Intro
I have worked in the USGS New York Water Science Center since 1990 studying the effects of acidic deposition and climate change on forest and aquatic ecosystems. Before I joined the USGS, I worked at the University of Maine for three years as an assistant research professor conducting research on the biogeochemistry of lowland spruce-fir forests. I’m co-founder and chair of the Northeastern Soil Monitoring Cooperative and serve as the Technical Director of the USGS Soil and Low-Ionic Strength Water Laboratory in Troy.
I received a B.A. degree in Zoology from the University of Vermont in 1979, a M.S. degree in Environmental and Forest Biology from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in 1982, and a Ph.D. from Syracuse University in 1987. Since joining the USGS in Troy, NY, much of my work has focused on soil calcium depletion caused by acidic deposition, recovery responses of soils and surface waters to decreasing acidic deposition, nitrogen availability in the environment, and climate change effects on soils and forests.
My academic service includes advising or co-advising more than a dozen students pursing M.S. or Ph.D degrees, co-teaching a four-credit upper level/graduate course entitled “Watershed Biogeochemistry at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and presenting 16 invited seminars at 13 colleges and universities. My scientific service includes serving as an associate editor for the Journal of Environmental Quality for 6 years, a science advisor for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority for three years, a member of a CENR (Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, under the National Science and Technology Council of the Executive Branch) workgroup addressing the issue of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico, October 1997 – September 1999, and a co-author of the U.S.E.P.A. report entitled “ Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur—Ecological Criteria”, written to provide the scientific basis for EPA’s decision on retaining or revising the current secondary standards for emissions of nitrogen and sulfur oxides.
Science and Products
Soil and Low-Ionic-Strength Water Quality Laboratory
The New York Water Science Center of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Troy, N.Y., operates a state-of-the-science laboratory for the chemical analysis of soil and water.
Acidification and Recovery and Development of Critical Loads of Acidity for Stream Ecosystems of the Adirondack Region of New York State
BACKGROUND The Adirondack region of New York has a history of relatively high atmospheric sulfur (S) and nitrogen (N) deposition (Greaver et al. 2012). Adirondack ecosystems have been impacted by these inputs, including soil and surface water acidification, and impaired health and diversity of forest vegetation and aquatic biota. Air quality management, through the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Envir
Assessment of Acidic Deposition Effects on the Chemistry and Benthos of Streams of the East-Central Adirondack Region
Project Summary. The Western Adirondack Stream Survey (WASS), conducted in 2003-2005, showed that acidic deposition was causing toxic forms of Al to move from soils to streams in 66% of the 565 watersheds assessed in the study region. The WASS encompassed only 20% of the Adirondack region, and for the remaining 80% (referred to hereafter as the East-Central Adirondack region), there is litt
Adirondack Long-Term Stream and Soil Monitoring
The current Adirondack Long-Term Monitoring Program combines monitoring of streams and soils based on a watershed design. Not only are headwater streams an important component of Adirondack ecosystems, they are closely tied to the terrestrial environment through runoff that is strongly influenced by soil and vegetation processes. This linkage makes headwater streams a useful tool for monitoring
Effects of acid rain on the ecological health of Long Island’s forests and ponds
BACKGROUND Air emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels in electrical power plants, building heating systems and vehicles are the major source of gaseous sulfur (SOx) and nitrogen (NOx) oxides in the atmosphere. These oxides dissolve in atmospheric moisture forming ions which are deposited by rain, snowfall and dust particles as acidic deposition. Acidic deposition releases soluble alu
Assessment of sugar maple health and associated soil conditions in the Adirondack Region of New York
This project provides a regional assessment of sugar maple health and associated soil conditions in the Adirondack Region of New York, where sugar maple are a major component of the forest. The focus of the study is to develop an improved understanding of relationships among watershed characteristics, soil chemistry, and acidic deposition effects on sugar maple trees and other tree species that gr
Appalachian Trail MEGA-Transect Atmospheric Deposition Effects Study
The Appalachian Trail (AT), a 14-state footpath from Maine to Georgia, is a unit of the National Park Service that is cooperatively managed and maintained by the National Park Service (NPS), the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, AT Club volunteers, the USDA Forest Service, and other public land-management agencies. Upper elevation and ridge-top ecosystems, which comprise much of the trail corrido
Northeastern Soil Monitoring Cooperative
Mission Statement: The mission of the cooperative is to facilitate coordinated collection of high quality broad-based soil data to evaluate temporal dynamics, to complement meteorologic, hydrologic and biologic monitoring, and to support decision making and science education. Objectives: Develop and share protocols for field and lab soil sampling and analysis Identify information needs tha
Whole Ecosystem Restoration Through Liming of Honnedaga Lake Tributary Watersheds
Summary Acid rain levels in the Adirondack region have substantially declined and recovery from acid rain is underway. Recovery is being limited by the depletion of soil calcium that occurred over past decades. Not only is calcium needed for neutralizing acidity, it is an essential nutrient for terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. However, recovery of soil calcium has not yet been observed. Whole-e
Long-Term Monitoring of Buck Creek Watershed in the Western Adirondack Region of New York
Monitoring of lake chemistry in the western Adirondack region has indicated reductions in the acidity of these lakes during the past two decades. However, lakes are not always reliable indicators of streams and soils. Uncertainty remains regarding the recovery potential of surface waters and the effects of acidic deposition on soils. Furthermore, nitrogen, long considered a growth-limiting nutrien
