Brandy Toner

Associate Professor

450 Borlaug Hall
1991 Upper Buford Circle
St. Paul, MN 55108
toner@umn.edu
+1 612 624 1362

Website(s)

Toner Lab of Low-Temperature Geochemistry

Education

B.S. 1997 Bemidji State University Environmental Studies
M.S. 1999 University of California, Berkeley Civil and Environmental Engineering
Ph.D. 2004 University of California, Berkeley Environmental Science, Policy Management

Affiliated Graduate Programs

Earth Sciences
Environmental Engineering
Land and Atmospheric Science
Water Resources Science
Picture of Brandy Toner

People

Research Area(s)

Biogeochemistry
Environmental Chemistry

Research

My research addresses chemical and biological processes that result in the cycling of metals in the environment.  I approach these processes from the perspective of metal speciation:  What is the form of the metal, and how will its form affect transport, fate, and bioavailability.  My favorite metals are iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn).  These two transition metals are prevalent in terrestrial and aquatic environments.  They both form chemically reactive minerals – Fe oxyhydroxides and Mn oxides –  that influence, and sometimes control, the partitioning of other elements, like arsenic (As) between the solid and aqueous phases.  Iron and Mn are also interesting study subjects because microbial activity can make their speciation delightful complex.

Teaching

  • LAAS 5311 Soil Chemistry and Mineralogy
  • LAAS 8128 Land and Atmospheric Science Seminar
  • SOIL 8110 Environmental Surface Chemistry

Select Publications

  • Marcus, M. A., Edwards, K. J., Gueguen, B., Fakra, S. C., Horn, G., Jelinski, N., Rouxel, O., Sorensen, J., and Toner, B. M., accepted. Iron mineral structure, reactivity, and isotopic composition in a South Pacific Gyre ferromanganese nodule over 4 Ma. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta.
  • Sylvan, J.B., Hoffman, C.L., Momper, L.M., Toner, B.M., Amend, J.P., Edwards, K.J. (2015) Bacillus rigiliprofundus sp. nov., a spore forming, Mn-oxidizing, halotolerant bacterium isolated from deep subseafloor basaltic crust. IJSEM (International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology), doi:10.1099/ijs.0.000211
  • Reed, D. C., Breier, J. A., Jiang, H., Anantharaman, K., Klausmeier, C. A., Toner, B. M., Hancock, C., Speer, K., Thurnherr, A. M., and Dick, G. J. (2015) Predicting the response of the deep-ocean microbiome to geochemical perturbations by hydrothermal vents. International Society of Microbial Ecology Journal (ISME J), doi:10.1038/ismej.2015.4
  • Shafer, M. M., Toner, B. M., Overdier, J., Schauer, J. J., Fakra, S. C., Hu, S., Herner, J. D., and Ayala, A., accepted. Chemical speciation of vanadium in particulate matter emitted from diesel vehicles and urban atmospheric aerosols. Environmental Science & Technology.
  • Toner, B. M., Nicholas, S. L., Briscoe, L. J., Knaeble, A. R., Berg, J. A., and Erickson, M. L., accepted. Natural sources of arsenic to Minnesota groundwater. CURA Reporter.
  • Edwards, K. J., Glazer, B. T., Rouxel, O. J., Bach, W., Emerson, D., Davis, R. E., Toner, B. M., Chan, C. S., Tebo, B. M., Staudigel, H., and Moyer, C. L., 2011. Ultra-diffuse hydrothermal venting supports Fe-oxidizing bacteria and massive umber deposition at 5000 off Hawaii. ISME J., 1-11.
  • Orcutt, B. N., Bach, W., Becker, K., Fisher, A. T., Hentscher, M., Toner, B. M., Wheat, C. G., and Edwards, K. J., 2010. Colonization of subsurface microbial observatories deployed in young ocean crust. ISME J. 4, 1-12.
  • Breier, J. A., Rauch, C. G., McCartney, K., Toner, B. M., Fakra, S. C., White, S. N., and German, C. R., 2009. A suspended-particle rosette multi-sampler for discrete biogeochemical sampling in low-particle-density waters. Deep-Sea Research Part I-Oceanographic Research Papers 56, 1579-1589.
  • Toner, B. M., Fakra, S. C., Manganini, S. J., Santelli, C. M., Marcus, M. A., Moffett, J. W., Rouxel, O., German, C. R., and Edwards, K. J., 2009. Preservation of Iron(II) by Carbon-Rich Matrices in Hydrothermal Plumes. Nature Geoscience 2, 197-201.
  • Toner, B. M., Santelli, C. M., Marcus, M. A., Wirth, R., Chan, C. S., McCollom, T. M., Bach, W., and Edwards, K. J., 2009. Biogenic iron oxide formation at Mid-Ocean Ridge hydrothermal vents: Juan de Fuca Ridge. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 73, 388-403.
  • Toner, B.; Manceau, A.; Webb, S. M.; Sposito, G., Zinc sorption to biogenic hexagonal-birnessite particles within a hydrated bacterial biofilm. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 2006, 70, 27-43.
  • Toner, B.; Manceau, A.; Marcus, M. A.; Millet, D. B.; Sposito, G., Zn sorption by a bacterial biofilm. Environ Sci Technol 2005, 39, 8288-8294.
  • Villalobos, M.; Toner, B.; Bargar, J.; Sposito, G., Characterization of the manganese oxide produced by Pseudomonas putida strain MnB1. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 2003, 67, (14), 2649-2662.