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Stephanie Gordon

Stephanie is a Physical Scientist at the Eastern Ecological Science Center in Kearneysville, WV.

Stephanie started with the USGS as a volunteer with the Eastern Geographic Science Center in 2015 working on the Sediment-bound Contaminant Resiliency and Response (SCoRR) project and has since worked on a diverse variety of projects. Her research includes using geospatial tools to quantify landscape contaminant sources and understand relationships to biological endpoints. This work has focused on landscape sources of endocrine disrupting compounds in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and their relationship to fish health and water quality; data management and mapping support for USGS Chesapeake Bay activities; and includes similar work on harmful algal blooms and shallow well contamination at national and regional scales.

Professional Experience

  • 2018 to present: Geographer, U.S. Geological Survey, Leetown Science Center, Kearneysville, West Virginia

  • 2015 to 2017: Student Contractor – Geography, U.S. Geological Survey, Eastern Geographic Science Center, Reston, Virginia

Education and Certifications

  • M.S., 2019, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA Thesis: Population Dynamics and Pharmaceutical Contamination in Streams and Rivers Across the United States

  • B.A., 2013, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

Science and Products

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Chesapeake Bay Best Management Practices Conceptual Diagram

Agricultural best management practices can improve water quality and conditions for fisheries in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Issue Partners in the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) are implementing best management practices (BMPs) to prevent nutrient and sediment from entering waterways across the Chesapeake watershed and reduce loads to the Bay. In addition to reducing nutrients, CBP partners want to better understand how BMPs can provide additional benefits for addressing toxic contaminants, such as pesticides, hormones...
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Environmental Health Program, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center
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Agricultural best management practices can improve water quality and conditions for fisheries in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Issue Partners in the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) are implementing best management practices (BMPs) to prevent nutrient and sediment from entering waterways across the Chesapeake watershed and reduce loads to the Bay. In addition to reducing nutrients, CBP partners want to better understand how BMPs can provide additional benefits for addressing toxic contaminants, such as pesticides, hormones...
Learn More
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Mark Jones taking a measurement in Danville, Pennsylvania

USGS Integrates Findings about Endocrine-Disrupting Compounds in the Chesapeake Watershed

Issue: Studies in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed have documented the exposure of fish to toxic contaminants including endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) - compounds which can alter normal hormonal function in organisms. Given the importance of fisheries to the economic and environmental health of the Watershed, observed endocrine disruption and fish kills in the Watershed have raised public and...
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Core Science Systems Mission Area, Chesapeake Bay Activities
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USGS Integrates Findings about Endocrine-Disrupting Compounds in the Chesapeake Watershed

Issue: Studies in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed have documented the exposure of fish to toxic contaminants including endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) - compounds which can alter normal hormonal function in organisms. Given the importance of fisheries to the economic and environmental health of the Watershed, observed endocrine disruption and fish kills in the Watershed have raised public and...
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Attribution of storm-weighted potential contaminant hazard ranks to sampling locations

Geospatial Analyses and Applications — Salt Lake City, Utah

About the ResearchThe Environmental Health Program collaborates with scientists within the Geospatial Analyses and Applications Team to develop and apply geospatial analytical methods to answer broad-scale questions about source-sink and cause-effect relationships between contaminants and vulnerable communities. Multivariate statistics are used to identify connections between landscape gradients...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology
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Geospatial Analyses and Applications — Salt Lake City, Utah

About the ResearchThe Environmental Health Program collaborates with scientists within the Geospatial Analyses and Applications Team to develop and apply geospatial analytical methods to answer broad-scale questions about source-sink and cause-effect relationships between contaminants and vulnerable communities. Multivariate statistics are used to identify connections between landscape gradients...
Learn More
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Attribution of storm-weighted potential contaminant hazard ranks to sampling locations

