Dr. Aїda Farag is the Project Leader at the Columbia Environmental Research Center’s, Jackson Field Research Station.
She focuses on 3 research areas: 1) The potential effects of oil and gas activities on aquatic life and is the Co-Lead for the Environmental Health Mission Area – Energy Project. This project includes 35 researchers and 65 external partners from universities, state agencies, and other federal agencies focusing research on source mobility, pathways to the environment, resilience/restoration, and beneficial reuse. 2) Restoration of Contaminated and Impaired Ecosystems. Dr. Farag convened an international workshop in 2014 and continues to advance the science of putting restoration goals upfront. 3) Fish physiology to complement toxicological investigations and Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration assistance. She uses a multifaceted approach to define not only changes at the level of the individual fish but to relate those changes to population structures in the field.
Science and Products
Do Trace Metal Concentrations in the Upper Columbia River Affect Early Life Stage White Sturgeon?
Energy Integrated Science Team
Framework for Examining Stream Ecosystem Health in Areas of Shale Gas Development—A Multi-Parameter Watershed-Based Case Study in Pennsylvania
Produced water from Marcellus Shale and amphibians
Science Team about Energy and Plains and Potholes Environments (STEPPE)
Hydraulic Fracturing and Water Resources: An Assessment of the Potential Effects of Shale Gas Development on Water Resources in the United States
Science and Products
- Science
Do Trace Metal Concentrations in the Upper Columbia River Affect Early Life Stage White Sturgeon?
To understand if contaminants are associated with white sturgeon population declines, U.S. Geological Survey scientists reviewed the life history, physiology, and behavior of white sturgeon, along with recent toxicological studies and existing trace metal data for locations in the Columbia River. The analysis indicated that the highest concentrations of copper and other metals in the Columbia...Energy Integrated Science Team
The Energy Lifecycle Integrated Science Team focuses on the potential for contaminant exposures in the environment that might originate from energy resource activities including, extraction, production, transportation, storage, extraction, waste management and restoration. Perceived health risks to humans and other organisms will be distinguished from actual risks, if any. If actual risks are...Framework for Examining Stream Ecosystem Health in Areas of Shale Gas Development—A Multi-Parameter Watershed-Based Case Study in Pennsylvania
In a case study of 25 headwater streams in Pennsylvania, no statistically significant associations were determined between shale gas development and geochemical tracers of produced waters or measures of microbial and macroinvertebrate community composition. Although the results are specific to the region studied, the integrated biological and geochemical framework provides a tool for examining...Produced water from Marcellus Shale and amphibians
Research biologists at the USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center at the Patuxent Research Refuge are conducting a series of scientific studies on the potential effects of wastewater from hydraulic fracturing activities on terrestrial wildlife. Findings will help in assessing proposals for managing recycling and distribution of large volumes of flowback and produced waters generated by methods of...Science Team about Energy and Plains and Potholes Environments (STEPPE)
Brine Contamination to Plains and Potholes Environments from Energy Development in the Williston BasinHydraulic Fracturing and Water Resources: An Assessment of the Potential Effects of Shale Gas Development on Water Resources in the United States
Shale gas is a key source of onshore domestic energy for the United States and production of this resource is increasing rapidly. Development and extraction of shale gas requires hydraulic fracturing, which entails horizontal drilling, perforation of steel casing and cement grout using explosive charges, and expansion of fractures using fluids under high pressure. Concern over potential environmen - Data
- Publications
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government