Monica Arienzo

Monica Arienzo is an Assistant Research Professor in the Division of Hydrologic Sciences at the Desert Research Institute (DRI), part of the Nevada System of Higher Education. She also serves as Graduate Faculty in the University of Nevada’s Hydrology Program. Her work focuses on geochemical and environmental research, particularly microplastics, climate impacts, and pollution tracking.

Education: PhD in Marine Geology and Geophysics from the University of Miami (2014), B.A. in Geology from Franklin & Marshall College (2008). Postdoctoral research at DRI (2014–2016).

Research Interests:

• Microplastics in snow, waterways, and drinking water
• Human-induced environmental pollution
• Climate change impacts on ecosystems
• Citizen science for environmental monitoring

Key Projects:

• Microplastics in Sierra Nevada snowpack and tap water
• Impact of wildfires on black carbon deposition
• Crowdsourced precipitation phase tracking (Tahoe Rain or Snow program)

Grants: Lead PI on NSF grants for microplastics research and equipment acquisition (e.g., Infrared Microscope MRI grant).

Labs/Teams: Leads the Microplastics Research Team at DRI, collaborating with citizen scientists, universities, and agencies.