Research

Ongoing:

Horizon 2020 Marie Curie Project “STE CECs“

Investigation into biogeochemical controls on contaminants of emerging concern in submarine groundwater discharge.

Previous:

Predicting Coastal Radon Activities Using Deep Learning

Construction of a deep learning model that accurately predicts radon in water activities using a global dataset from diverse aquifers.

Papers:

McKenzie, T., Dulai, H., Lee, J., Dimova, N.T., Santos, I., Zhang, B., Burnett, W. (2023) Using deep learning to model the groundwater tracer radon in coastal waters. Water Resources Research, 59, e2022WR033870. doi:10.1029/2022WR033870.

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) dynamics in Kona, Hawaiʻi

Used autonomous buoys (called the SGD Sniffer) with long-term deployments to learn more about SGD dynamics. This research combined sensor development, field work, and artificial intelligence.

Papers:

McKenzie, T., Dulai, H., Fuleky, P. (2021). Traditional and Novel Time-Series Approaches Reveal Submarine Groundwater Discharge Dynamics Under Baseline and Extreme Event Conditions. Scientific Reports, 11, 22570. doi: 10.1002/lol2.10186. 

Groundwater inundation caused by increasing sea-levels in Hawaiʻi

Conducted a field-based geochemical study focusing on groundwater inundation of coastal wastewater infrastructure caused by increasing sea-levels on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi.

Papers:

McKenzie, T., Habel, S., Dulai, H., (2021). Sea-level rise drives wastewater leakage to coastal waters and storm drains. Limnology and Oceanography Letters. doi: 10.1002/lol2.10186. 

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) as a vector for contaminants of emerging concern to Sydney Harbour, Australia

Investigation into SGD as a source of pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals to Sydney Harbour.

Papers:

McKenzie, T., Holloway, C., Dulai, H., Tucker, J., Sugimoto, R., Nakajima, T., Harada, K., Santos, I.R. (2020). Submarine groundwater discharge and flushing times drive contaminants of emerging concern in the coastal ocean (Sydney, Australia). Marine Pollution Bulletin, 160: 111519. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111519.

The importance of ground and surface water inputs in driving pollutant fluxes in  Kāneʻohe Bay, Hawaiʻi

Studied nutrient impact in both groundwater and surface water in streams and in the coastal ocean in Kāneʻohe Bay using radon as a tracer for groundwater.

Papers:

McKenzie, T., Dulai, H., Chang, J. (2019). Parallels between stream and coastal water quality associated with groundwater discharge. PLoS ONE, 14(10): e0224513. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0224513.

Fukushima-derived fallout in the Hawaiian Islands

Studied Fukushima-derived fallout in soils and mushrooms along precipitation gradients in order to both quantify fallout concentrations as well as studied the relationship between rainfall and radiocesium deposition.

Papers:

McKenzie, T., & Dulai, H. (2017). Fukushima-Derived radiocesium fallout in Hawaiian soils. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 180. 106-113.

McKenzie, T. (2016). Quantifying Atmospheric Fallout of Fukushima-Derived Radioactive Isotopes in Mushrooms in the Hawaiian Islands. Mānoa Horizons,1, 28-33.