Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Biography 14.2. GENE E. LIKENS
The study of biogeochemistry may not be the most glam-
orous subject in aquatic ecology, but it is arguably the most
related to water quality, the links between aquatic and ter-
restrial habitats, and the influence of aquatic pollutants. Dr.
Likens (Fig. 14.14) is one of the foremost contemporary sci-
entists specializing in the biogeochemistry of ecosystems. He
has received numerous honorary degrees and awards, in-
cluding the Tyler prize (a World Prize for Environmental
Achievement), election to the U.S. National Academy of Sci-
ences, and top awards from the American Society of Lim-
nology and Oceanography, the Ecological Society of America, and many other in-
ternational societies. He has more than 330 publications, including 12 topics.
Likens grew up on a farm in northern Indiana, where he fished, collected aquatic
organisms, and generally enjoyed exploring aquatic habitats. Likens maintains that
a love of natural history is the single best predictor of success for an aquatic ecolo-
gist. He attended a small liberal arts college (Manchester) and obtained a PhD from
the University of Wisconsin. Following a lecture on the conservation of aquatic re-
sources, he told the professor he was interested in the subject and wondered if he
could get paid for that type of work. Obviously, the answer was yes.
Fortunately for the aquatic sciences, Likens did not follow his other career goal.
He also wanted to be a professional baseball player and played for 2 years in the
rookie league in Kansas, a league that also gave rise to baseball great Mickey Man-
tle. Likens was a most valuable player, but he decided that the life of an academi-
cian was preferable to that of a professional athlete.
Likens says he feels lucky to have been able to travel to and study some of the
most beautiful places in the world, including Hubbard Brook, where he conducted
important research on the influence of logging on nutrient transport by streams
(Likens
et al.,
1978). Hubbard Brook is also the site of much of his research on acid
precipitation effects, which has produced crucial insights into the long-term impacts
of acid leaching of soils (Likens
et al.,
1996). Likens predicts that a major future
challenge in aquatic ecology will be to understand the implications of complexity.
He suggests we currently do a good job at assessing the influence of one or two fac-
tors, but that to truly understand ecosystems we need to account for the simultane-
ous influence of multiple biotic and abiotic factors.
FIGURE 14.14
Gene Likens.
Another cause of acidification of surface waters is mine drainage. Acid
mine drainage and metal contamination are related in many instances.
Metal pyrites weather when exposed to oxygenated surface waters and
metals dissociate with concurrent formation of sulfuric acid. This acid
mine drainage results from coal mining and metal mining operations.
Treatment options include neutralization with limestone (Hedin
et al.,
1994), oxidation in wetlands, and various combinations of these treat-
ments (Robb and Robinson, 1995).
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