydrologist in 2019.
Research Interests
- Quantifying natural attenuation and enhanced bioremediation processes in contaminant plumes
- Chemical diffusion from fractured rock into boreholes
- Rock core sampling for volatile organic compound (VOC) contaminants in fractured rock aquifers
- Regenerated-cellulose dialysis membrane (RCDM) passive diffusion samplers for VOCs, inorganics, perchlorate, and explosive compounds in wells
- Sampling methods for organics in groundwater
Professional Experience
2005-2019 Research hydrologist and project chief of the NAWC Navy project at the former Naval Air Warfare Center in West Trenton, NJ. Conducted research for the Toxics Substances Hydrology Program and a Strategic Environmental Research and Development (SERDP) project at the NAWC fractured rock research site.
Helped develop and test a downhole packer tool and uphole closed-loop sampling device to measure diffusion rates from the rock matrix and biodegradation rates in the borehole.
2014-2016 Water Quality Specialist, NJWSC
2009-2014 Supervisory Hydrologist, Hydrologic Research Program section of the NJWSC
2003-2008 Project chief, Environmental Security Technology Certification (ESTCP) study developing a RCDM diffusion sampler for groundwater in wells
1997-2005 Senior hydrologist studying natural attenuation mechanisms in New Jersey aquifers contaminated with VOCs
1988-1997 Project chief and coordinator of an interdisciplinary research study of the fate and transport of chlorinated solvents in an unconfined sand-and-gravel aquifer at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, the USGS Toxic Substances Hydrology Program's national research site for chlorinated solvent contamination research in unconsolidated aquifers
1984-1988 Project chief for evaluation of methods for sampling organics in groundwater
1977-1984 Project chief for investigations of groundwater quality in Indiana
Education and Certifications
M.S. Water Chemistry, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, 1982
B.S. Chemistry, Oakland Univ., Rochester, Michigan, 1975
Affiliations and Memberships*
Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council, PFAS Team 2017-2019, Passive Sampler Team 2002-2010
American Chemical Society 1974-1990, 1999-2008
American Geophysical Union 1990-2008
American Society for Testing and Materials 1986-1988
Indiana Water Resources Assoc. 1980-1984 (Sec. 1982-1984)
Honors and Awards
USGS Award for RCDM sampler patent application, 2005
USGS Awards for sampling course development and presentation, 1987, 1990
Science and Products
Hydraulic and solute-transport properties and simulated advective transport of contaminated ground water in a fractured rock aquifer at the Naval Air Warfare Center, West Trenton, New Jersey, 2003
Laboratory comparison of polyethylene and dialysis membrane diffusion samplers
Comparison of dialysis membrane diffusion samplers and two purging methods in bedrock wells
Soil respiration at the Amargosa Desert Research site: A section in U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program: Proceedings of the technical meeting, Charleston, South Carolina, March 8-12, 1999: Volume 3 (Part C) (WRI 99-4018C)
Surfactant-enhanced remediation of a trichloroethene-contaminated aquifer. 2. Transport of TCE
Surfactant-enhanced remediation of a trichloroethene-contaminated aquifer. 1. Transport of triton X-100
Case study: Natural attenuation of a trichloroethene plume at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey
US Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program: Proceedings of the technical meeting, Colorado Springs, Colorado, September 20-24, 1993
Chemical and biological processes affecting the fate and transport of trichloroethylene in the subsurface at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey
A review of intrinsic bioremediation of TCE in ground water at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey and St. Joseph, Michigan
Contamination of ground water with trichloroethylene at the Building 24 site at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey
Effects of sample isolation and handling on the recovery of purgeable organic compounds
Science and Products
- Science
- Data
- Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 48
Hydraulic and solute-transport properties and simulated advective transport of contaminated ground water in a fractured rock aquifer at the Naval Air Warfare Center, West Trenton, New Jersey, 2003
Volatile organic compounds, predominantly trichloroethylene and its degradation products, have been detected in ground water at the Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), West Trenton, New Jersey. An air-stripping pump-and-treat system has been in operation at the NAWC since 1998. An existing ground-water-flow model was used to evaluate the effect of a change in the configuration of the network of recovAuthorsJean C. Lewis-Brown, Glen B. Carleton, Thomas E. ImbrigiottaLaboratory comparison of polyethylene and dialysis membrane diffusion samplers