Geospatial Analyses and Applications — Salt Lake City, Utah

About the ResearchThe Environmental Health Program collaborates with scientists within the Geospatial Analyses and Applications Team to develop and apply geospatial analytical methods to answer broad-scale questions about source-sink and cause-effect relationships between contaminants and vulnerable communities. Multivariate statistics are used to identify connections between landscape gradients...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology
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Geospatial Analyses and Applications — Salt Lake City, Utah

About the ResearchThe Environmental Health Program collaborates with scientists within the Geospatial Analyses and Applications Team to develop and apply geospatial analytical methods to answer broad-scale questions about source-sink and cause-effect relationships between contaminants and vulnerable communities. Multivariate statistics are used to identify connections between landscape gradients...
Learn More
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Attribution of storm-weighted potential contaminant hazard ranks to sampling locations

Geospatial Analyses and Applications — Salt Lake City, Utah

About the ResearchThe Environmental Health Program collaborates with scientists within the Geospatial Analyses and Applications Team to develop and apply geospatial analytical methods to answer broad-scale questions about source-sink and cause-effect relationships between contaminants and vulnerable communities. Multivariate statistics are used to identify connections between landscape gradients...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology
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Geospatial Analyses and Applications — Salt Lake City, Utah

About the ResearchThe Environmental Health Program collaborates with scientists within the Geospatial Analyses and Applications Team to develop and apply geospatial analytical methods to answer broad-scale questions about source-sink and cause-effect relationships between contaminants and vulnerable communities. Multivariate statistics are used to identify connections between landscape gradients...
Learn More
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USGS scientist dissecting a summer flounder

Endocrine Disrupting Compounds in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Science Team

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States and provides critical resources to fish, wildlife and people. For more than a decade, recreational fish species have been plagued with skin lesions and intersex conditions (the presence of male and female sex characteristics in the same fish) that biologists attributed to exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs)...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology
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Endocrine Disrupting Compounds in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Science Team

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States and provides critical resources to fish, wildlife and people. For more than a decade, recreational fish species have been plagued with skin lesions and intersex conditions (the presence of male and female sex characteristics in the same fish) that biologists attributed to exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs)...
Learn More

“ChesBay 24k – LU": Land Use/Land Cover Related Data Summaries for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Within NHD Plus HR catchments

These tabular data are summaries of land use/land cover related variables within catchments of the Chesapeake Bay watershed using the Xstrm methodology at 1:24,000 scale. Variables being counted as land use/land cover related contain all land use and land cover data including datasets that are split off or combined from those data (eg. agriculture or impervious classes only datasets). Outputs cons
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Eastern Ecological Science Center

“ChesBay 24k – NE": Natural Environment Related Data Summaries for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Within NHD Plus HR catchments

These tabular data are summaries of natural environment related variables within catchments of the Chesapeake Bay watershed using the Xstrm methodology at 1:24,000 scale. Variables being counted as natural environment related include topography, soils/geology, hydrology/geomorphology, and other physical aspects of surface waters (temperature, flow, etc.). Outputs consist of tabular comma-separated
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Eastern Ecological Science Center

“ChesBay 24k – CL": Climate Related Data Summaries for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Within NHD Plus HR catchments

These tabular data are summaries of climate related variables within catchments of the Chesapeake Bay watershed using the Xstrm methodology at 1:24,000 scale. Variables being counted as climate related include temperature and precipitation by both annual and monthly values. Outputs consist of tabular comma-separated values files (CSVs) for the local catchment and network summaries linked to the Na
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Eastern Ecological Science Center

“ChesBay 24k – HU": Human Related Data Summaries for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Within NHD Plus HR catchments

These tabular data are summaries of human related landscape variables within catchments of the Chesapeake Bay watershed using the Xstrm methodology at 1:24,000 scale. Variables being counted as human related include agriculture, barriers, road density and road/stream crossing data. Outputs consist of tabular comma-separated values files (CSVs) for both local catchment and network summaries linked
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Eastern Ecological Science Center

