PhD - Soil Sciences
University of Delaware - 2022
Leili (Fatemeh) Izaditame
Research Scientist - Geosciences
The Environmental Geochemistry Laboratory focuses on how climate-change-related stressors such as sea-level rise, salt-water intrusion and flooding, and drought impact the cycling and speciation of toxic metals like arsenic and chromium and nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen
Professional Preparation
MCE - Civil Engineering
University of Delaware - 2021
University of Delaware - 2021
Research Areas
Environmental Soil Chemistry
The Environmental Soil Chemistry research focuses on how toxic metals such as arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), and lead (Pb), and nutrients like phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N), and sulfur (S) are bound on soils under different environmental and experimental conditions (pH, time, temperature, hydration state, presence of microbes). Bright light sources generated at synchrotron facilities will be used to determine the forms (species) of the metals and nutrients in the soil at the molecular scale. This enables accurate predictions on how easily the contaminant will leach into the water supplies to determine its toxicity and bio-availability to plants, animals, and humans.Publications
Sea-level-rise-induced flooding drives arsenic release from coastal sediments 2022 - Journal Article
Estimating the chemical oxygen demand of petrochemical wastewater treatment plants using linear and nonlinear statistical models – A case study 2021 - Journal Article
Mathematical model for reactive transport of heavy metals in soil column: Based on PHREEQC and HP1 simulators 2017 - Journal Article
Air pollution study using factor analysis and univariate Box-Jenkins modeling for the northwest of Tehran 2015 - Journal Article
Awards
Convergence Research (CORE) Institute Fellowship - CORE Institute [2023]
Engineering Postdoctoral Fellowship - NSF [2023]
Donald L. and Joy G. Sparks Fellowship - University of Delaware [2021]
DENIN Environmental Fellowship - University of Delaware [2020]
Presentations
Rising Seas Bring Dead Contaminants Back to Life!
2022/08 22nd World Congress of Soil Science, Glasgow, ScotlandImpacts of sea-level rise on the fate of arsenic in contaminated coasts
2022/03 ACS Spring 2022 Conference, San Diego, CAHow does Sea-level Rise Impact Pollution Release in Contaminated Coasts?
2021/11 2021 ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, UTElemental cycling from contaminated coastal sediments subjected to varying SLR-induced flooding intensities
2021/04 ACS Spring 2021 Conference,Arsenic fate under the shadow of sea-level rise
2020/03 ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting, Philadelphia, PANews Articles
Researching heavy metals
The Port of Wilmington has been an industrial powerhouse for centuries. During the Civil War, Wilmington steadily churned out gunpowder, ships, uniforms and other war-related goods. With the advent of automobiles, the city boomed with machinery producers, steel foundries and chemical manufacturers. Now, the local port is known as the hub of produce, touting the largest dockside cold storage facility in the nation, safeguarding the shipment of fruits and juices from around the world.This industrialization was a boon for Delaware’s economy but a scourge on its soil. As new industries emerged, abandoned industrial sites dotted the riverside. Known as brownfields, these sites hide their histories in soils contaminated with heavy metals.
Fatemeh Izaditame, a 2023 University of Delaware graduate who earned a doctorate in plant and soil sciences, is determined to discover what happens to these heavy metals in a changing climate. With conservative estimates projecting one meter of sea level rise by 2100, some of today’s brownfields may soon be underwater. Because of the high incidence of arsenic and chromium in Wilmington soils, the city is the perfect location to study the release of contaminants from an urban coastal environment.