Alex Etheridge is the Associate Director for Studies in the USGS Oregon Water Science Center
I started with USGS as a hydrologic technician in 2006 in the Arizona Water Science Center. I spent my time in Arizona canvasing wells in support of a Colorado River Decree Accounting project where USGS was charged with collecting precise GPS positions and water levels for wells screened in alluvium connected to the lower Colorado River. In 2008, I joined the Idaho Water Science Center as a member of the Boise Field Office to operate surface water gages and manage data collection for a project aimed at characterizing nutrient, sediment, and chlorophyll-a transport in the Boise and Snake Rivers. In 2010, I became a project hydrologist in Idaho Water Science Center and interpreted the data I had collected in the Boise and Snake Rivers. As a project hydrologist, I proposed and managed several projects assessing nutrient loading and habitat quality in the Boise River watershed and kicked off a project in the headwaters of the Salmon River looking at metals loading and transport through a mining district scarred by recent fires. When I moved to California to become a Water-Quality Specialist in 2016, I helped lead the center through NWIS Time-Series database modernization. I served as a member of the USGS Continuous Water-Quality Committee from 2019-22, and continue to collaborate with co-authors on forthcoming updates to techniques and methods for quality assuring time-series water-quality data. I have also had the privilege of sharing USGS methods for time-series water-quality data collection and review on international projects in Iraq and Brazil.
After serving the California Water Science Center as a water-quality specialist for 5 years, which also offered me the opportunity to champion employee-led workplace inclusion efforts, I was ready for a new challenge where I could pair my expertise on problem-solving and guidance on data collection, review, and interpretation with my passion for supporting, mentoring, and empowering employees to be and do their best. Thus, I jumped at the opportunity to join Oregon Water Science Center in 2021 as the Associate Director for Hydrologic Studies. In addition to offering a new professional challenge, working in Oregon Water Science Center brings me closer to places I have intimately studied and explored earlier in my academic and professional careers. Oregon Water Science Center offers ample opportunity to engage in projects aimed at assessing post-fire watershed response and sediment transport. As a long-time Western resident, I directly appreciate Western water-resources management challenges during times of drought and increased susceptibility to landscape disturbances related to climate change. As ORWSC enters a new era of data-collection and research funded through Water Mission Area appropriated programs, I remain dedicated to a longer-term vision supporting our place-based funding partners such that they can effectively manage the water-resources needs of diverse communities and ecosystems.
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Professional Experience
Associate Director for Hydrologic Studies, Oregon Water Science Center, 2021-present
Water-Quality Specialist, California Water Science Center, 2016-2021
Project Hydrologist, Idaho Water Science Center, 2010-2016
Hydrologic Technician, Boise Field Office, Idaho Water Science Center, 2008-2010
Hydrologic Technician, Colorado River Decree Accounting Project, Arizona Water Science Center, 2006-2008
Project Hydrogeologist, Hydro Geo Chem Consulting and Zelen Environmental, Tucson Arizona, 2002-2006
Education and Certifications
BS Geology - Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA
MA Writing and Publishing - Emerson College, Boston, MA
Principles of Subsurface Flow - Graduate Level GW Course - University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Professional Geologist - Arizona Board of Technical Registration
Affiliations and Memberships*
American Geophysical Union
Honors and Awards
Department of Interior - Diversity Award 2022
DOI Ally Engagement & Enrichment Week - Ally Award 2022
Association of Women Geoscientists - Presidential Award 2019
USGS National Group Leadership Award - 2018
Science and Products
Field techniques for fluorescence measurements targeting dissolved organic matter, hydrocarbons, and wastewater in environmental waters: Principles and guidelines for instrument selection, operation and maintenance, quality assurance, and data reporting
The Preventing Harassment in Science workshop: Summary and best practices for planetary science and astrobiology
Arsenic, antimony, mercury, and water temperature in streams near Stibnite mining area, central Idaho, 2011–17
Mobilization of mercury and arsenic from a carbonate-hosted ore deposit, central Idaho, U.S.A.
