Cherie De Vore

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Scholarly Contributions

Chapters

• DeVore, C. L. (2020).

  Biogeochemical Processes Affecting Arsenic (As) Release and Bioavailability Near Abandoned Mine Wastes

  . In Dissertation.
• Cerrato, J. M., DeVore, C. L., & Velasco, C. A. (2019).

  Mine Waste Effects on Water and Soil in Native American Land in WesternUSA

  . In Encyclopedia of Water: Science, Technology, and Society. doi:10.1002/9781119300762.wsts0051
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  Abstract The legacy of mining activities on Native American land has resulted in an extensive number of sites with elevated metal concentrations in water and soil; many of these sites have received limited or no remedial action. The reclamation and cleanup of these sites represents a major burden for communities, and authorities at the tribal, state, and federal levels. The limited knowledge of the characteristics of these sites limits the ability to adequately assess the risk to metal exposures among communities living near these sites and develop feasible remediation alternatives. This article attempts to critically synthesize the state of the problem and provide an overview of the existing knowledge related to the occurrence, transport, and remediation of metals in these abandoned mine waste sites. The physical and biogeochemical aspects reviewed in this article have relevant implications for Native American communities, decision‐makers, stakeholders, and environmental scientists.

Journals/Publications

• DeVore, C. L., Rodríguez-Freire, L., Villa, N., Soleimanifar, M., Gonzalez‐Estrella, J., Ali, A. M., Lezama‐Pacheco, J. S., Ducheneaux, C., & Cerrato, J. M. (2022).

  Mobilization of As, Fe, and Mn from Contaminated Sediment in Aerobic and Anaerobic Conditions: Chemical or Microbiological Triggers?

  . ACS Earth & Space Chemistry. doi:10.1021/acsearthspacechem.1c00370
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  We integrated aqueous chemistry, spectroscopy, and microbiology techniques to identify chemical and microbial processes affecting the release of arsenic (As), iron (Fe), and manganese (Mn) from contaminated sediments exposed to aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The sediments were collected from Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal lands in South Dakota, which has dealt with mining legacy for several decades. The range of concentrations of total As measured from contaminated sediments was 96 to 259 mg kg-1, which co-occurs with Fe (21 000-22 005 mg kg-1) and Mn (682-703 mg kg-1). The transition from aerobic to anaerobic redox conditions yielded the highest microbial diversity, and the release of the highest concentrations of As, Fe, and Mn in batch experiments reacted with an exogenous electron donor (glucose). The reduction of As was confirmed by XANES analyses when transitioning from aerobic to anaerobic conditions. In contrast, the releases of As, Fe and Mn after a reaction with phosphate was at least 1 order of magnitude lower compared with experiments amended with glucose. Our results indicate that mine waste sediments amended with an exogenous electron donor trigger microbial reductive dissolution caused by anaerobic respiration. These dissolution processes can affect metal mobilization in systems transitioning from aerobic to anaerobic conditions in redox gradients. Our results are relevant for natural systems, for surface and groundwater exchange, or other systems in which metal cycling is influenced by chemical and biological processes.
• DeVore, C. L., Hayek, E. E., Busch, T., Long, B., Mann, M., Rudgers, J. A., Ali, A. S., Howard, T., Spilde, M., Brearley, A. J., Ducheneaux, C., & Cerrato, J. M. (2021).

  Arsenic Accumulation in Hydroponically Grown Schizachyrium scoparium (Little Bluestem) Amended with Root-Colonizing Endophytes

  . ACS Earth & Space Chemistry. doi:10.1021/acsearthspacechem.0c00302
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  We integrated microscopy, spectroscopy, culturing and molecular biology, and aqueous chemistry techniques to evaluate arsenic (As) accumulation in hydroponically grown Schizachyrium scoparium inoculated with endophytic fungi. Schizachyrium scoparium grows in historically contaminated sediment in the Cheyenne River Watershed and was used for laboratory experiments with As(V) ranging from 0 to 2.5 mg L–1 at circumneutral pH. Arsenic accumulation in regional plants has been a community concern for several decades, yet mechanisms affecting As accumulation in plants associated with endophytic fungi remain poorly understood. Colonization of roots by endophytic fungi supported better external and vascular cellular structure, increased biomass production, increased root lengths and increased P uptake, compared to noninoculated plants (p value
• Rodríguez-Freire, L., DeVore, C. L., Hayek, E. E., Berti, D., Ali, A. S., Pacheco, J. S., Blake, J. M., Spilde, M., Brearley, A. J., Artyushkova, K., & Cerrato, J. M. (2021).

  Emerging investigator series: entrapment of uranium–phosphorus nanocrystals inside root cells of Tamarix plants from a mine waste site

  . Environmental Science Processes and Impacts. doi:10.1039/d0em00306a
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  Uranium uptake and accumulation in the roots of Tamarix plants, leading to extracellular U precipitation, and the intracellular entrapment of U–P nanocrystals.
• DeVore, C. L., Rodríguez-Freire, L., Mehdi-Ali, A., Ducheneaux, C., Artyushkova, K., Zhou, Z., Latta, D. E., Lueth, V. W., Gonzales, M., Lewis, J., & Cerrato, J. M. (2019).

  Effect of bicarbonate and phosphate on arsenic release from mining-impacted sediments in the Cheyenne River watershed, South Dakota, USA

  . Environmental Science Processes and Impacts. doi:10.1039/c8em00461g
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  The mobilization of arsenic (As) from riverbank sediments affected by the gold mining legacy in north-central South Dakota was examined using aqueous speciation chemistry, spectroscopy, and diffraction analyses. Gold mining resulted in the discharge of approximately 109 metric tons of mine waste into Whitewood Creek (WW) near the Homestake Mine and Cheyenne River at Deal Ranch (DR), 241 km downstream. The highest concentrations of acid-extractable As measured from solid samples was 2020 mg kg-1 at WW and 385 mg kg-1 at DR. Similar sediment mineralogy between WW and DR was identified using XRD, with the predominance of alumino-silicate and iron-bearing minerals. Alkalinity measured in surface water at both sites ranged from 1000 to 2450 mg L-1 as CaCO3 (10-20 mM HCO3- at pH 7). Batch laboratory experiments were conducted under oxidizing conditions to evaluate the effects of NaHCO3 (0.2 mM and 20 mM) and NaH2PO3 (0.1 and 10 mM) on the mobilization of As. These ions are relevant for the site due to the alkaline nature of the river and nutrient mobilization from the ranch. The range of As(v) release with the NaHCO3 treatment was 17-240 μg L-1. However, the highest release (6234 μg L-1) occurred with 10 mM NaH2PO3, suggesting that As release is favored by competitive ion displacement with PO43- compared to HCO3-. Although higher total As was detected in WW solids, the As(v) present in DR solids was labile when reacted with NaHCO3 and NaH2PO3, which is a relevant finding for communities living close to the river bank. The results from this study aid in a better understanding of As mobility in surface water sites affected by the mining legacy.