OUR PEOPLE
John Gunnell
Ph.D.
Senior Scientist
Academic Credentials
- Ph.D., Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2016
- M.S., Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2011
- B.S., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 2009
Dr. Gunnell is a quantitative ecosystem scientist with over fifteen years of experience analyzing environmental changes and their causes. He supports clients in litigation, natural resource damage assessments (NRDA), and regulatory decision-making, specializing in reconstructing historical environmental conditions. From land use and contamination to climate impacts, Dr. Gunnell uses advanced data integration, geospatial analysis, and environmental forensics to help clients clarify complex historical records, quantify ecological and chemical impacts, and distinguish natural variability from anthropogenic effects. His work provides science-based narratives for cases involving sediment quality, PFAS sourcing, water quality disputes, habitat impacts, and regulatory strategy, turning data into evidence for negotiation, settlement, or trial.
Dr. Gunnell frequently applies simulation modeling and statistical methods to integrate disparate data sets into a standardized spatio-temporal frame of reference. His work often assimilates geochronology, temporally ordered geochemical proxies, and geographic information (e.g., spatially registered land-use records, remotely sensed data, and aerial photography). Since his expertise occupies several disciplinary intersections, Dr. Gunnell frequently collaborates with multidisciplinary teams of physicists, geologists, fisheries ecologists, and restoration ecologists.
Dr. Gunnell's background in reconstructing baseline conditions and ecosystem trajectories makes his expertise especially useful for clients that need to fill significant historical knowledge gaps when evaluating contemporary and legacy impacts of environmental disturbances (e.g. land use change, contaminant exposure, and climatic stressors). Dr. Gunnell is a broadly trained environmental analytical chemist. His experience includes but is not limited to trace and minor element geochemistry (using X-ray fluorescence, ion chromatography, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry), radioisotope geochemistry (uranium-thorium-lead series), and water quality analysis (e.g., nitrate, orthophosphate, alkalinity, and chlorophyll-α).
