Rona J. Donahoe

Professor

Contact

E-mail: rdonahoe@geo.ua.edu
Phone: 205-348-1879
Office: 243 Bevill
Fax: 205-348-0818

Education

B.S. 1978, University of Missouri - Rolla
Ph.D. 1984, Stanford University

Research Interests

Current research topics span many different areas of low-T aqueous geochemistry:

• In-Situ Fixation of Toxic Metal Contaminants in Soil and Groundwater.

  An experimental study evaluating various fixation methods for long-term immobilization of metals in contaminated soil and groundwater. This study is funded by Southern Company Services and EPRI.

• Evaluation of Zeolite-Based Treatment Technologies for Contaminated Groundwater and Industrial Waste Solutions.

  This study is determining contaminant adsorption isotherms for zeolite/quartz mixtures. The data will be used to design reactive, permeable barriers for groundwater remediation and ion exchange columns to remove contaminants from industrial waste solutions prior to discharge.

• Bacterial Controls on the Mobility of Trace Metals in Fe-rich Sediments.

  An experimental study of the mechanisms by which Fe and associated trace metals are mobilized/immobilized through bacterial reduction of iron oxide phases. This study is funded by the U.S. Department of EnergyÕs NABIR Program.

• Land-Water Interfaces:

  A Study of Nutrient and Elemental Cycling in a Wetland System. An interdisciplinary project funded by the National Science Foundation to conduct a long-term study of the sources and sinks of dissolved organic matter, dissolved inorganic nutrients, and metal elements in a stream wetland system.

Student research topics include: the fate of metals released from ferrihydrite by dissimilatory bacterial reduction; controls on the distribution of iron and bacteria in wetland sediments; the origin of solutes in groundwater below a wetland system; mercury contamination and migration in streams; physical and chemical controls on metal attenuation in soils; the effect of storm events on the solute chemistry of stream water; organic and inorganic controls on soil formation in two watersheds.

Representative Publications

Yang, L., Donahoe, R.J. and Redwine, J.C.  (2007) In situ chemical fixation of arsenic contaminated soils: An experimental study.  Science of the Total Environment, in press.

Yue, Z., Donahoe, R.J., Graham, E.Y., Redwine, J. and Pugh, J. (2007) Arsenic release from herbicide application to soil; experimental simulation of field conditions. Water-Rock Interaction,  A.A. Balkema Publishers, 723-726.

Donahoe, R.J., Bhattacharyya, S. and Ladwig, K.J. (2007) Chemical fixation of trace elements in coal fly ash. University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research, Ash Library, http://www.flyash.info, 22 pp.

Yang, L. and Donahoe, R.J. (2007)  The form, distribution and mobility of arsenic in soils contaminated by arsenic trioxide, at sites in southeast USA.  Applied Geochemistry 22, 320-341.

Donahoe, R.J. (2005) Secondary minerals produced by weathering of coal ash: observed and predicted. EPRI Technical Update, 20 pp.

Donahoe, R.J. (2004) Secondary Mineral Formation in Coal Combustion By-Product Disposal Facilities: Implications for Trace Element Sequestration. Chapter 17  In: (R. Giere and P. Stille, eds.)  Energy, Waste and the Environment: A Geochemical Perspective.  Geological Society, London, Special Publication, 236, 641-658.

Howell, J. R., Redwine, J. C., and Donahoe, R.J. (2004) Secondary Mineral Formation in Weathered Coal Ash, Proceedings, Air and Waste Management Association 97th Annual Conference & Exhibition, Indianapolis, IN, 547.

Redwine, J.C., Howell, J.R., Donahoe, R.J. and Yang, L. (2004) In-Situ Chemical Fixation of Arsenic in Soil: Laboratory and Field Results. Proceedings, Air and Waste Management Association 97th Annual Conference & Exhibition, Indianapolis, IN, 548.

Neumann, K., Lyons, W.B., Priscu, J.C. and Donahoe, R.J. (2001) CO2 concentrations in perennially ice-covered lakes of Taylor Valley, Antarctica. Biogeochemistry, 56: 27-50.

Lu, G., Zheng, C., Donahoe, R.J., and Lyons, W.B. (2000) Controlling processes in a CaCO3 preciptating stream in Huanglong Natural Scenic District, Sichuan, China. J. of Hydrology, 230 (2000), 34-54..

