Focused primarily on water quality, but occasionally soils, sediments, and floral/faunal communities, we generally aim to characterize environmental problems that may lead directly to actionable solutions.
The Carolina Lowcountry is host to tremendous environmental resources, which have served as an attractant catalyzing explosive population growth in our region. Water quality and flooding issues from urbanization, overlying ongoing sea level rise, has created a suite of socioenvironmental challenges. Currently we are working to better understand regional Gullah communities adaptations and responses to flooding pressures. Additionally, we are studying water quality dynamics in relation to flooding near the Gullah communities of Sandy Island and St. Helena Island.
Strosnider has spent significant time investigating the environmental and human health impacts of a half-millennia of intensive mining in Potosi, Bolivia, the world's largest silver deposit. The work traced contamination from mine drainage, to streams/rivers/lakes (Strosnider et al., 2011ab, 2014ab; Sun et al., 2020), to soils (Garrido et al., 2017), to crops (Garrido et al., 2017), and human populations (Farag et al., 2015). Please note the papers and links below for further information.
Untreated or poorly-treated mine drainage and municipal wastewater are commonplace throughout Appalachia. At times, these waste streams interact in uncontrolled surface water situations. Strosnider and colleagues at USGS, Saint Francis University, the University of Rhode Island, and Saint Vincent College have investigated these dynamics, revealing a key concern that eutrophic conditions may be masked in many Appalachian surface waters by mine drainage binding phosphorus (Smyntek et al., 2022; Spellman et al., 2022). Therefore, mine drainage and nutrient abatement efforts should be coordinated to restore water quality.
Publications (*graduate student, undergraduate student, +postdoctoral author):
Xie H, J Sun, WHJ Strosnider, R Zhang, X Li, P Wu (2025) Geochemistry and stable isotopic composition of mine water at varying sulfurous coalfields. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconhyd.2025.104624
Guo X*, P Wu, WHJ Strosnider, Y Takahashi, T Kogure, S Yang, J Sun (2023) A simple multilevel sampler for synchronous collection of stratified waters. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 195:314 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-10944-0
Spellman Jr. CD*, PM Smyntek+, CA Cravotta III, TL Tasker+, WHJ Strosnider (2022) Pollutant co-attenuation via in-stream interactions between mine drainage and municipal wastewater. Water Research 214:118173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2022.118173
Smyntek PM+, N Lamagna, CA Cravotta III, WHJ Strosnider (2022) Mine drainage precipitates attenuate and conceal phosphate pollution in stream water. Science of the Total Environment 815:152672. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152672
Sun J, Y Takahashi, WHJ Strosnider, T Kogure, B Wang, P Wu, L Zhu, Z Dong (2021) Identification and quantification of contributions to karst groundwater using a triple stable isotope labeling and mass balance model. Chemosphere 263:127946. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127946
Sun J, WHJ Strosnider, RW Nairn, JA LaBar+ (2020) Water quality impacts of in-stream mine tailings on a headwaters tributary of the Rio Pilcomayo, Potosí, Bolivia. Applied Geochemistry 113:104464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2019.104464
Strosnider WHJ, J Hugo, NL Shepherd*, BK Holzbauer-Schweitzer*, C Wolkersdorfer, RW Nairn. (2020) A snapshot of coal mine drainage discharge limits for conductivity, sulfate, and manganese across the developed world. Mine Water and the Environment 39: 165-172. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10230-020-00669-8
Sun J, T Kogure, WHJ Strosnider, P Wu, X Cao (2019) Tracing and quantifying contributions of end members to karst water at a coalfield in southwest China. Chemosphere 234: 777-788. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.06.066
Sun J*, T Kobayashi, WHJ Strosnider, P Wu (2017) Stable sulfur and oxygen isotopes as geochemical tracers of sulfate in karst waters. Journal of Hydrology 551: 245-252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2017.06.006
Garrido AE*, WHJ Strosnider, R Taylor Wilson, J Condori, RW Nairn (2017) Metal-contaminated potato crops and potential human health risk in Bolivian mining highlands. Environmental Geochemistry and Health 39(3): 681-700. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-017-9943-4
Farag S*, R Das*, WHJ Strosnider, R Taylor Wilson (2015) Possible health effects of living in proximity to mining sites near Potosí, Bolivia. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 57(5): 543-551. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000000401
Kruse NA, WHJ Strosnider (2015) Carbon dioxide dynamics and sequestration in mine water and waste: A review. Mine Water and the Environment 34: 3-9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10230-014-0320-6
Strosnider WHJ, FS Llanos López, CE Marcillo, RR Callapa, RW Nairn (2014) Contaminantes adicionales de drenaje acido de mina de Cerro Rico de Potosí impactan la cabecera del Rio Pilcomayo. Avances en Ciencias e Ingeniería 5(3): 1-17. http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=323632128001
Faldetta KF*, DA Reighard*, KL Dickinson*, CQ Wang*, DR George, LR Benavides, WHJ Strosnider (2014) Assessing domestic water quality in Belén municipality, Iquitos, Peru. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development. 4(3):391-399. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/washdev.2014.051
Sun J*, C Tang*, P Wu, WHJ Strosnider (2014) Hydrogen and oxygen isotopic composition of karst waters with and without acid mine drainage: Impacts at a SW China coalfield. Science of the Total Environment 487: 123-129. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.04.008
Strosnider WHJ, FS Llanos López, JA LaBar*, KJ Palmer, RW Nairn (2014) Unabated acid mine drainage from Cerro Rico de Potosí, Bolivia: uncommon constituents of concern impact the Rio Pilcomayo headwaters. Environmental Earth Sciences 71: 3223-3234. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2734-z
Sun J*, C Tang, P Wu, WHJ Strosnider, Z Han (2013) Hydrogeochemical characteristics of streams with and without acid mine drainage impacts: A paired catchment study in karst geology, SW China. Journal of Hydrology 504: 115-124. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.09.029
Strosnider WHJ, FS Llanos López, RW Nairn (2011) Acid mine drainage at Cerro Rico de Potosí II: severe degradation of the Upper Rio Pilcomayo watershed. Environmental Earth Sciences 64: 911-923. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12665-010-0899-2
Strosnider WHJ, FS Llanos López, RW Nairn (2011) Acid mine drainage at Cerro Rico de Potosí I: unabated high-strength discharges reflect a five century legacy of mining. Environmental Earth Sciences 64: 899-910. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12665-011-0996-x