PFAS Reconnaissance Landscape Data

This dataset consists of summary data for potential landscape sources of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These summary items include facilities from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) PFAS Analytics Tools, which were pulled from its Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO), areas affected by fires (burned and urban burned areas) from Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (
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Eastern Ecological Science Center, Utah Water Science Center

Water Chemistry and Smallmouth Bass Biological Data From the Potomac River, Dargan, Maryland, 2013-2019

Decades of poor reproductive success and young-of-the-year recruitment, in addition to adult mortality, has led to a decline in the smallmouth bass (SMB) population in subwatersheds of the Potomac River. Previous studies have identified numerous biologic and environmental stressors associated with negative effects on SMB health. To better understand the impact of these stressors, the current study
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Geomorphic metrics across four catchments in Clarksburg, Maryland, 2002-19

This dataset contains geomorphic metrics across 32 cross-sections at four catchments within the Clarksburg Special Protection Area in Montgomery County, Maryland. These data were derived from raw cross-sectional data collected by the Montgomery County, Maryland Department of Environmental Protection. Geomorphic metrics include channel area, bed location, channel depth, channel width, and bank move
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, New Jersey Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

SARS-CoV-2 Data from National Wastewater Surveillance System Surge Capacity Sampling, September 2021

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is used to determine the consumption of, or exposure to, chemicals or pathogens in human populations, and is conducted by collecting representative samples of untreated wastewater (influent) to quantify pathogens shed in the population served by the sampled wastewater system. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Department of Health an
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Eastern Ecological Science Center
Drinking water sources diagram.
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USGS Studies on Contaminants in Drinking Water
Map of surface water sampling locations in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
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Map of surface water sampling locations in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Filter Total Items: 15

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in United States tapwater: Comparison of underserved private-well and public-supply exposures and associated health implications

Drinking-water quality is a rising concern in the United States (US), emphasizing the need to broadly assess exposures and potential health effects at the point-of-use. Drinking-water exposures to per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a national concern, however, there is limited information on PFAS in residential tapwater at the point-of-use, especially from private-wells. We conducted
Authors
Kelly Smalling, Kristin M. Romanok, Paul M. Bradley, Matthew Connor Morriss, James L. Gray, Leslie K. Kanagy, Stephanie Gordon, Brianna Williams, Sara Breitmeyer, Daniel Jones, Laura A. DeCicco, Collin Eagles-Smith, Tyler Wagner
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Cooperative Research Units, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Utah Water Science Center

Exposures and potential health implications of contaminant mixtures in linked source water, finished drinking water, and tapwater from public-supply drinking water systems in Minneapolis/St. Paul area, USA

Continued improvements in drinking-water quality characterization and treatment/distribution infrastructure are required to address the expanding number of documented environmental contaminants. To better understand the variability in contaminant exposures from the drinking water resource (surface and groundwater), through the distribution process, to the point-of-use (tapwater), in 2019 a synopti
Authors
Kelly Smalling, Paul Bradley, Kristin Romanok, Sarah M. Elliott, Jane de Lambert, Michael J. Focazio, Stephanie Gordon, James L. Gray, Leslie K. Kanagy, Michelle Hladik, Keith Loftin, R. Blaine McCleskey, Elizabeth Medlock-Kakaley, Mary C. Cardon, Nicola Evans, Christopher P. Weis
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Water Resources Mission Area, New Jersey Water Science Center

Predicted aquatic exposure effects from a national urban stormwater study

A multi-agency study of 438 organic and 62 inorganic chemicals measured in urban stormwater during 50 total runoff events at 21 sites across the United States demonstrated that stormwater discharges can generate localized, aquatic exposures to extensive contaminant mixtures, including organics suspected to cause adverse aquatic-health effects. The aggregated risks to multiple aquatic trophic level
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Paul Bradley, Kristin Romanok, Kelly Smalling, Jason R. Masoner, Dana W. Kolpin, Stephanie Gordon
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Water Resources Mission Area, New Jersey Water Science Center, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Central Midwest Water Science Center

