Dr. Ian G. Droppo

Image Ian Droppo
Senior Research Scientist - Study Leader, Sediment and Contaminant Transport in Impacted Environments

Undertake innovative research in support of policy development as it relates to aquatic health and water resource management.

Current research and/or projects

Contributing to Environment and Climate Change Canada's mandate to ensure that aquatic ecosystems are conserved and protected

  • Sources, fate and effects of sediment and associated contaminants in natural, urban and engineered systems
  • Pathogen and aquatic sediment interactions
  • Particle dynamics: Investigation of the relationship between floc form and function
  • Biostabilization of contaminated bed sediments
  • Sediment and contaminant dynamics
  • Transport dynamics of oil sands bitumen deposits within rivers

Professional activities / interests

15 year contribution to Board of Directors - International Association for Sediment Water Science - including President

Subject Editor (physcial and biogeochemical processes) for the international Journal of Soils and Sediments

Co-supervisor of Ph.D and M.Sc. students as adjunct professor at McMaster University, University of Toronto (Scarborough), Ryerson University and the State University of New York.

Research grant and journal paper reviews, including reviewer of NSERC Strategic and Discovery grants, NSF grants, NERC grants

Education and awards

Awarded Leverhulme Visiting Research Fellowship at the University of Exeter, UK (2001/2002)

B.A. Hons., M.Sc., McMaster University; Ph.D. University of Exeter, UK

Key publications

Droppo, I.G., di Cenzo, P., Power, J., Jaskot, C., Chambers, P., Alexander, A.C., Kirk, J. and Muir, D. 2018. Temporal and Spatial Trends in Riverine Suspended Sediment and Associated Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds (PAC) within the Athabasca Oil Sands Region. Science of the Total Environment. 626: 1382–1393. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969718301256

Dibike, Y., Shakibaeinia, A., Eu,, H-II, Prowse, T. and Droppo, I.G. 2018. Effects of Projected Climate on the Hydrodynamic and Sediment Transport Regime of the Lower Athabasca River in Alberta, Canada. River Research and Applications. 1–13.  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/rra.3273

Reid, T., Droppo, I.G., Chaganti, S., Weisener, C.G. 2018. Novel insights into freshwater hydrocarbon-rich sediments using metatranscriptomics: opening the black box. Water Research. 136: 1-11. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0043135418301465

Legout, C., Droppo, I.G., Coutaz, J., Bel, C. and Jodeau, M. 2018. Assessment of erosion and settling properties of fine sediments stored in cobble bed rivers: the Arc and Isère alpine rivers before and after dam flushing. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. 43: 1295–1309. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/esp.4314

Torres-Palma, R.A., Gibson, J, Droppo, I.G., Seto, P and Farnood, R.  2017. Surfactant-Assisted Sono-breakage of Wastewater Particles for Improved UV Disinfection. Water Air and Soil Pollution, 228:106. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11270-017-3283-y

Shakibaeinia. A., Dibike, Y.B., Kashyap, S., Prowse, T.D. and Droppo, I.G. 2017. A numerical framework for modelling sediment and chemical constituents transport in the Lower Athabasca River. Journal of Soils and Sediments. 17(4): 1140-1159. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11368-016-1601-4

Kashyap, S., Dibike, Y., Shakibaeinia. A., Prowse, T and Droppo, I.G.  2017. Two-Dimensional Numerical Modelling of Sediment and Chemical Constituent Transport within the Lower Reaches of the Athabasca River. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 24(3): 2286-2303. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-016-7931-3

Droppo, I.G. and Krishnappan, B.G. 2016. Modelling of Hydrophobic Cohesive Sediment Transport in the Ells River Alberta, Canada. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 16: 2753-2765. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11368-016-1501-7

Reid, T., VanMensel, D., Droppo, I.G., Weisener, C.G. 2016. The Symbiotic Relationship of Sediment and Biofilm Dynamics at the Sediment Water Interface of Oil Sands Industrial Tailings Ponds. Water Research. 100: 337-347. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0043135416303281

Droppo, I.G., Krishnappan, B.G. and Lawrence, J.R. 2016. Microbial Interactions with Naturally Occurring Hydrophobic Sediments: Influence on Sediment and Associated Contaminant Mobility. Water Research. 92: 121-130. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0043135416300331

Sousa, A.J., Droppo, I.G., Liss, S.N., Warren, L. and Wolfaardt, G. 2015. Influence of Wave Action on the Partitioning and Transport of Unattached and Floc-Associated Bacteria in Fresh Water. Canadian Journal of Microbiology, 61(8): 584-596. http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjm-2014-0815#.WvrVoMZlIic

Wendling, V., Gratiot, N., Legout, C., Droppo, I.G., Coulaud, C. and Mercier, B. 2015. Using an optical settling column to assess suspension characteristics within the free, flocculation, and hindered settling regimes. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 15: 1991-2003. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11368-015-1135-1

Droppo, I.G., Andrea, L.D., Krishnappan, B.G., Jaskot, C., Trapp, B., Basuvaraj, M. and Liss, S.N. 2015. Fine-sediment dynamics: towards an improved understanding of sediment erosion and transport Journal of Soil and Sediments, 15: 467-479. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11368-014-1004-3

Ghadakpour, M., Bester, E., Liss, S.N., Gardam, M., Droppo, I.G., Hota, S. and Wolfaardt, G.M. 2014. Integration and proliferation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 in multispecies biofilms. Microbial Ecology, 68: 121-131. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00248-014-0398-1

Grangeon, T., Droppo, I.G., Legout, C. and Esteves, M. 2014 From Soil Aggregates to Riverine Flocs: a Laboratory Experiment Assessing the Respective Effects of Soil Type and Flow Shear Stress on Particles Characteristics. Hydrological Processes, 28: 4141-4155. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hyp.9929/abstract

Plach, J.M., Lin, S., Droppo, I.G. and Warren, L.A. 2014. Iron Cycling in a Littoral Freshwater Beach: Implications for Floc Trace Metal Dynamics. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 40(1): 47-57. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0380133014000082

Elliott, A.V.C., Plach, J.M., Droppo, I.G., Warren, L.A. 2014. Collaborative microbial Fe-redox cycling by pelagic floc bacteria across wide ranging oxygenated aquatic systems. Chemical Geology, 336: 90-102. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000925411300555X

Azimi, Y. Chen, X. Allen, D. G. Pileggi, V. Seto, P. Droppo, I. G. and Farnood R. R. 2013. UV Disinfection of Wastewater Flocs: the Effect of Secondary Treatment Conditions, Water Science and Technology, 67: 2719-2723. http://www.iwaponline.com/wst/06712/wst067122719.htm

Gabowski, R.C., Wharton, G., Davies, G.R. and Droppo, I.G. 2012. Spatial and temporal variations in the erosion threshold of fine river-bed sediments. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 12: 1174-1188. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11368-012-0534-9#

Droppo, I.G., Krishnappan, B.G., Liss, S.N., Marvin, C. and Biberhofer, H. 2011. Modelling sediment-microbial dynamics in the South Nation River, Ontario, Canada: towards the prediction of aquatic and human health risk. Water Research, 45(12): 3797-3809. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0043135411002211

Research facility

867 Lakeshore Rd.
Burlington, ON L7S 1A1
Canada

Affiliations

Adjunct Full Professor, School of Geography and Earth Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario

Adjunct Professor, Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto, Scarborough.

Adjunct Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biology, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario.

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Planning, State University of New York, College at Buffalo

Language

English