Mark Marvin-DiPasquale
Great Salt Lake: A novel piece in the mosaic of the Western North America Mercury Synthesis
Due to its sheer size, its ecological significance and its unique chemistry, the Great Salt Lake (GSL) is one of the crown jewels in the Great Basin of Western North America. However, over the last 15 years there has been growing evidence and concern that this novel ecosystem is contaminated with mercury at levels that may be threatening to wildlife. As our understanding of environmental mercury cycling and bioaccumulation improves, through many individual studies of complex systems such as the GSL, we are at a point where bringing together this wealth of information from multiple disparate investigations is essential. This presentation will highlight a novel effort currently underway to assess the state of the science / knowledge regarding mercury contamination across the mosaic of ecosystem types in Western North America, from Alaska to Mexico, and will be the very first attempt to put the existing GSL mercury science into this larger context.
• Native of Rochester, NY
• 1987: B.S. in Chemistry at ‘The State Univ. of NY at StonyBrook’
• 1995: Ph.D. from University of Maryland, Marine and Estuarine Environmental Science Program – Research focus: Microbial Ecology in Chesapeake Bay Sediments
• 1995: USGS (Menlo Park), ‘National Research Council’ postdoc
• 2001: Converted to a permanent appointment at USGS employee (Menlo Park)
• 2004: Became USGS ‘Project Chief’ overseeing the science initiative entitled “Biogeochemical Cycling at Regional Scales”
• During most of his tenure at USGS his research focus has been largely involved with mercury cycling at various ecosystem scales
• Previous and Current mercury investigations include those in:
o San Francisco Bay watershed and associated mining areas throughout CA
o FL Everglades
o Carson River, NV (mercury Superfund site)
o Lake Pontchartrain and coastal Louisiana
o USGS-NAWQA Study Units (Stream/River syetems) in OR, FL, WI, SC and NY
o Great Salt Lake, UT
o Patagonia region of ArgentinaA native of Rochester, NY, Dr. Marvin-DiPasquale is the Project Chief of the USGS-NRP effort ““Biogeochemical Cycling at Regional Scales”. He completed a B.S. in Chemistry at SUNY StonyBrook in 1987, and a Ph.D. in 1995 from University of Maryland, Marine and Estuarine Environmental Science Program, with a focus on the microbial ecology of Chesapeake Bay sediments. He began a career at USGS (Menlo Park) as a ‘National Research Council’ post-doc in 1995, and became a project chief in 2004. During much of his tenure at USGS his research focus has been on mercury cycling in various ecosystems, including: the San Francisco Bay watershed and associated mining areas throughout CA; FL Everglades; Carson River, NV (mercury Superfund site); Great Salt Lake, UT; Lake Pontchartrain and coastal, Louisiana; Pategonia region of Argentina; USGS-NAWQA and WEBB Study Units in OR, FL, WI, SC, NY, CO, GA, PR, and VT.
Gary Crandall image of Teals
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