Dr. Arnason resigned as Assistant Professor in October 2008.
Courses taught 2007-08
GEO 100N Planet
Earth
GEO210 Mineralogy
GEO 212 Earth Materials Laboratory
GEO 420/520 Instrumental Methods in Environmental Science
Research
Interests
to October 2008 (archival significance only)
My students and I are interested in problems regarding the
transport
and fate of inorganic contaminants, in urban
watersheds and airsheds. Our research focuses on analysis of
soils,
sediments and
surface waters to determine the spatial and temporal distribution
of
contaminants, their physical and chemical forms, and their
potential to
impact on ecosystems and human health. Our methods involve field
mapping
and sampling, physical and chemical analysis, and theoretical
modeling.
At present, all of our studies are based in Patroon Creek, a
highly
urbanized and contaminated watershed located in northern Albany
County,
NY.
Current projects include:
1) Mineralogy and geochemistry of depleted uranium (DU) in Patroon
Reservoir sediments.
We have documented the concentrations and isotopic composition of
natural and anthropogenic uranium deposited in reservoir sediments
located downstream of a former DU processing plant. DU is
radioactive
and chemically toxic. In the reservoir sediments, it occurs as
discrete, microscopic particles that were transported and
deposited by
atmospheric and river processes. Using electron microprobe
facilities
at nearby Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, we are characterizing
these
particles in
order to understand their origin, mode of transport, and
solubility.
2) Solid phase speciation of mercury (Hg) in sediment of Patroon
Creek.
Significant Hg contamination occurs in sediments of Patroon Creek,
downstream of a former mercury refinery, now a Superfund Site. The
goals of this project are to determine how the solid phase
speciation
(chemical form) of Hg is controlled by physical and chemical
variation
in the host sediments and how Hg changes its form with time and
distance from the source.
3) Fate and transport of road de-icing chemicals in the Patroon
Creek
Watershed. This project addresses the question “What
happens to deicing chemicals, i.e. sodium chloride, applied to
roadways
and parking lots in the watershed?” We hypothesize that soils are
retaining de-icing salts during the winter and releasing them to
the
stream in the summer. In order to test this idea, we are comparing
seasonal inputs from precipitation and salt application to outputs
via
stream discharge. Net differences between input and output would
be the
result of interactions among runoff, soils and groundwater.
Graduate students supervised by
Professor
J.G.
Arnason at the University at Albany
Selected Publications
Parrish, R. R., M. Horstwood, J. G. Arnason, S. Chenery, T. Brewer, N. S. Lloyd, D. O. Carpenter, Depleted uranium contamination by inhalation exposure and its detection after >25 years: implications for health assessment, Environmental Health Perspectives, submitted.
Madden, S.S., G. R Robinson, , and J. G. Arnason, Riparian buffer size predicts biological but not chemical stream properties in a rural New York watershed, submitted to Northeastern Naturalist, submitted.
Lo, D., R. L. Fleischer , E. A. Albert , and J. G. Arnason, 2006, Location, identification, and particle size distribution of depleted uranium grains in reservoir sediments, Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, in press.
Arnason, J. G. and B. A. Fletcher, 2003, A 40+ year record of Cd, Hg, Pb, and U deposition in sediments of Patroon Reservoir, Albany County, NY, USA, Environmental Pollution, vol 123, pp. 383-391.
Arnason, J. G. and D. K. Bird, 2000, A gold- and platinum-mineralized layer in gabbros of the Kap Edvard Holm complex: field, petrologic, and geochemical relations, Economic Geology, v. 95, pp. 945-970.
Arnason, J. G., Bird, D. K., Bernstein, S., and Kelemen, P. B., 1997, Gold and platinum-group element mineralization in the Kruuse Fjord Gabbro Complex, East Greenland, Economic Geology, v. 92, pp. 490-501.
Arnason, J. G., Bird, D. K., Bernstein, S., Rose, N. M., and Manning, C. E., 1997, Petrology and geochemistry of the Kruuse Fjord Gabbro Complex, East Greenland, Geological Magazine, v. 134, pp. 67-89.
Bird, D. K., Arnason, J. G., Brandriss, M. E., Nevle, R. J., Radford, G., Bernstein, S., Gannicott, R. A., and Kelemen, P. B., 1995, A gold-bearing horizon in the Kap Edvard Holm Complex, East Greenland, Economic Geology, v. 90, pp. 1288-1300.
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