KAREN MCLAUGHLIN - Chemist

EDUCATION:

Ph.D., Geological & Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, 2005

B.S., Geosciences, Penn State University, 1999

AREAS OF EXPERTISE:

Dr. McLaughlin is an aquatic chemist specializing in tracing sources and cycling of nutrients in coastal systems using a variety of stable isotopic and chemical tracers. She developed an extraction protocol to analyze low concentrations of phosphate for its oxygen isotopic composition for her dissertation research at Stanford University, and has utilized this technique to understand phosphate sources and cycling in several estuarine and coastal marine environments. She has collaborated with researchers at Stanford and the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, California on several projects that utilize a suite of stable isotopes measurements to understand the biogeochemical cycling of nitrate, phosphate, ammonium and organic matter in Lake Erie and several Northern California watersheds. Her postdoctoral research focused on identifying sources and loading of fecal indicator bacteria impairment in Newport Bay, California. The results of this work will be used to develop a management strategy for mitigation of fecal pollution in Newport Bay.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Scientist. Southern California Coastal Water Research Project. Costa Mesa, California. 2007 - Present

Postdoctoral Researcher. University of California, Irvine, California. 2006 - 2007

Graduate Research Assistant. Stanford University Department of Geological & Environmental Sciences, Stanford, California. 1999 - 2005.

Undergraduate Research Assistant. Penn State University Department of Geosciences, State College, Pennsylvania. 1997 - 1999.

HONORS AND AWARDS:

Stanford University-US Geological Survey Graduate Fellow - 2001

Schlanger Ocean Drilling Program Fellow - 2000

Stanford University McGee Research Grant Recipient - 2000

Honorable Mention, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship - 2000

Distinction Graduate, Department of Geosciences, Penn State University - 1999

Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society - 1998

Teas Scholarship for Geological Sciences, Penn State University - 1998

Drake Scholarship for Summer Field School, Penn State University - 1998

Trustees Scholarship for Geological Sciences, Penn State University -1997

Golden Key National Honor Society - 1996

Phi Eta Sigma Freshman Honor Society - 1995

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES:

Member American Geophysical Union

Member American Society of Limnology and Oceanography

Member Estuarine Research Federation

PUBLICATIONS:

K. McLaughlin, J.H. Ahn, R.M. Litton, S.B. Grant. submitted. Use of salinity mixing models to estimate the contribution of creek water fecal indicator bacteria to an estuarine environment: Newport Bay, California. Water Research Special Issue: Identifying Sources of Fecal Contamination.

Y. Jeong, B.F. Sanders, K. McLaughlin, S.B. Grant. submitted. Assessing the capacity of coastal wetlands to remove fecal indicator bacteria in urban runoff: a longitudinal study at the Talbert Marsh in southern California. Environmental Science and Technology.

A. Paytan and K. McLaughlin. 2007. The Oceanic Phosphorus Cycle. Chemical Reviews: Chemical Oceanography 107: 563-576.

McLaughlin, K., C. Kendall, S.R. Silva, M.B.Young, A. Paytan. 2006. Phosphate oxygen isotopes as a tracer for sources and cycling of phosphate in San Francisco Bay. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 111: doi: 10.1029/2005JG000079.

McLaughlin, K., B.J. Cade-Menun, A. Paytan. 2006. The oxygen isotopic composition of phosphate in Elkhorn Slough, California: A tracer for phosphate sources. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 70: 499-506. doi: 10.1016/j.ecss.2006.06.030

McLaughlin, K., F.P. Chavez, J.T. Pennington, A. Paytan. 2006. A time series investigation of the oxygen isotopic composition of dissolved inorganic phosphate in Monterey Bay: Evidence for variations in phosphate cycling and utilization. Limnology and Oceanography 51:2370-2379

McLaughlin, K., C. Kendall, S.R. Silva, A. Paytan. 2006. Oxygen isotopes of phosphatic compounds: Application for marine particulate matter, sediments, and soils. Marine Chemistry 98:148-155.

McLaughlin K, S. Silva, C. Kendall, H. Stuart-Williams, A. Paytan. 2004. A precise method for the analysis of d18O of dissolved inorganic phosphate in seawater. Limnology and Oceanography Methods 2: 202-212.

Paytan, A., B., Cade-Menun, and K. McLaughlin. 2003. Selective phosphorus regeneration of sinking marine particles: Evidence from 31P-NMR. Marine Chemistry 82, 55-70.

PUBLICATIONS IN PREPARATION:

McLaughlin, K., J. Sohm, G. Cutter, A. Paytan. in prep. Insights into the sources and cycling of phosphate in the Sargasso Sea using the oxygen isotopic composition of phosphate.

McLaughlin, K., S. Jiang, W. Chu, S.B. Grant. in prep. The importance of macroalgae to the persistence of fecal indicator bacteria in Newport Bay, California.

McLaughlin, K., J.H. Ahn, R.M. Litton, S. Jiang, W. Chu, S.B. Grant. in prep. Survivability of fecal indicator bacteria from various sources in Newport Bay, California.

SELECTED ABSTRACTS:

K. McLaughlin, J.H. Ahn, R.M. Litton, S.B. Grant. 2006. Narrowing the search for sources of fecal indicator bacteria with a simple salinity mixing model. EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, Fall 2006 Conference. San Francisco, CA.

K. McLaughlin, A. Paytan. 2006. Insights into Phosphate Sources and Cycling from Oxygen Isotopes of Phosphate; Three Studies: San Francisco Bay, Monterey Bay, Elkhorn Slough. INVITED. Biogeomon, University of California, Santa Cruz. June 25-30, 2006.

McLaughlin, K., A. Paytan. 2005. Insights into phosphate turnover in the Sargasso Sea from the oxygen isotopic composition of dissolved inorganic phosphate. EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, Fall 2005 Conference. San Francisco, CA.

McLaughlin, K., A. Paytan, C. Kendall, S. R. Silva. 2005. Phosphate oxygen isotope ratios as a tracer for sources and cycling of phosphate in North San Francisco Bay. State of the Estuary Conference. Sacramento, CA.

McLaughlin, K. , A. Paytan, C. Kendall, S. R. Silva. 2004. Phosphate Oxygen Isotopes as a Tracer for Sources and Cycling of Phosphate in San Francisco Bay. EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, Fall 2004 Conference. San Francisco, California.

McLaughlin, K., A.Paytan, C. Kendall, S.R. Silva, F.P. Chavez, J.T. Pennington. 2003. A Time Series Investigation of the Oxygen Isotopic Composition of Dissolved Inorganic Phosphate in Monterey Bay Seawater. EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, Fall 2003 Conference. San Francisco, California.