The ability of diffusion samplers constructed from regenerated cellulose dialysis membrane and low density, lay flat polyethylene tubing to collect volatile organic compounds and inorganic ions was compared in a laboratory study. Concentrations of vinyl chloride, cis‐1, 2‐dichloroethene, bromochloromethane, trichloroethene, bromodichloromethane, and tetrachloroethene collected by both types of difAuthorsTheodore A. Ehlke, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, Jeffrey M. DaleComparison of dialysis membrane diffusion samplers and two purging methods in bedrock wells
Collection of ground-water samples from bedrock wells using low-flow purging techniques is problematic because of the random spacing, variable hydraulic conductivity, and variable contamination of contributing fractures in each well's open interval. To test alternatives to this purging method, a field comparison of three ground-water-sampling techniques was conducted on wells in fractured bedrockAuthorsT.E. Imbrigiotta, T. A. Ehlke, P.J. Lacombe, J.M. DaleSoil respiration at the Amargosa Desert Research site: A section in U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program: Proceedings of the technical meeting, Charleston, South Carolina, March 8-12, 1999: Volume 3 (Part C) (WRI 99-4018C)
Automated opaque flux-chamber measurements of soil carbon dioxide (CO2) flux (soil respiration) into the atmosphere at the Amargosa Desert Research Site show seasonal and diel cycles of soil respiration that are closely linked with soil temperature and soil moisture. During 1998, soil respiration increased with soil warming through spring, reaching a maximum rate (not counting anomalously high valAuthorsAlan C. Riggs, Robert G. Striegl, Florentino B. MaestasSurfactant-enhanced remediation of a trichloroethene-contaminated aquifer. 2. Transport of TCE
Field studies were conducted under an induced gradient in a trichloroethene (TCE)-contaminated aquifer at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, to study (a) the rate-limited desorption of TCE from aquifer sediments to water and (b) the effect of a surfactant (Triton X-100) on the desorption and transport of TCE. Clean water was injected into the contaminated aquifer for 206 day. Triton X-100 was added for a 36-dAuthorsD. Sahoo, J. A. Smith, T.E. Imbrigiotta, H.M. MclellanSurfactant-enhanced remediation of a trichloroethene-contaminated aquifer. 1. Transport of triton X-100
Transport of a nonionic surfactant (Triton X-100) at aqueous concentrations less than 400 mg/L through a trichloroethene-contaminated sand-and-gravel aquifer at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, has been studied through a series of laboratory and field experiments. In the laboratory, batch and column experiments were conducted to quantify the rate and amount of Triton X-100 sorption to the aquifer sediments.AuthorsJ. A. Smith, D. Sahoo, H.M. Mclellan, T.E. ImbrigiottaCase study: Natural attenuation of a trichloroethene plume at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey
No abstract available.AuthorsThomas E. Imbrigiotta, Theodore A. Ehlke, Barbara H. Wilson, John T. WilsonUS Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program: Proceedings of the technical meeting, Colorado Springs, Colorado, September 20-24, 1993
No abstract available.AuthorsD.W. Morganwalp, D. A. AronsonChemical and biological processes affecting the fate and transport of trichloroethylene in the subsurface at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey
No abstract available.AuthorsThomas E. Imbrigiotta, T. A. Ehlke, Mary Martin, David Koller, J. A. SmithA review of intrinsic bioremediation of TCE in ground water at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey and St. Joseph, Michigan
No abstract available.AuthorsJohn T. Wilson, D.H. Kampbell, James W. Weaver, Barbara H. Wilson, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, T. A. EhlkeContamination of ground water with trichloroethylene at the Building 24 site at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey
No abstract available.AuthorsMary Martin, Thomas E. ImbrigiottaEffects of sample isolation and handling on the recovery of purgeable organic compounds
This report compares the recovery of purgeable organic compounds (POCs) obtained by using a downhole isobaric sampler developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, a helical-rotor submersible pump, and a point source bailer to collect and isolate samples of ground water from three wells in Now York and New Jersey: the samples contained a total of 13 PCX's delectable at concentrations ranging from 0.5 μAuthorsJacob Gibs, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, James H. Ficken, James F. Pankow, M. E. Rosen
*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