Thomas Missimer, Ph.D., P.G.

University of Miami

Ph.D.

Marine Geology and Geophysics

1997

Florida State University

M.S.

Geology

1973

Franklin and Marshall College

B.A.

Geology

1972

Potential mitigation of red tide impacts and associated toxins by passage through subsurface intake systems

Expert Workshop on Red Tide and HABs: Impact on Desalination Systems: Middle East Desalination Research Center  Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, February 2012

Alternative subsurface intake designs for seawater desalination facilities

Alden Research Laboratory, Massachusetts, Desalination Intake  November 4, 2008

Technical feasibility of aquifer storage and recovery: Assessment of recovery efficiency

Artificial Groundwater Recharge: A Step Towards Water Security, Kuwait Institute for Scientific for Scientific Research and Schlumberger  Kuwait City, State of Kuwait, February 15 - 16 , 2005

Processes and apparatus for inhibiting membrane biofouling

Issued by the United States Department of Commerce, United States Patent and Trademark Office as Patent No. 9457320

2016-10-04

Missimer, T. M., Ng, K. C., and Amy, G., 2011

Geothermal energy development coupled with electric energy generation and multiple desalination processes with aquifer storage

U. S. Preliminary Patent Application No. 61947081

Missimer, T. M., Ng, K. C., Thu, K
Patent pending

Founded Missimer Groundwater Science, Inc

2004
Groundwater consulting firm. Acquired by Schlumberger Limited in 2007.

Founded Missimer International, Inc

1994
Groundwater and environmental consulting company. Acquired by Camp, Dresser and McKee, Inc. in 1999.

Founded Missimer & Associates, Inc

1976
Groundwater and environmental consulting company. Became a public corporation at the end of 1991 and was later renamed ViroGroup, Inc.

Immature beach/dune sands along a passive continental margin: Composition, grain size and hydraulic properties of coastal sands, Parque del Plata and Las Vegas, Uruguay

Thomas M. Missimer César Goso Robert G. Maliva Michael C. Hegy

2019-03-15

The modal composition of sandstones has long been used as a tool for palaeotectonic and palaeoenvironmental analyses. Herein it is demonstrated that caution must be used when beach sand composition is utilized to assess tectonic provenances at both the local and continental scales. The occurrence of quartz arenites and compositionally mature sands along the coast of Brazil corresponds well to their passive margin location. However, modern sands from some beach locations in coastal Uruguay are less compositionally mature compared to the quartz arenites found in coastal Brazil. Along the beaches of Las Vegas and Parque del Plata, the composition of the beach and dune sands is impacted by the transport of continental outwash sediments derived from the Palaeozoic and Precambrian rocks in the interior to the beach by a low‐gradient stream, Arroyo Solis Chico, and the erosion of Pleistocene‐age formations that crop out on the beach and along an erosional scrap. The mean beach composition ratio of monocrystalline quartz to feldspar to rock fragments plus composite quartz grains is 67.5/8.0/24.5 compared to the ratio along the coast of Brazil at 86/4/10. The beach and coastal dunes environment studied is representative of about 35% of coastal Uruguay. At the smaller scale, changes in the textural properties of the beach and dune sands (grain‐size distribution and roundness) are caused by the addition of the sediment derived from erosion and stream transport. Porosity values show little influence and range between 0.35 and 0.36, but hydraulic conductivity is influenced to a greater degree, ranging from 18.5 to 31 m/day. Within one kilometre down‐drift of the river, the mean grain diameter and the mean hydraulic conductivity increase to the same values found in the up‐gradient area before influence of the sediment flux, due to the offshore transport of the finer sediment fraction during down‐gradient movement along the beach. The Arroyo Solis Chico area demonstrates that abrupt changes in composition and hydraulic properties can occur over short distances in sands deposited in passive margin environments. The potential for this local variability in sand composition and hydraulic properties should be considered in the analyses of ancient marine sandstones deposited in beach and coastal dunes environments.

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Natural background and anthropogenic arsenic enrichment in Florida soils, surface water, and groundwater: A review with a discussion on public health risk

Thomas Missimer, Christopher Teaf, William Beeson, Robert Maliva, John Woolschlager, Douglas Covert

2018

Florida geologic units and soils contain a wide range in concentrations of naturally-occurring arsenic. The average range of bulk rock concentrations is 1 to 13.1 mg/kg with concentrations in accessary minerals being over 1000 mg/kg. Florida soils contain natural arsenic concentrations which can exceed 10 mg/kg in some circumstances, with organic-rich soils often having the highest concentrations. Anthropogenic sources of arsenic have added about 610,000 metric tons of arsenic into the Florida environment since 1970, thereby increasing background concentrations in soils. The anthropogenic sources of arsenic in soils include: pesticides (used in Florida beginning in the 1890’s), fertilizers, chromated copper arsenate (CCA)-treated wood, soil amendments, cattle-dipping vats, chicken litter, sludges from water treatment plants, and others. The default Soil Cleanup Target Level (SCTL) in Florida for arsenic in residential soils is 2.1 mg/kg which is below some naturally-occurring background concentrations in soils and anthropogenic concentrations in agricultural soils. A review of risk considerations shows that adverse health impacts associated with exposure to arsenic is dependent on many factors and that the Florida cleanup levels are very conservative. Exposure to arsenic in soils at concentrations that exceed the Florida default cleanup level set specifically for residential environments does not necessarily pose a meaningful a priori public health risk, given important considerations such as the form of arsenic present, the route (s) of exposure, and the actual circumstances of exposure (eg, frequency, duration, and magnitude).

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Environmental issues in seawater reverse osmosis desalination: Intakes and outfalls

Thomas M Missimer, Robert G Maliva

2018

Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination has some environmental impacts associated with the construction and operation of intake systems and the disposal of concentrate. The primary impact of conventional open-ocean intake systems is the impingement and entrainment of marine organisms. These impacts can be minimized by locating the intake in a geographic position where oceanic productivity is low. Velocity-cap intakes tend to reduce impacts by minimizing the number of fish entrained and some new traveling screens can allow the survival of some marine organisms. Mitigation, such as environmental restoration of habitat or restocking, can provide an acceptable solution to impacts where they are significant. Subsurface intake systems avoid impingement and entrainment impacts, but can cause other, less important impacts (e.g., visual, beach access). Concentrate disposal can locally impact benthic communities, if poorly diluted discharge is allowed to flow across the marine bottom. Impacts to benthic communities from concentrate discharges can be minimized by using properly-designed diffuser systems, designed and located based current and flow modeling.

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