An Assessment of Forest Health and Soil Nutrient Status to Determine the Effects of Logging Practices on Water Quality in New York City's West-of-Hudson Watersheds
The growth of temperate forests is typically limited by the availability of nitrogen. Elevated concentrations of nitrate in some Catskill Mountain streams, which are tributary to New York City's water-supply reservoirs west of the Hudson River, indicate that the forests of this region are at the early stages of nitrogen saturation. That is, nitrogen is available in excess of the amount utilized
Forecasting forest response to N deposition: integrating data from individual plant responses to soil chemistry with a continental-scale gradient analysis
Nitrogen deposition is altering forest dynamics, terrestrial carbon storage, and biodiversity. However, our ability to forecast how different tree species will respond to N deposition, especially key response thresholds, is limited by a lack of synthesis across spatial scales and research approaches. To develop our best understanding of N deposition impact on tree growth and survival, we will inte
Science and Products
- Science
Soil and Low-Ionic-Strength Water Quality Laboratory
The New York Water Science Center of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Troy, N.Y., operates a state-of-the-science laboratory for the chemical analysis of soil and water.Acidification and Recovery and Development of Critical Loads of Acidity for Stream Ecosystems of the Adirondack Region of New York State
BACKGROUND The Adirondack region of New York has a history of relatively high atmospheric sulfur (S) and nitrogen (N) deposition (Greaver et al. 2012). Adirondack ecosystems have been impacted by these inputs, including soil and surface water acidification, and impaired health and diversity of forest vegetation and aquatic biota. Air quality management, through the Clean Air Act, the U.S. EnvirAssessment of Acidic Deposition Effects on the Chemistry and Benthos of Streams of the East-Central Adirondack Region
Project Summary. The Western Adirondack Stream Survey (WASS), conducted in 2003-2005, showed that acidic deposition was causing toxic forms of Al to move from soils to streams in 66% of the 565 watersheds assessed in the study region. The WASS encompassed only 20% of the Adirondack region, and for the remaining 80% (referred to hereafter as the East-Central Adirondack region), there is littAdirondack Long-Term Stream and Soil Monitoring
The current Adirondack Long-Term Monitoring Program combines monitoring of streams and soils based on a watershed design. Not only are headwater streams an important component of Adirondack ecosystems, they are closely tied to the terrestrial environment through runoff that is strongly influenced by soil and vegetation processes. This linkage makes headwater streams a useful tool for monitoringEffects of acid rain on the ecological health of Long Island’s forests and ponds
BACKGROUND Air emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels in electrical power plants, building heating systems and vehicles are the major source of gaseous sulfur (SOx) and nitrogen (NOx) oxides in the atmosphere. These oxides dissolve in atmospheric moisture forming ions which are deposited by rain, snowfall and dust particles as acidic deposition. Acidic deposition releases soluble aluAssessment of sugar maple health and associated soil conditions in the Adirondack Region of New York
This project provides a regional assessment of sugar maple health and associated soil conditions in the Adirondack Region of New York, where sugar maple are a major component of the forest. The focus of the study is to develop an improved understanding of relationships among watershed characteristics, soil chemistry, and acidic deposition effects on sugar maple trees and other tree species that grAppalachian Trail MEGA-Transect Atmospheric Deposition Effects Study
The Appalachian Trail (AT), a 14-state footpath from Maine to Georgia, is a unit of the National Park Service that is cooperatively managed and maintained by the National Park Service (NPS), the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, AT Club volunteers, the USDA Forest Service, and other public land-management agencies. Upper elevation and ridge-top ecosystems, which comprise much of the trail corridoNortheastern Soil Monitoring Cooperative
Mission Statement: The mission of the cooperative is to facilitate coordinated collection of high quality broad-based soil data to evaluate temporal dynamics, to complement meteorologic, hydrologic and biologic monitoring, and to support decision making and science education. Objectives: Develop and share protocols for field and lab soil sampling and analysis Identify information needs thaWhole Ecosystem Restoration Through Liming of Honnedaga Lake Tributary Watersheds
Summary Acid rain levels in the Adirondack region have substantially declined and recovery from acid rain is underway. Recovery is being limited by the depletion of soil calcium that occurred over past decades. Not only is calcium needed for neutralizing acidity, it is an essential nutrient for terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. However, recovery of soil calcium has not yet been observed. Whole-eLong-Term Monitoring of Buck Creek Watershed in the Western Adirondack Region of New York
Monitoring of lake chemistry in the western Adirondack region has indicated reductions in the acidity of these lakes during the past two decades. However, lakes are not always reliable indicators of streams and soils. Uncertainty remains regarding the recovery potential of surface waters and the effects of acidic deposition on soils. Furthermore, nitrogen, long considered a growth-limiting nutrienAn Assessment of Forest Health and Soil Nutrient Status to Determine the Effects of Logging Practices on Water Quality in New York City's West-of-Hudson Watersheds
The growth of temperate forests is typically limited by the availability of nitrogen. Elevated concentrations of nitrate in some Catskill Mountain streams, which are tributary to New York City's water-supply reservoirs west of the Hudson River, indicate that the forests of this region are at the early stages of nitrogen saturation. That is, nitrogen is available in excess of the amount utilizedForecasting forest response to N deposition: integrating data from individual plant responses to soil chemistry with a continental-scale gradient analysis
Nitrogen deposition is altering forest dynamics, terrestrial carbon storage, and biodiversity. However, our ability to forecast how different tree species will respond to N deposition, especially key response thresholds, is limited by a lack of synthesis across spatial scales and research approaches. To develop our best understanding of N deposition impact on tree growth and survival, we will inte - Data
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