Elsie Sunderland

About

Elsie Sunderland is the Fred Kavli Professor of Environmental Chemistry and a Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. Her research focuses on characterizing the relationship between anthropogenic releases of contaminants, changes in ambient environmental concentrations at various scales, and human exposure. She is involved in the Environmental Science and Public Policy Concentration at Harvard, contributing to academic and research activities related to environmental chemistry and public policy.

Research topics

• Chemistry
• Ecology
• Environmental chemistry
• Environmental science
• Organic chemistry
• Meteorology
• Atmospheric sciences
• Environmental protection
• Inorganic chemistry
• Biology

Selected publications

• PFAS Exposure Pathways for Humans and Wildlife: A Synthesis of Current Knowledge and Key Gaps in Understanding

  Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry · 2020 · 759 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  We synthesize current understanding of the magnitudes and methods for assessing human and wildlife exposures to poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Most human exposure assessments have focused on 2 to 5 legacy PFAS, and wildlife assessments are typically limited to targeted PFAS (up to ~30 substances). However, shifts in chemical production are occurring rapidly, and targeted methods for detecting PFAS have not kept pace with these changes. Total fluorine measurements complemented by sus…

  DOI

• Improved Mechanistic Model of the Atmospheric Redox Chemistry of Mercury

  Environmental Science & Technology · 2021 · 176 citations

  in aerosols and clouds.

  DOI

• Potential impacts of mercury released from thawing permafrost

  Nature Communications · 2020 · 159 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Mercury (Hg) is a naturally occurring element that bonds with organic matter and, when converted to methylmercury, is a potent neurotoxicant. Here we estimate potential future releases of Hg from thawing permafrost for low and high greenhouse gas emissions scenarios using a mechanistic model. By 2200, the high emissions scenario shows annual permafrost Hg emissions to the atmosphere comparable to current global anthropogenic emissions. By 2100, simulated Hg concentrations in the Yukon River incr…

  DOI

• High organofluorine concentrations in municipal wastewater affect downstream drinking water supplies for millions of Americans

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2025-01-06 · 40 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Wastewater receives per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from diverse consumer and industrial sources, and discharges are known to be a concern for drinking water quality. The PFAS family includes thousands of potential chemical structures containing organofluorine moieties. Exposures to a few well-studied PFAS, mainly perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAA), have been associated with increased risk of many adverse health outcomes, prompting federal drinking water regulations for six compounds in 2024…

  PublisherDOI

• Characterizing the Areal Extent of PFAS Contamination in Fish Species Downgradient of AFFF Source Zones

  Environmental Science & Technology · 2024-10-16 · 28 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Most monitoring programs next to large per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) sources focus on drinking water contamination near source zones. However, less is understood about how these sources affect downgradient hydrological systems and food webs. Here, we report paired PFAS measurements in water, sediment, and aquatic biota along a hydrological gradient away from source zones contaminated by the use of legacy aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) manufactured using electrochemical fluorinatio…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• DISES: Environmental tipping points of cultural identity extinction in integrated human-ecological systems represented by small fishing nations

  NSF · $1.5M · 2021–2025

• Collaborative Research: Interwoven biogeochemical cycles and biological transformations of mercury and selenium in the upper ocean

  NSF · $178k · 2011–2015

• Collaborative Research: Methylmercury Interactions with Marine Plankton

  NSF · $80k · 2013–2016

Frequent coauthors

• Philippe Grandjean

  Harvard University

  44 shared

• Pál Weihe

  University of the Faroe Islands

  31 shared

• Charlotte C. Wagner

  Harvard University

  31 shared

• Robert P. Mason

  University of Connecticut

  31 shared

• Helen M. Amos

  Science Systems and Applications (United States)

  31 shared

• Colin P. Thackray

  Harvard University

  30 shared

• Daniel J. Jacob

  Harvard University

  29 shared

• Daniel Jacob

  Harvard University

  28 shared

Similar researchers at Harvard University

• Peter Huybersh-74
• Sheila Jasanoffh-72
• Charles Taylorh-65