Brooke Hoppstock-Mattson
PhD Geological Sciences
My interests lie in environmental monitoring and the implications of contaminants on human health and conservation. As such, I study how elemental concentrations and isotopes can be used as tracers in the environment by collecting organisms or their byproducts as a means of sampling different regions and time periods. I primarily measure metal concentrations and lead (Pb) isotope ratios in biomonitors such as, bees/honey (Apis mellifera), chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta), and bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus). By sampling organisms, I can acquire large sample sizes that represent the environment at various points in time that represent facets of larger biogeochemical systems. I am passionate about developing and refining innovative geochemical tools, such as this. Laboratory and analytical work is done at the Pacific Centre for Geochemical and Isotopic Research using Quadrople ICP-MS and MC/HR-ICP-MS.
2020-present PhD. Environmental Geochemistry, University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
2018-2020 Corrective Action Geologist, Underground Storage Tank Division of Kentucky DEP (Frankfort, KY, US)
2017 NSF REU Fellow, Oregon State University (Corvallis, OR, US)
2014-2018 B.A. Geology and Environmental Science, Hope College (Holland, MI, US)
Publications:
Peterson, J. W., Stock, M. L., Brophy, E. E., & Mattson, B. D. (2019). Using Laboratory Settling Experiments to Characterize the Suspended Load or Movable Matrix Portion of an Urban Aquifer: Potential Relationships to Land Use. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 145(7), 04019036. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0001547
Presentations:
2022 Honey as a biomonitor for metal distribution in the environment. Entomology Society of America, ESB, ESBC Joint Annual Meeting (invited online presentation)
2022 A Tale of Two Cities: Comparison of metals and Pb isotopes in honey from Vancouver, Canada, and Brussels, Belgium, during the COVID-19 lockdown. Goldschmidt, Honolulu, HI, USA (in-person poster)
2017 Identifying sources of elevated heavy metals in moss along a mining haul road. Geological Society of America, Seattle, WA (in-person poster)
2017 Groundwater under Hope College's Campus: Suspended Load Characterization. Hope College, Holland, MI (in-person poster)
2016 Characterization of sub-micron suspended load in shallow aquifer: correlation to land use. Geological Society of America, Denver, CO (in-person presentation)