Peter Knappett

About

Peter Knappett is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geology & Geophysics at Texas A&M University, with a focus on hydrogeology and environmental health. His research interests include predicting the impacts of intensive groundwater pumping on regional groundwater quality, particularly concerning naturally occurring toxic concentrations of arsenic and fluoride, as well as anthropogenic contamination. He investigates how dynamic interactions between rivers and aquifers influence the biochemical composition and supply of groundwater, often working in regions lacking reliable geological, geospatial, water level, pumping, and chemical data by collecting primary field data and utilizing custom software for visualization, modeling, and interpretation. His educational background includes a PhD in Earth & Planetary Sciences from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, a Masters of Applied Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Waterloo, and an Honours Bachelor of Science in Earth Science from the University of Waterloo. His professional experience encompasses roles as an Assistant and Associate Professor at Texas A&M University, a visiting professor at ETH Zurich, and research positions at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, among others. Knappett's work has contributed to understanding groundwater contamination issues in regions such as Bangladesh and Mexico, with a particular emphasis on geogenic contaminants like arsenic and fluoride,…

Research topics

• Environmental chemistry
• Geology
• Environmental science
• Chemistry
• Ecology
• Geotechnical engineering
• Paleontology
• Environmental engineering
• Oceanography

Selected publications

• Tracking nitrate and sulfate sources in groundwater of an urbanized valley using a multi-tracer approach combined with a Bayesian isotope mixing model

  Water Research · 2020 · 371 citations

  ) combined with a probability isotope mixing model. Soil nitrogen and sewage were found to be the most important nitrate sources, while atmospheric deposition, marine evaporites and sewage were the most prominent sulfate sources. However, the concentrations of nitrate and sulfate were controlled by denitrification and sulfate reduction processes in the transition and discharge zones. The approach followed in this study is useful for establishing effective pollution management strategies in conta…

  DOI

• Arsenic contamination of Bangladesh aquifers exacerbated by clay layers

  Nature Communications · 2020 · 104 citations

  Confining clay layers typically protect groundwater aquifers against downward intrusion of contaminants. In the context of groundwater arsenic in Bangladesh, we challenge this notion here by showing that organic carbon drawn from a clay layer into a low-arsenic pre-Holocene (>12 kyr-old) aquifer promotes the reductive dissolution of iron oxides and the release of arsenic. The finding explains a steady rise in arsenic concentrations in a pre-Holocene aquifer below such a clay layer and the repeat…

  DOI

• Rising arsenic concentrations from dewatering a geothermally influenced aquifer in central Mexico

  Water Research · 2020 · 73 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  DOI

• Diverse sedimentary organic matter within the river-aquifer interface drives arsenic mobility along the Meghna River Corridor in Bangladesh

  Applied Geochemistry · 2024-01-01 · 10 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Hotspots of Dissolved Arsenic Generated from Buried Silt Layers along Fluctuating Rivers

  Environmental Science & Technology · 2024-08-13 · 9 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Previous studies along the banks of the tidal Meghna River of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta demonstrated the active sequestration of dissolved arsenic (As) on newly formed iron oxide minerals (Fe(III)-oxides) within riverbank sands. The sand with high solid-phase As (>500 mg/kg) was located within the intertidal zone where robust mixing occurs with oxygen-rich river water. Here we present new evidence that upwelling groundwater through a buried silt layer generates the dissolved products o…

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: The dynamic iron curtain surrounding fluctuating rivers and its impacts on arsenic fate and transport

  NSF · $309k · 2019–2023

Frequent coauthors

• Saugata Datta

  The University of Texas at San Antonio

  59 shared

• Kazi Matin Ahmed

  University of Dhaka

  54 shared

• Alexander van Geen

  Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

  54 shared

• M. Bayani Cardenas

  The University of Texas at Austin

  39 shared

• Harshad Kulkarni

  Indian Institute of Technology Mandi

  39 shared

• Brian J. Mailloux

  32 shared

• G. R. Miller

  24 shared

• Kyungwon Kwak

  22 shared

Labs

• Geology & Geophysics Department, Texas A&M UniversityPI

Education

• Ph.D., Geology

  University of Texas at Austin

  1992

• M.S., Geology

  University of Texas at Austin

  1988

• B.S., Geology

  University of Texas at Austin

  1985

Awards & honors

• Arts & Sciences Divisional Achievement Award in Natural Scie…
• Kohout Early Career Award, Hydrogeology Division, Geological…
• H. Gordon Award for Exceptional Professional Promise, Earth…
• Interdisciplinary Research Award, Earth & Planetary Sciences…

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• Frederick Chesterh-34
• Mark Everetth-27