Geoffrey Plumlee, Ph.D.
As the Chief Scientist, Geoff provides strategic scientific counsel, including analysis, planning, and coordination, to the Director and the USGS Executive Leadership Team on scientific research and applications for which programs and projects that cross multiple Mission Areas. He also serves as the USGS Executive Science Liaison within DOI and with other Federal agencies.
Biography
Career History and Highlights
Dr. Geoff Plumlee has served in his current position (first as Senior Science Advisor to the USGS Director and now Chief Scientist of the USGS) since February 2019. In this position, Geoff provides strategic scientific vision and counsel to the Director and other executive leaders of the USGS on inter- and transdisciplinary USGS science research priorities, activities, capabilities, and partnerships. From May 2016 to early 2020, Geoff was the USGS Associate Director for Environmental Health, where he led USGS research at the intersection of the environment and health.
Geoff brought to these executive leadership positions over 30 years of research and science leadership experience with the USGS, as well as his ability to seek out and establish successful research collaborations with scientists from a broad range of earth, health, social, emergency response, and engineering science disciplines. From 1983 through May 2016 he helped lead and carry out many research projects on linkages between mineral resources, the environment, disasters, and human health.
Geoff is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America (GSA) and past Chair of the GSA Geology and Health Division. He is a member and past Council Member of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), where he proposed the idea for and worked to help establish the new AGU GeoHealth Section. Geoff has been an adjunct clinical assistant professor at the University of Colorado School of Public Health since 2009, where he helped design and for 10 years lectured in a transdisciplinary course on environmental exposures and health.
Geoff is author or co-author of more than 140 scientific papers, including many in technical journals and books across a wide range of scientific disciplines such as environmental geochemistry, public health, natural hazards, economic geology, and geology. Geoff has received the Department of the Interior Superior and Meritorious Service awards, the GSA Geology and Health Division Distinguished Service Award, and the Society of Economic Geologists Waldemar Lindgren (Early Career Scientist) Award.
Education
Geoff holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Geology from the University of New Mexico, 1980, and a Doctorate in Geochemistry from Harvard University, 1989.
Publications
Key Publications are listed below. PDF’s of specific publications, as well as a complete list of Geoff’s more than 140 publications, are available upon request.
Science and Products
Is Uranium in Water Resources near the Grand Canyon a Health Hazard?
The public is concerned that uranium in natural geologic formations, mine tailings, dusts, water, and other geologic materials can pose a health hazard to humans and wildlife.
Our specialized teams of hydrologists, chemists, and geologists working together at a field site in the Grand Canyon region of the United States have shown:
Elevated uranium concentrations (above the...
Can There be Unintended Benefits when Wastewater Treatment Infrastructure is Upgraded?
Science from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and other entities has shown that a mixture of natural and synthetic estrogens and other similar chemicals are discharged from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to streams and rivers.
USGS and University of Colorado hydrologists, chemists, geologists, and biologists studied the chemistry and biology of Boulder Creek downstream of Boulder ...
Are Spills from Swine Lagoons Causing Downstream Health Hazards?
Livestock manure spills have been shown to result from events such as equipment failures, over-application of manure to agricultural fields, runoff from open feedlots, storage overflow, accidents with manure transporting equipment, and severe weather.
Our specialized teams of hydrologists, chemists, biologists and geologists, in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of...
What Are the Health Hazards from Contaminants Released to the Environment by Natural Disasters?
Our specialized teams of hydrologists, chemists, and geologists working together at field sites in Northeastern US after Hurricane Sandy have shown:
- Metal contaminants were released to the environment after Hurricane Sandy due to some dune restoration activities.
- In other locations the storm actually decreased contaminant exposures to bottom dwelling aquatic biota. ...
Are Naturally Occurring Microbiological Toxins in Water Resources a Health Hazard?
A growing number of human gastrointestinal, respiratory, dermatologic, and neurologic effects, as well as dog and livestock illnesses and deaths, in the United States have been linked to exposures to algal blooms in recreational lakes and stock ponds.
Some of the blooms contain cyanobacteria, which have the potential to produce cyanotoxins in freshwater systems. However, the connection...
What is the Chemical and Microbial Content of Our Tap Waters?
