Saugata Datta

PhD: Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, Canada : 2001
Mellon-Barnard & Columbia  Earth Institute PostDoctoral Fellow, Columbia University, New York
 

	Department of Biological & Environmental Sciences                           Georgia College & State University,                           Milledgeville, Georgia 31061
	Research  | Teaching | Family  Biological & Environmental Sciences Dept | Georgia College & State University  Environmental Tracer Group | LDEO | Earth Institute | Earth Institute Fellows RKMV - Purulia | Presidency College, Kolkata | University of Calcutta, India Queens University | University of Western Ontario-Earth Sciences | Columbia University Columbia Superfund Arsenic Brownfield Action | Johns Hopkins- PM Research Center

Research Interests

• Groundwater Management and Environmental Geology, Biogeochemistry, Environmental Modeling towards Developing Water Resource Management: Arsenic mobility and removal (remediation) from drinking waters of Bangladesh and West Bengal, India,  Surface water chemistry; Biogeochemistry; Synchrotron Science (NSLS, Brookhaven); Groundwater Stable Isotope Studies (d¹⁸O and D: to determine the source of water) ; Geochemical and engineering investigation; GPS surveys (fast static)
• Water-Economic Viability: Hydro-geochemistry and Sediment Chemistry: Environmental Assessment of a complex contaminated site (from arsenic) in Vineland Chemical Plant, New Jersey
• Groundwater Geology, Environmental Geology, Sediment Chemistry: Monitoring of Groundwater and soils from Landfill Sites in Winthrop, Maine
• Environmental Geochem istry: Environmental Site Assessment in India; Economic Aspects of Waste Materials (coal fly ash and consolidated biosolids): Pedology, Soil chemistry, Trace element chemistry
•  Industrial Interaction:

(i) Working with New York City Subway Systems, in air pollution studies (Atmospheric Chemistry),  regarding Health issues of subway workers from inhalation of subway air particulates. Contamination from inhalation of metallic Fe, Cr and Mn originating from steel abrasion from train wheels.
(ii) Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC): Working as a team member in the Collaborative Project under CUIIPP (University of Calcutta) in ascertaining clays in Bengal Basin offshore drilled sediment cores as a proxy in oil and natural gas exploration.
(iii) Ministry of Railways, Government of India, Metro Railways, Calcutta.

• Paleoclimatic reconstruction from study of lake  sediments of Mono Basin, California – Clay mineral study: past project
• Waste to Energy Research and Technology Council, Columbia University, Regarding utilization of post-combustion resource recovery at Waste-to-Energy (solid ash incineration) plants; Integrated Waste Management and Industrial Ecology. (Under Columbia Earth Institute): past project

 Current Projects

1. Andaman Mud Volcanoes - Low Temperature Geochemistry of Eruptive Fluids and Potential Hydrocarbon Source-Proposal submitted to Department of Science and Technology, India (PI) :  GSA Denver 2007 Poster,  AGU San Francisco 2007
2. Johns Hokins PM Center Ambient Particulate Matter Study and NY City Subway Dust Study: EPA Grant (joint with Johns Hopkins and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory)
3. CO₂ sequestration in Basaltic formations: GCSU Faculty Research Award 
4. Developing Brownfield Action in Undergraduate Environmental Sciences Curricula (NSF with Barnard College)
5. Synchrotron (EXAFS and XANES) analysis for speciation of trace elements (Fe, Ni, Mn, Se and V) in air particulate matters + natural river sediments for Arsenic (Brookhaven National Laboratory, PI)
6. Basaltic Caves - Astrobiological Target on Mars : Cave mineralogy and biogeochemistry LPSC 2007 - Extended Abstract, GSA Denver 2007 Poster, ABC News.