Howell, J.R., Donahoe, R.J., Roden, E.E., and Ferris, F.G. (1998) Effects of microbial iron oxide reduction on pH and alkalinity in anaerobic bicarbonate-buffered media: implications for metal mobility. Mineralogical Magazine, 62A(2), 657-658.

Donahoe, R.J. and Liu, C. (1998) Porewater geochemistry near the sediment-water interface of a zoned, freshwater wetland in the southeastern United States. Environmental Geology, 33, 143-153.

Gong, C. and Donahoe, R.J. (1997) An experimental study of heavy metal attenuation and mobility in sandy loam soils. Applied Geochemistry, 12(3), 243-254.

Donahoe, R.J., Liu, C., Dobson, K. and Graham, E. (1994) Cycling of iron and manganese in a riparian wetland. Mineralogical Magazine, 58A, 237-238.

Gong, C. and Donahoe, R.J. (1992) Interactions between heavy metals and silty loam soil in Flow-Through Experiments. In: (Y.K. Kharaka and A.S. Maest, eds.) Water-Rock Interaction, Volume 1: Low Temperature Environments, A.A. Balkema Publishers, 723-726.

Donahoe, R. J. and Walton, S. R. (1990) The Emelle hazardous chemical waste disposal facility, Sumter County, Alabama. In: (R. J. Donahoe and R. H. Groshong, eds.) Hazardous Waste Disposal in the Upper Cretaceous Selma Group, Guidebook for Field Trip IV, 1990 S.E. Geological Society of America Meeting, 1-8.

Donahoe, R. J. (1990) Ground water hydrology and geochemistry in the Eutaw aquifer, Sumter County, Alabama: implications for monitoring hazardous waste disposal facilities. In: (R. J.

Donahoe and R. H. Groshong, eds.) Hazardous Waste Disposal in the Upper Cretaceous Selma Group, Guidebook for Field Trip IV, 1990 S.E. Geological Society of America Meeting, 9-20.

Groshong, R. H., Hawkins, W. B., and Donahoe, R. J. (1990) Structures influencing the permeability of the Selma Group in western Alabama. In: (R. J. Donahoe and R. H. Groshong, eds.) Hazardous Waste Disposal in the Upper Cretaceous Selma Group, Guidebook for Field Trip IV, 1990 S.E. Geological Society of America Meeting, 21-34.

Donahoe, R. J., Hemingway, B. S., and Liou, J. G. (1990) Thermochemical data for merlinoite: 1. low temperature heat capacities, entropies and enthalpies of formation at 298.15K for six synthetic samples having various Si/Al and Na/(Na + K) ratios. The American Mineralogist, 75, 188-200.

Donahoe, R. J., Liou, J. G., and Hemingway, B. S. (1990) Thermochemical data for merlinoite: 2. free energies of formation at 298.15K for six synthetic samples having various Si/Al and Na/(Na + K) ratios and application to saline, alkaline lakes. The American Mineralogist, 75, 201-208.

Donahoe, R. J. and Leard, L. E. (1989) An experimental study of the effect of injection waters on Citronelle Field cores, Mobile County, Alabama. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, Oil and Gas Field Development Issue, 73, No. 11, 1326-1340.

Nordstrom, D. K., Ball, J. W., Donahoe, R. J., and Whittemore, D. (1989) Groundwater chemistry and water-rock interactions at Stripa. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 53, 1727-1740.

Nordstrom, D. K., Lindblom, S., Donahoe, R. J., and Barton, C. (1989) Fluid inclusions in the Stripa granite and their possible influence on the groundwater chemistry. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 53, 1741-1755.

Hemingway, B. S., Nitkiewicz, A. J., and Donahoe, R. J. (1988) Key values for the thermodynamic properties of geologic materials: I. The enthalpy of solution of quartz in hydrofluoric acid, a preliminary evaluation. U.S. Geological Survey, Open-file report 88-252, 15 pp.

Donahoe, R. J. and Liou, J. G. (1985) An experimental study on the process of zeolite formation. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 49, no. 11, 2349-2360.

Donahoe, R. J., Guldman, S., and Liou, J. G. (1984) Synthesis and characterization of zeolites in the system Na2O-K2O-Al2O3-SiO2-H2O. Clays and Clay Minerals, 32, no. 6, 433-443.

Donahoe, R. J. and Liou, J. G. (1983) An experimental study on the process of zeolite formation. Fourth International Symposium on Water-Rock Interaction, Missasa, Japan, 119-122, International Association of Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry.

 

Department Info