Staff Profile

My work is broadly focused on characterizing the fate and behavior of metals and contaminants in the environment in order to inform risk assessments, and treatment or remediation options. To do so, I couple laboratory and field experiments using a variety of advanced instrumental techniques, such as ICP-MS/MS, SEM, and TEM, to identify biotic and abiotic reaction pathways and mechanisms.

Education and Experience

Post-Doc

2014-2017 University of Alberta

Focus: Characterization of flowback and produced waters from hydraulically fractured wells in the Duvernay Formation, Alberta Canada

Supervised by Dr Daniel Alessi

Graduate

2010-2015 PhD, University of Notre Dame

Dissertation: Environmental behavior of metals and radionuclides  

Supervised by Dr Jeremy Fein

Undergraduate

2005-2009 BSc, Environmental Engineering, Michigan Technological University

2005-2010 BSc, Liberal Arts, Northland College

Area of Expertise

Geosciences

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=22vlw3UAAAAJ&hl=en

SCOPUS: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=56094700600

Current areas of ongoing work:

-Release of Li from primary Li minerals through weathering reactions under surface or near-surface conditions

-Nutrient release during enhanced rock weathering and their impact on plant growth

-Reactivity and stability of forest fire pyrogenic carbon and its role in nutrient and carbon transport and sequestration

Research Interests

-Low-temperature geochemistry

-Reactions at the mineral interface

- Biogeochemistry

-Hydraulic fracturing water cycle

-Environmental degradation of organic contaminants

NES2209 Research Methods in Environmental Pollution 

CEG8624 Environmental Analytical Geochemistry (Inorganic)