Safe Drinking Water Act compliance addresses the safety of public-supply water systems. The composition of public-supply drinking water is generally only tested at the treatment facility, and not at the tap in homes and businesses after traveling through the water distribution system. Only lead and copper are tested at a subset of residential and other taps.
Testing of water in private...
Are Tumors in Wild Fish Harvested in the Great Lakes Region Related to Contaminants in Water Resources?
Our specialized teams of scientists are working in our laboratories and at field sites around the Great Lakes in collaboration with other federal and state resource agencies to document the prevalence of skin and liver tumors in fish. Tumor prevalence in white suckers (Catostomus commersonii), a fish harvested as a food source by local communities, is related to the degree of urbanization in...
Are Spills Associated with Deep Well Injection of Wastewater from Oil and Gas Operations a Health Hazard?
Our specialized teams of hydrologists, chemists, biologists, and geologists worked together in the New River Gorge National River watershed to answer this question.
Wastewater generated in association with oil and gas operations at this site is managed by injection in deep wells designed to safely dispose and contain contaminants in deep geologic formations.
Contaminants...
Algal and Other Environmental Toxins Laboratory — Lawrence, Kansas
About the Laboratory
Scientists at the Organic Geochemistry Research Laboratory (OGRL) in Lawrence, Kansas, develop and employ targeted and non-targeted analytical methods for identification and quantitation of known and understudied algal/cyanobacterial toxins. Our newly contructed (2019) 2,500 square foot modern laboratory facility has enhanced capabilities for algal...
Geospatial Analyses and Applications — Salt Lake City, Utah
About the Laboratory
Scientists within the Geospatial Analyses and Applications Team develop and apply geospatial analytical methods to answer broad-scale questions about source-sink and cause-effect relationships between contaminants and vulnerable communities. Multivariate statistics are used to identify connections between landscape gradients and observational data....
Hydrogeophysics Laboratory — Storrs, Connecticut
About the Laboratory
The geophysicists and hydrologists at the Hydrogeophysics Laboratory develop, demonstrate, and support the application of geophysical methods to environmental-health investigations. They have expertise in a diverse suite of geophysical field methods including electrical, electromagnetic, seismic, radar, gravity, and thermal; these methods are run...
National Wildlife Health Center — Madison, Wisconsin
About the Laboratory
The National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) provides the services of board-certified veterinary pathologists specializing in gross and microscopic assessment of animal tissues to help understand the impacts of contaminants on wildlife species. The NWHC also offers real-time reporting of wildlife mortality events and maintains an extensive database of...
Using information from global climate models to inform policymaking—The role of the U.S. Geological Survey
This report provides an overview of model-based climate science in a risk management context. In addition, it summarizes how the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will continue to follow best scientific practices and when and how the results of this research will be delivered to the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and other stakeholders to...
Terando, Adam; Reidmiller, David; Hostetler, Steven W.; Littell, Jeremy S.; Beard, T. Douglas; Weiskopf, Sarah R.; Belnap, Jayne; Plumlee, Geoffrey S.
Assessment of leachable elements in volcanic ashfall: A review and evaluation of a standardized protocol for ash hazard characterization
Volcanic ash presents a widespread and common hazard during and after eruptions. Complex interactions between solid ash surfaces and volcanic gases lead to the formation of soluble salts that may be mobilized in aqueous environments. A variety of stakeholders may be concerned about the effects of ash on human and animal health, drinking water...
Stewart, Carol; Damby, David; Tomasek, Ines; Horwell, Claire J.; Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Armienta, Maria Aurora; Hinojosa, Maria Gabriela Ruiz; Appleby, Moya; Delmelle, Pierre; Cronin, Shane; Ottley, Christopher J; Oppenheimer, Clive; Morman, Suzette A. Method to characterize inorganic particulates in lung tissue biopsies using field emission scanning electron microscopy
Humans accumulate large numbers of inorganic particles in their lungs over a lifetime. Whether this causes or contributes to debilitating disease over a normal lifespan depends on the type and concentration of the particles. We developed and tested a protocol for in situ characterization of the types and distribution of inorganic...
