About

Avner Vengosh is a Distinguished Professor of Environmental Quality at Duke University and currently serves as the Chair of the Division of Earth and Climate Sciences at the Nicholas School of the Environment. His research group focuses on the energy-water nexus, conducting pioneering studies on the impact of hydraulic fracturing and coal ash disposal on water quantity and quality in the United States and China. Professor Vengosh has also investigated the sources and mechanisms of water contamination in numerous countries worldwide. His current research includes studying the environmental impacts of phosphate rocks and fertilizers, as well as the effects of lithium mining and other critical raw materials on the environment. He is recognized as a Fellow of the Geological Society of America and the International Association of Geochemistry. In 2019, 2020, and 2021, he was named one of the Web of Science Highly Cited Researchers. He serves as an editor of GeoHealth and is on the editorial board of Environmental Science and Technology. Professor Vengosh has published 177 scientific papers in leading international journals and authored a recent cross-disciplinary book titled "Water Quality Impacts of the Energy-Water Nexus" (Cambridge University Press, 2022), which provides an integrated assessment of scientific and policy tools related to the energy-water nexus. In 2024, he received the Geological Society of America’s Geology & Health Division Distinguished Career Award.

Research topics

• Environmental science
• Geology
• Environmental chemistry
• Chemistry
• Environmental engineering
• Waste management
• Materials science
• Engineering
• Inorganic chemistry
• Ecology
• Mining engineering
• Geochemistry
• Soil science
• Radiochemistry
• Agronomy
• Petroleum engineering
• Metallurgy

Selected publications

• Geochemical controls on the formation of lithium brines in closed-basins of the Lithium Triangle

  Earth and Planetary Science Letters · 2026-01-21 · 3 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Origins of the Mg/Li ratio in closed-basin brines of the Lithium Triangle: The relative importance of high- and low-temperature water-rock interactions

  Earth-Science Reviews · 2026-04-20

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Discrepancies between pH and Corrosive Indices of Hypersaline Effluents

  Environmental Science & Technology Letters · 2026-01-02 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author

  Determining the pH of hypersaline wastewater is essential for regulatory compliance and the feasibility of geochemical and treatment processes. Hypersaline solutions have high ionic strength, which introduces deviations among measured proton activity, its concentration, and potential acidity. Here, we evaluate these deviations with theoretical simulations and by modeling hypersaline lithium brines from South America and produced waters from U.S. oil and gas operations (n > 60 000). We show that when the ionic strength increases above 2 m, proton activity coefficients steadily increase above unity. This causes the pH value to overestimate proton concentration. As this discrepancy increases, the pH alone cannot be used to accurately evaluate the solution’s corrosivity by features such as the saturation index (SI) or calcium carbonate precipitation potential (CCPP). Our analysis reveals that 5% of the investigated produced waters showed pH values of <6 but positive CCPP or SI values, undermining pH as a single regulatory indicator of corrosivity. Accurate evaluation of hypersaline effluent corrosivity requires the utilization of advanced tools such as the PHREEQC software with the Pitzer model. This approach ensures a more reliable characterization of the potential hypersaline effluent corrosivity and thus more efficient management and policy.

  PublisherDOI

• Mechanisms of coal ash release and transport into lakes with coal-fired power plants based on sediment records from the Southeastern USA

  Environmental Earth Sciences · 2026-04-10

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  This study investigates 210Pb- and 137Cs-dated sediment records to connect hydrologic drivers to mechanisms of coal ash release from waste storage ponds into three lakes in North Carolina. Originally constructed to provide cooling water for power plants, these lakes have evolved into recreational resources and drinking water supplies for urban populations. Ash ponds are designed to release excess stormwater to protect the integrity of their earthen dikes, however this process chronically contaminates the lakes with both effluents and ash. Our analysis shows that elevated ash content and trace element concentrations (arsenic and selenium) in sediment cores are associated with both long periods of rainfall and high magnitude rainfall events driven inland by hurricanes. Peak trace element concentrations in Hyco Lake sediments occurred between 1980 and 1994 after the Clean Air Act restricted emissions of fly ash and led to onsite storage in ponds. Core samples show that sorting of this ash by size and type during transport through the lake increased concentrations of As and Se near the dam. Use of ash in structural fill during plant construction contributed ash to Hyco and Mountain Island Lakes. Nonpoint sources of coal ash including agricultural soil amendments and construction materials contaminated upstream cores in Mayo Lake. Although these activities occurred in the past, coal ash is continually eroded and transported into the lakes. Our study shows that coal ash ponds contaminate adjacent waterways. This threat is expected to increase with higher intensity rainfall and flooding, as projected from climate changes in the southeastern U.S.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A simple, field-compatible method for accurate pH measurement in hypersaline brines