CEG8641 Environmental Inorganic Analysis

• Articles

  • Stewart CB, Lowes HM, Mehler WT, Snihur KN, Flynn SL, Alessi DS, Blewett TA. Spatial and temporal variation in toxicity and inorganic composition of hydraulic fracturing flowback and produced water. Journal of Hazardous Materials 2023, 460, 132490.
  • Snihur KN, Swaren LR, von Gunten K, Harris NB, Wilson SA, Gingras MK, Konhauser KO, Flynn SL, Alessi DS. Effects of salinity on the leaching of ionic species from hydrocarbon target formations during hydraulic fracturing. Chemical Geology 2022, 591, 120718.
  • Folkerts EJ, Blewett TA, Delompre P, Mehler WT, Flynn SL, Sun C, Zhang Y, Martin JW, Alessi DS, Goss GG. Toxicity in aquatic model species exposed to a temporal series of three different flowback and produced water samples collected from a horizontal hydraulically fractured well. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 2019, 180, 600-609.
  • Delompre PLM, Blewett TA, Snihur KN, Flynn SL, Alessi DS, Glover CN, Goss GG. The osmotic effect of hyper-saline hydraulic fracturing fluid on rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. Aquatic Toxicology 2019, 211, 1-10.
  • Hao W, Flynn SL, Kashiwabara T, Alam MdS, Brandara S, Swaren L, Robbins LJ, Alessi DS, Konhauser KO. The impact of ionic strength on the proton reactivity of clay minerals. Chemical Geology 2019, 529, 119294.
  • Zhong C, Li J, Flynn SL, Nesbo CL, Sun C, vonGunten K, Lanoil BD, Goss GG, Martin JW, Alessi DS. Temporal Changes in Microbial Community Composition and Geochemistry in Flowback and Produced Water from the Duvernay Formation. ACS Earth and Space Chemistry 2019, 3(6), 1047-1057.
  • Robbins LJ, Funk SP, Flynn SL, Warchola TJ, Li Z, Lalonde SV, Rostron BJ, Smith AJB, Beukes NJ, de Kock OM, Heaman LM, Alessi DS, Konhauser DS. Hydrogeological constraints on the formation of Palaeoproterozoic banded iron formations. Nature Geoscience 2019, 12, 558-563.
  • Flynn SL, von Gunten K, Warchola T, Snihur K, Forbes TZ, Goss GG, Gingras MK, Konhauser KO, Alessi DS. Characterization and implications of solids associated with hydraulic fracturing flowback and produced water from the Duvernay Formation, Alberta, Canada. Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts 2019, 21(2), 242-255.
  • Bishop BA, Flynn SL, Warchola TJ, Alam S, Robbins LJ, Liu Y, Owttrim GW, Alessi DS, Konhauser KO. Adsorption of biologically critical trace elements to the marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002: Implications for marine trace metal cycling. Chemical Geology 2019, 525, 28-36.
  • Alam MDS, Gorman-Lewis D, Chen N, Flynn SL, Ok Y, Konhauser K, Alessi DS. Thermodynamic analysis of nickle(II) and zinc (II) adsorption to biochar. Environmental Science & Technology 2018, 52(11), 6246-6255.
  • Hao W, Flynn SL, Alessi DS, Konhauser KO. Change of the point of zero net proton charge (pH_PZNPC) of clay minerals with ionic strength. Chemical Geology 2018, 493, 458-467.
  • von Gunten K, Warchola T, Donner M, Cossio M, Hao W, Boothman C, Lloyd J, Siddique T, Partin CA, Flynn SL, Rosaasen A, Konhauser KO, Alessi DS. Biogeochemistry of U, Ni, and As in two meromictic pit lakes at the Cluff Lake uranium mine, northern Saskatchewan. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 2018, 55(5), 463-474.
  • Alam MS, Swaren L, von Gunten K, Cossio M, Bishop B, Robbins LJ, Hou D, Flynn SL, Ok YS, Konhauser KO, Alessi DS. Application of surface complexation modeling to trace metals uptake by biochar-amended agricultural soils. Applied Geochemistry 2018, 88(Part A), 103-112.
  • Liu Y, Alessi DS, Flynn SL, Alam MS, Hao W, Gingras M, Zhao H, Konhauser KO. Acid-base properties of kaolinite, montmorillonite and illite at marine ionic strength. Chemical Geology 2018, 483, 191-200.
  • Blewett TA, Delompre PLM, He Y, Folkerts EJ, Flynn SL, Alessi DS, Goss GG. Sublethal and Reproductive Effects of Acute and Chronic Exposure to Flowback and Produced Water from Hydraulic Fracturing on the Water Flea Daphnia magna. Environmental Science and Technology 2017, 51(5), 3032-3039.
  • Konhauser KO, Robbins LJ, Alessi DS, Flynn SL, Gringras MK, Martinez RE, Kappler A, Swanner ED, Li YL, Crowe SA, Planavsky NJ, Reinhard CT, Lalonde SV. Phytoplankton contributions to the trace-element composition of Precambrian banded iron formations. Geologic Society of America Bulletin 2017, 130(5-6), 941-951.
  • Flynn SL, Gao Q, Robbins LJ, Warchola TJ, Weston JNJ, Alam MS, Liu Y, Konhauser KO, Alessi DS. Measurements of bacterial mat metal binding capacity in alkaline and carbonate-rich systems. Chemical Geology 2017, 451, 17-24.
  • Warchola TJ, Flynn SL, Robbins LJ, Liu Y, Gauger T, Kovalchuk O, Alam MS, Wei S, Myers R, Bishop B, Lalonde SV, Gingras MK, Kappler A, Alessi DS, Konhauser KO. Field- and Lab-Based Potentiometric Titrations of Microbial Mats from the Fairmont Hot Spring, Canada. Geomicrobiology Journal 2017, 34(10), 851-863.
  • He Y, Flynn SL, Folkerts EJ, Zhang Y, Ruan D, Alessi DS, Martin JW, Goss GG. Chemical and toxicological characterizations of hydraulic fracturing flowback and produced water. Water Research 2017, 114, 78-87.
  • Blewett TA, Newton D, Flynn SL, Alessi DS, Goss GG, Hamilton TJ. Cadmium bioaccumulates after acute exposure but has no effect on locomotion or shelter-seeking behaviour in the invasive green shore crab (Carcinus maenas). Conservation Physiology 2017, 5(1).
  • Flynn SL, Szymanowski JES, Dembowski M, Burns PC, Fein JB. Experimental measurements of U24Py nanocluster behavior in aqueous solution. Radiochimica Acta 2016, 104(12), 853-864.
  • Flynn SL, Szymanowski JES, Gao Y, Liu L, Burns PC, Fein JB. Experimental measurements of U60 nanocluster stability in aqueous solution. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 2015, 156, 94-105.
  • Flynn SF, Szymanowski JES, Fein JB. Modeling bacterial metal toxicity using a surface complexation approach. Chemical Geology 2014, 374-375, 110-116.

• Book Chapter

  • Alessi DS, Flynn SL, Alam S, Robbins LJ, Konhauser KO. Potentiometric titrations to characterize the reactivity of geomicrobial surfaces. In: Analytical Geochemistry: A Handbook of Instrumentation. Cambridge University Press, 2019.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstract)

  • Schwartz-Narbonne R, Brown MR, Flynn S. Multidisciplinary Analyses of Wastewater Reactors. In: Environmental Biotechnology Network Early Career Researcher Conference. Poster Presentation. 2020, Virtual Conference.