Helen White
Helen White
she/her
The William H. and Johanna A. Harris Professor in Environmental Studies and Chemistry; Associate Provost for Curricular Development & Research; Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Studies
KINSC E303
(610)896-1000
hwhite [at] haverford.edu
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Publications

Education

2000  M. Chem. Master of Chemistry, Minor in American Studies - University of Sussex (U.K.)

2006  Ph.D. Chemical Oceanography - Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)

2007-2009  Postdoctoral Fellow, Microbial Science Initiative - Harvard University

Research

My research explores the persistence of human‐derived compounds in the marine environment, specifically those from oil and plastic waste. I am interested in understanding how the chemical structure, physical associations and the bioavailability of chemical compounds determines their cycling and eventual fate. I enjoy collaborating with students who have wide ranging interests related to the ocean and the environment.

Funding

Our research group at Haverford has been supported by funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Foundation (ACS-PRF), the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI), the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Gulf Research Program (GRP), and the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation.

Selected Publications (Google Scholar Profile)

  1. Reddy, C.M., R.K. Nelson, U. Hanke, X. Cui, R. Summons, D.Valentine, R. Rodgers, M.L. Chacón-Patiño, S. Niles, C. Teixeira, L. Bezerra, R. Cavalcante, M. Soares, A. Oliveira, H.K. White, R. Swarthout, K. Lemkau, J. Radovic (2022) Synergy of Analytical Approaches Enables a Robust Assessment of the Brazil Mystery Oil Spill. Energy & Fuels https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.2c00656
  2. Caballero‐Gómez, H., White, H.K., O’Shea, M.J., Pepino, R., Howarth, M. and Gieré, R., 2022. Spatial Analysis and Lead‐Risk Assessment of Philadelphia, USA. GeoHealth, 6(3), p.e2021GH000519 https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GH000519
  3. White, Helen K., and Stacee Karras. The Use of Dispersants in Marine Oil Spill Response. In International Oil Spill Conference, vol. 2021, no. 1, p. 689431. 2021. https://doi.org/10.7901/2169-3358-2021.1.689431
  4. White, H.K., A.E. Morrison, C. Dhoonmoon, H. Caballero-Gómez, M. Luu, C. Samuels, C.T. Marx, A.P.M. Michel (2020) Rapid spectroscopic techniques to identify persistent oil residues in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Marine Pollution Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111718
  5. Michel, A.P.M., A.E. Morrison, V. Preston, B.C. Colson, C.T. Marx, H. K. White (2020) Rapid Identification of Plastics via Spectroscopic Techniques and Classification Methods. Environmental Science & Technology. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c02099
  6. Kujawinski, E.B. C.M. Reddy, R.P. Rodgers, J. Thrash, D.L. Valentine, H.K. White (2020) The first decade of scientific insights from the Deepwater Horizon oil release. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-0046-x
  7. Liu, Y., H.K. White, R.L. Simister, D. Waite, S.L. Lyons, E.B. Kujawinski (2020) Probing the chemical transformation of seawater-soluble crude oil components during microbial oxidation. ACS Earth and Space Chemistry. https://doi/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.9b00316
  8. White, H.K., C.T. Marx, D.L. Valentine, C. Sharpless, C. Aeppli, K.M. Gosselin, V. Kivenson, R.M. Liu, R.K. Nelson, S.P. Sylva, C.M. Reddy (2019) Examining inputs of biogenic and oil-derived hydrocarbons in surface waters following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. ACS Earth and Space Chemistry. 3: 1329-1337. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.9b00090
  9. Michel, A.P.M., A.E. Morrison, C.T. Marx, H.K. White (2019) Rapid Identification of Deepwater Horizon Oil Residues using X-Ray Fluorescence. Environmental Science & Technology Letters. 6: 34-37. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.8b00589
  10. Morrison, A.E., C. Dhoonmoon, H.K. White (2018) Chemical characterization of natural and anthropogenic-derived oil residues on Gulf of Mexico beaches. Marine Pollution Bulletin 137: 501-508. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.10.051
  11. Green, H.S., S.A. Fuller, A.W. Meyer, P.S. Joyce, C. Aeppli, R.K. Nelson, R.F. Swarthout, D.L. Valentine, H.K. White, C.M. Reddy (2018) Tar balls collected in the North Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea from 1988 to 2016 have natural and anthropogenic origins. Marine Pollution Bulletin 137: 352-359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.10.030
  12. Ward, C.P., C.M. Sharpless, D.L. Valentine, D.P. French-McCay, C. Aeppli, H.K. White, R.P. Rodgers, K.M. Gosselin, R.K. Nelson, C.M. Reddy (2018) Partial photochemical oxidation was a dominant fate of Deepwater Horizon surface oil. Environmental Science & Technology. 52: 1797-1805. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b05948
  13. Borowiak, C., V. Funari, j.m. ross, and H.K. White (2017) Troubled Waters: Tracing Globalization and Waste in the Delaware River.  PS: Political Science & Politics 50: 193-198. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096516002420
  14. White, H.K., C.H. Wang, P.L. Williams, D.M. Findley, A. M. Thurston, R.L. Simister, C. Aeppli, R.K. Nelson, C.M. Reddy (2016) Long-term weathering and continued oxidation of oil residues from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Marine Pollution Bulletin 113: 380-386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.10.029
  15. White, H.K., R.N. Conmy, I.R. MacDonald, C.M. Reddy (2016) Methods of Oil Detection in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Oceanography 29(3):76-87. http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2016.72
  16. Simister, R.L., E.W. Antzis, H.K. White (2016) Examining the diversity of microbes in a deep-sea coral community impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Deep Sea Research Part II Special Issue, The Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem - Before, during, and After the Macondo Blowout 129: 157-166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.01.010
  17. Simister, R.L., C.M. Poutasse, A.M. Thurston, J.L. Reeve, M.C. Baker, H.K. White (2015) Degradation of Oil by Fungi Isolated from Gulf of Mexico beaches. Marine Pollution Bulletin 100: 327-333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.08.029
  18. White, H.K., S.L. Lyons, S.J. Harrison, D.M. Findley, Y. Liu, E.B. Kujawinski (2014) Long-term persistence of dispersants following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Environmental Science & Technology Letters 1: 295-299. https://doi.org/10.1021/ez500168r
  19. White, H.K., L. Xu, P. Hartmann, J.G. Quinn, C.M. Reddy (2013) The unresolved complex mixture (UCM) in coastal environments is derived from fossil sources. Environmental Science & Technology 47: 726-731. https://doi.org/10.1021/es3042065
  20. White, H.K. et al. (2012) Impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on a deep-water coral community in the Gulf of Mexico. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109 (50) 20303-20308. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1118029109

Inspiration

Inhabited Sea

Marine Life of Mumbai

Kitchen Oceanography

The Deep Sea

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Periodic Table of Elements in the Ocean