  Applied Geochemistry · 2026-05-18

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Strontium isotopes and Rb/Sr tracers in surface soils for locating subsurface lithium pegmatites

  Applied Geochemistry · 2025-11-19 · 2 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• The role of boron in controlling the pH of lithium brines

  Science Advances · 2025-05-23 · 8 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  The global clean energy transition requires the development of alternative energy technologies that rely on critical raw materials including lithium. Closed-basin brines, which generate ~40% of global lithium production, often have a circumneutral pH; however, during the evaporative concentration required for lithium production, the evaporated brines become acidic. Using primary geochemical and boron isotope data from the Salar de Uyuni (SDU), Bolivia combined with a modeling approach, we show that boron enrichment, which commonly co-occurs with lithium in closed-basin brines, is the primary factor in controlling the pH of brines from the SDU. We demonstrate that boron in global lithium- and boron-rich brines from closed basins exerts a similar influence on brine pH. The unique boron enrichments and its speciation can explain large proportions of alkalinity in these brines (~98% at the SDU), where evaporation alters the dissociation of boric acid, which triggers the formation of acidic evaporated brines.

  PublisherDOI

• Utilizing strontium isotopes to trace fertilizer-derived metal(loid) accumulation in the soil-wheat system

  2025-01-01

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Quality of Wastewater from Lithium-Brine Mining

  Environmental Science & Technology Letters · 2025-01-17 · 17 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  The sustainability of lithium mining is one of the critical factors for a successful transition to renewable energy. A potential practice to alleviate brine level decline and loss of adjacent fresh groundwater from brine pumping in the salt pans (salars) is through injection of spent brines into the subsurface. The quality and possible impacts of injecting spent brines have not been fully investigated. Here we present data for major and trace elements in natural brines, brines and salts from evaporation ponds, and wastewaters from a lithium processing plant at the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, the largest known global lithium deposit. The investigation reveals that evaporation of natural brines results in highly saline brines (TDS ≈ 360 g/kg) with low pH (3.2) and elevated concentrations of lithium, boron, and arsenic (up to ∼50 mg/kg) that could modify the chemical composition and mineral saturation upon release to the environment. The extremely high arsenic concenrations and low pH also have potential environmental impacts. In contrast, the processing plant generates saline and low-saline wastewater streams with high pH (∼10) and lower solute concentrations that could dilute the natural lithium reservoir, while the high pH limits their disposal options.

  PublisherDOI

• Radionuclides and the uranium isotope fingerprint of globally produced phosphate rocks, mineral fertilizers, and phosphogypsum waste and its potential effect on the environment

  Journal of Hazardous Materials · 2025-10-03 · 4 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Environmental and social implications of hydraulic fracturing and gas drilling in the United States: An integrative science and policy workshop

  NSF · $46k · 2011–2013

• Collaborative Research: Tracing Coal Ash Solids in the Environment - Implications for long-term contamination of the aquatic ecosystem

  NSF · $299k · 2020–2023

• SusChEM: Geochemical Characterization and Evaluation of the Environmental Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids

  NSF · $364k · 2014–2018

• Collaborative Research: From Global to Local: Geochemistry of Global Phosphate Ores and Implications for Tracing the Environmental Impacts of Fertilizers Utilization

  NSF · $519k · 2023–2026

• SusChEM: EAGER - The occurrence and distribution of hexavalent chromium and other contaminants in groundwater from aquifers of the Eastern United States

  NSF · $138k · 2017–2019

Frequent coauthors

• Nathaniel R. Warner

  Pennsylvania State University

  56 shared

• Gary S. Dwyer

  Duke University

  56 shared

• Robert B. Jackson

  Stanford University

  44 shared

• Zhen Wang

  42 shared

• Rachel M. Coyte

  New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

  39 shared

• Thomas H. Darrah

  The Ohio State University

  38 shared

• Erika Weinthal

  Duke University

  31 shared

• Heileen Hsu‐Kim

  Duke University

  30 shared

Labs

• Avner Vengosh Research GroupPI

Education

• Ph.D., Environmental Engineering

  Stanford University

  1990

• M.S., Environmental Engineering

  Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

  1985

• B.S., Environmental Engineering

  Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

  1983

Awards & honors

• 2019 Leadership award by the Water-Rock Interaction (WRI) Wo…
• 2018 Geological Society of America (GSA) Fellow
• Selected as one of the best papers for 2018: 'Large-scale Ur…
• Selected to be the winner of the 2018 Dalway Swaine Award fo…
• Acceptance of the 2025 Clair C. Patterson Medal to Avner Ven…