Bottled water contaminant exposures and potential human effects

Bottled water (BW) consumption in the United States and globally has increased amidst heightened concern about environmental contaminant exposures and health risks in drinking water supplies, despite a paucity of directly comparable, environmentally-relevant contaminant exposure data for BW. This study provides insight into exposures and cumulative risks to human health from inorganic/organic/micr
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Paul Bradley, Kristin Romanok, Kelly Smalling, Michael J. Focazio, Nicola Evans, Suzanne C. Fitzpatrick, Carrie E Givens, Stephanie Gordon, James L. Gray, Emily M. Green, Dale W. Griffin, Michelle Hladik, Leslie K. Kanagy, John T. Lisle, Keith Loftin, R. Blaine McCleskey, Elizabeth Medlock-Kakaley, Ana Navas-Acien, David A. Roth, Paul F. South, Christopher P. Weis
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Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center, Kansas Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

A case study: Temporal trends of environmental stressors and reproductive health of smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) from a site in the Potomac River Watershed, Maryland, USA

Decades of poor reproductive success and young-of-the-year survival, combined with adult mortality events, have led to a decline in the smallmouth bass (SMB; Micropterus dolomieu) population in sections of the Potomac River. Previous studies have identified numerous biologic and environmental stressors associated with negative effects on SMB health. To better understand the impact of these stresso
Authors
Heather L. Walsh, Stephanie Gordon, Adam J. Sperry, Michael Kashiwagi, John E. Mullican, Vicki S. Blazer
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Estrogenic activity response to best management practice implementation in agricultural watersheds in the Chesapeake Bay watershed

Best management practices (BMPs) have been predominantly used throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed (CBW) to reduce nutrients and sediments entering streams, rivers, and the bay. These practices have been successful in reducing loads entering the estuary and have shown the potential to reduce other contaminants (pesticides, hormonally active compounds, pathogens) in localized studies and modeled
Authors
Stephanie Gordon, Tyler Wagner, Kelly Smalling, Olivia H. Devereux
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Water Resources Mission Area, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center

Tracking geomorphic changes after suburban development with a high density of green stormwater infrastructure practices in Montgomery County, Maryland

Stream morphology is affected by changes on the surrounding landscape. Understanding the effects of urbanization on stream morphology is a critical factor for land managers to maintain and improve vulnerable stream corridors in urbanizing landscapes. Stormwater practices are used in urban landscapes to manage runoff volumes and peak flows, potentially mitigating alterations to the flow regime that
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Brianna Williams, Kristina G. Hopkins, Marina Metes, Daniel Jones, Stephanie Gordon, William Bradley Hamilton
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Water Resources Mission Area, Chesapeake Bay Activities, New Jersey Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Utah Water Science Center

The statistical power to detect regional temporal trends in riverine contaminants in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, USA

Chemical contamination of riverine ecosystems is largely a result of urbanization, industrialization, and agricultural activities occurring on adjacent terrestrial landscapes. Land management activities (e.g., Best Management Practices) are an important tool used to reduce point and non-point sources of pollution. However, the ability to confidently make inferences about the efficacy of land manag
Authors
Tyler Wagner, Paul McLaughlin, Kelly Smalling, Sara Breitmeyer, Stephanie Gordon, Gregory B. Noe
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Water Resources Mission Area, Cooperative Research Units, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, New Jersey Water Science Center

A review of algal toxin exposures on reserved federal lands and among trust species in the United States

Associated health effects from algal toxin exposure are a growing concern for human and animal health. Algal toxin poisonings may occur from contact with or consumption of water supplies or from ingestion of contaminated animals. The U.S. Federal Government owns or holds in trust about 259 million hectares of land, in addition to the Trust species obligations. We completed the first comprehensive
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Zachary Laughrey, Victoria Christensen, Robert J. Dusek, Sarena Senegal, Julia S. Lankton, Tracy Ziegler, Lee C. Jones, Daniel Jones, Brianna Williams, Stephanie Gordon, Gerald A. Clyde, Erich B Emery, Keith Loftin
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Kansas Water Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Reproductive health and endocrine disruption in smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) from the Lake Erie drainage, Pennsylvania, USA

Smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu were sampled from three sites within the Lake Erie drainage (Elk Creek, Twentymile Creek, and Misery Bay, an embayment in Presque Isle Bay). Plasma, tissues for histopathological analyses, and liver and testes preserved in RNALater® were sampled from 30 smallmouth bass (of both sexes) at each site. Liver and testes samples were analyzed for transcript abundance
Authors
Heather L. Walsh, Sean D. Rafferty, Stephanie Gordon, Vicki S. Blazer
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Perfluoroalkyl substances in plasma of smallmouth bass from the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu is an economically important sportfish and within the Chesapeake Bay watershed has experienced a high prevalence of external lesions, infectious disease, mortality events, reproductive endocrine disruption and population declines. To date, no clear or consistent associations with contaminants measured in fish tissue or surface water have been found. Therefore,
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Vicki S. Blazer, Stephanie Gordon, Heather L. Walsh, Cheyenne R. Smith
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Environmental and anthropogenic drivers of contaminants in agricultural watersheds with implications for land management

If not managed properly, modern agricultural practices can alter surface and groundwater quality and drinking water resources resulting in potential negative effects on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Exposure to agriculturally derived contaminant mixtures has the potential to alter habitat quality and negatively affect fish and other aquatic organisms. Implementation of conservation practices
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Kelly Smalling, Olivia H. Devereux, Stephanie Gordon, Patrick J. Phillips, Vicki S. Blazer, Michelle Hladik, Dana W. Kolpin, Michael T. Meyer, Adam Sperry, Tyler Wagner
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, California Water Science Center, Central Midwest Water Science Center, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Kansas Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, New York Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

PFAS in US Tapwater Interactive Dashboard

Drinking-water quality and potential exposures to per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at the point-of-use (tapwater) are a rising concern in the United States (US).

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Ecosystems Mission Area, Environmental Health Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Environmental Health Program at the U.S. Geological Survey

One Health science to address high priority issues related to human and wildlife exposures to environmental contaminants and pathogens

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Ecosystems Mission Area, Environmental Health Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Drop by Drop

US Geological Survey research on contaminants in drinking water across the US.

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Ecosystems Mission Area, Environmental Health Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center

USGS Chesapeake Bay Studies - Data Catalog

The Chesapeake Data Catalog Application is designed to allow users to identify and interact with datasets used in and across efforts related to the USGS Chesapeake Bay Watershed studies. Metadata gathered for items included in the Catalog for which this app was developed are intended to inform users of dataset details, indicate best practice

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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

U.S. Geological Survey COVID-19 Wastewater Surveillance

USGS, as part of the National Wastewater Surveillance System, designed and implemented high-frequency sampling of wastewater across six states throughout September 2021, to support tracking of potential increases in COVID-19 infections in communities. COVID-19 viral loads were determined for each sample with the goal of delivering results to the CDC within three days of sampling. 

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Ecosystems Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in U.S. Tapwater: Comparison of Public-Supply and Underserved Private-Well Exposures and Associated Health Implications

This software involves files to fit the statistical models described in Smalling et al. Specifically, there are R scripts and associated stan model files (when appropriate) for comparing PFAS concentrations among public-supply and private-wells and as a function of geospatial predictor variables. There is also an R script for modeling the number of PFAS chemicals detected among water sources and
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Cooperative Research Units

Code Release for USGS Chesapeake Bay Studies - Data Catalog Application

Code and associated files hosted on USGS GitLab which support the USGS Chesapeake Bay Studies Data Catalog Application available at https://rconnect.usgs.gov/ChesapeakeBayDataCatalog/.
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Science and Products