Lowers, Heather A.; Breit, George N.; Strand, Matthew; Pillers, Renee M.; Meeker, Gregory P.; Todorov, Todor I.; Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Wolf, Ruth E.; Robinson, Maura; Parr, Jane; Miller, Robert J.; Groshong, Steve; Green, Francis; Rose, Cecile Toxicants in folk remedies: Implications of elevated blood lead in an American-born infant due to imported diaper powder
Though most childhood lead exposure in the USA results from ingestion of lead-based paint dust, non-paint sources are increasingly implicated. We present interdisciplinary findings from and policy implications of a case of elevated blood lead (13–18 mcg/dL, reference level <5 mcg/dL) in a 9-month-old infant, linked to a non-commercial...
Karwowski, Mateusz P.; Morman, Suzette A.; Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Law, Terence; Kellogg, Mark; Woolf, Alan D. Environmental implications of the use of sulfidic back-bay sediments for dune reconstruction — Lessons learned post Hurricane Sandy
Some barrier-island dunes damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy's storm surges in October 2012 have been reconstructed using sediments dredged from back bays. These sand-, clay-, and iron sulfide-rich sediments were used to make berm-like cores for the reconstructed dunes, which were then covered by beach sand. In November 2013, we sampled and...
Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Benzel, William M.; Hoefen, Todd M.; Hageman, Philip L.; Morman, Suzette A.; Reilly, Timothy J.; Adams, Monique; Berry, Cyrus J.; Fischer, Jeffrey; Fisher, Irene Geologic materials and human health: Chapter 5.14
No abstract available.
Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Morman, Suzette A. Trace elements in stormflow, ash, and burned soil following the 2009 station fire in southern California
Most research on the effects of wildfires on stream water quality has focused on suspended sediment and nutrients in streams and water bodies, and relatively little research has examined the effects of wildfires on trace elements. The purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) to determine the effect of the 2009 Station Fire in the Angeles National...
Burton, Carmen A.; Hoefen, Todd M.; Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Baumberger, Katherine L.; Backlin, Adam R.; Gallegos, Elizabeth; Fisher, Robert N. Anticipating environmental and environmental-health implications of extreme storms: ARkStorm scenario
The ARkStorm Scenario predicts that a prolonged winter storm event across California would cause extreme precipitation, flooding, winds, physical damages, and economic impacts. This study uses a literature review and geographic information system-based analysis of national and state databases to infer how and where ARkStorm could cause...
Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Alpers, Charles N.; Morman, Suzette A.; San Juan, Carma A. Mining for metals in society's waste
Metals are crucial to society and enable our modern standard of living. Look around and you can't help but see products made of metals. For instance, a typical gasoline-powered automobile contains over a ton of iron and steel, 240 pounds of aluminum, 42 pounds of copper, 41 pounds of silicon, 22 pounds of zinc and more than 30 other mineral...
Smith, Kathleen S.; Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Hageman, Philip L. Potential metal recovery from waste streams
‘Waste stream’ is a general term that describes the total flow of waste from homes, businesses, industrial facilities, and institutions that are recycled, burned or isolated from the environment in landfills or other types of storage, or dissipated into the environment. The recovery and reuse of chemical elements from waste streams have the...
Smith, Kathleen S.; Hageman, Philip L.; Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Budahn, James R.; Bleiwas, Donald I. Can treatment and disposal costs be reduced through metal recovery?
This paper describes a framework to conduct a “metal-recovery feasibility assessment” for mining influenced water (MIW) and associated treatment sludge. There are multiple considerations in such a determination, including the geologic/geochemical feasibility, market feasibility, technical feasibility, economic feasibility, and administrative...
Smith, Kathleen S.; Figueroa, Linda; Plumlee, Geoffrey S. The environmental and medical geochemistry of potentially hazardous materials produced by disasters
Many natural or human-caused disasters release potentially hazardous materials (HM) that may pose threats to the environment and health of exposed humans, wildlife, and livestock. This chapter summarizes the environmentally and toxicologically significant physical, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics of materials produced by a wide...
Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Morman, Suzette A.; Meeker, G.P.; Hoefen, Todd M.; Hageman, Philip L.; Wolf, Ruth E.
USGS Scientists Study Effects of Gold King Mine Release
On August 5, while investigating the Gold King Mine in southwestern Colorado, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency accidentally triggered the release of approximately three million gallons of acidic, metal-rich mine wastewater from the Gold King Mine into Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas River.