Professor & Director, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
The University of Georgia, Aiken, SC
Ph.D., University of Kentucky
bertsch@srel.edu
My research interests are in the area known generally as molecular environmental science. I am interested in the biogeochemical processes that control the cycling and fate of carbon, trace elements, and contaminants within soils, groundwater, and surface water. I am specifically interested in how abiotically and biologically controlled molecular level reactions are manifested in field and landscape scale processes. My current research examines contaminant-mineral interactions, the chemical speciation and speciation transformations of contaminants in complex environmental media, and how the molecular form of contaminants influence the transport, bioavailability and toxicity of contaminants. Our research also seeks to establish the underlying mechanisms involved in the natural attenuation of metals and radionuclides and those involved in novel in situ remediation strategies.
Publications:
Punshon, T.P., P.M. Bertsch, A.
Lanzirotti, K.W. McLeod and J. Burger. 2003 Geochemical signature of
contaminated sediment remobilization revealed by spatially resolved
X-ray microanalysis of annual rings of Salix nigra. Environmental
Science & Technology 37:1766-1774.
Sowder, A. G., P.M. Bertsch and P.J. Morris. 2003. Partitioning and
availability of uranium and nickel in contaminated riparian sediments.
J. Environ. Quality 32:885-898.
Doelsch, E., A. Masion, J. Rose, W.E.E. Stone, J.Y. Bottero and P.M. Bertsch. 2003. Chemistry and structure of colloids obtained by
hydrolysis of Fe(III) in the presence of Si04 ligands. Colloids and
Surfaces A:Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 217: 121-128.
Punshon, T., K.F. Gaines, P.M. Bertsch and J. Burger. 2003.
Bioavailability of uranium and nickel to vegetation in a contaminated
riparian ecosystem. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 22:1146-1154.