Sediment transport and evaluation of sediment surrogate ratings in the Kootenai River near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, Water Years 2011–14
Occurrence and transport of selected constituents in streams near the Stibnite mining area, Central Idaho, 2012–14
Water-quality and biological conditions in selected tributaries of the Lower Boise River, southwestern Idaho, water years 2009-12
Evaluation of total phosphorus mass balance in the lower Boise River and selected tributaries, southwestern Idaho
An evaluation of seepage gains and losses in Indian Creek Reservoir, Ada County, Idaho, April 2010–November 2011
Water-quality conditions near the confluence of the Snake and Boise Rivers, Canyon County, Idaho
Evaluating the effects of wastewater-derived nutrients on phytoplankton abundance and community structure in the San Francisco Estuary and Delta
Science and Products
- Publications
Field techniques for fluorescence measurements targeting dissolved organic matter, hydrocarbons, and wastewater in environmental waters: Principles and guidelines for instrument selection, operation and maintenance, quality assurance, and data reporting
The use of field deployable fluorescence sensors by the U.S. Geological Survey has become increasingly common for a wide variety of surface water and groundwater investigations. This report addresses field deployable fluorometers that measure the fluorescence response of various substances in water exposed to incident light generated by the sensor. An introduction to the basic principles of fieldAuthorsAmanda Booth, Jacob Fleck, Brian A. Pellerin, Angela Hansen, Alexandra Etheridge, Guy M. Foster, Jennifer L. Graham, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Kurt D. Carpenter, Bryan D. Downing, Stewart A. Rounds, JohnFranco SaracenoThe Preventing Harassment in Science workshop: Summary and best practices for planetary science and astrobiology
The NASA-funded Preventing Harassment in Science workshop took place in June of 2020. Here we describe the workshop and summarize the best practices for reducing harassment that were discussed. We include a list of recommendations that can be used to take steps towards reducing harassment in the planetary science and astrobiology community.AuthorsKristen A. Bennett, Maggie McAdam, Moses Milazzo, Patricia A. Garcia, Jenna L. Shelton, Peggy J. Gardiner, Serina Diniega, Catalina Martinez, Alexandra B. Etheridge, Alicia Rutledge, C. RicheyArsenic, antimony, mercury, and water temperature in streams near Stibnite mining area, central Idaho, 2011–17
Mineralization and historical mining of stibnite (antimony sulfide), tungsten, gold, silver, and mercury in the headwaters of the East Fork of the South Fork Salmon River (EFSFSR) near the former town of Stibnite in central Idaho resulted in water-quality impairments related to mercury, antimony, and arsenic. Additionally, mining-related disturbances and wildfires have resulted in a lack of ripariAuthorsAustin K. Baldwin, Alexandra B. EtheridgeMobilization of mercury and arsenic from a carbonate-hosted ore deposit, central Idaho, U.S.A.
The Cinnabar and Fern mine sites in central Idaho are primary source areas for elevated mercury and arsenic entering the South Fork of the Salmon River, which provides critical spawning habitat for bull trout and Chinook salmon. Mercury mineralization is hosted by carbonate rocks, which generate waters dominated by Ca2+ and HCO3 - at pH 7 to 9. A synoptic sampling was conducted on headwater tributAuthorsJoAnn M. Holloway, Michael Pribil, R. Blaine McCleskey, Alexandra B. Etheridge, David P. Krabbenhoft, George R. AikenSediment transport and evaluation of sediment surrogate ratings in the Kootenai River near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, Water Years 2011–14
The Kootenai River white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) and other native fish species are culturally important to the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, but their habitat and recruitment have been affected by anthropogenic changes to the river. Although the interconnections among anthropogenic changes and their impacts on fish are complex, the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, in cooperation with other agencies,AuthorsMolly S. Wood, Ryan L. Fosness, Alexandra B. EtheridgeOccurrence and transport of selected constituents in streams near the Stibnite mining area, Central Idaho, 2012–14
Mining of stibnite (antimony sulfide), tungsten, gold, silver, and mercury near the town of Stibnite in central Idaho has left a legacy of trace element contamination in local streams. Water-quality and streamflow monitoring data from a network of five streamflow-gaging stations were used to estimate trace-element and suspended-sediment loads and flow-weighted concentrations in the Stibnite miningAuthorsAlexandra B. EtheridgeWater-quality and biological conditions in selected tributaries of the Lower Boise River, southwestern Idaho, water years 2009-12
Water-quality conditions were studied in selected tributaries of the lower Boise River during water years 2009–12, including Fivemile and Tenmile Creeks in 2009, Indian Creek in 2010, and Mason Creek in 2011 and 2012. Biological samples, including periphyton biomass and chlorophyll-a, benthic macroinvertebrates, and fish were collected in Mason Creek in October 2011. Synoptic water-quality samplinAuthorsAlexandra B. Etheridge, Dorene E. MacCoy, Rhonda J. WeaklandEvaluation of total phosphorus mass balance in the lower Boise River and selected tributaries, southwestern Idaho
he U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, developed spreadsheet mass-balance models for total phosphorus using results from three synoptic sampling periods conducted in the lower Boise River watershed during August and October 2012, and March 2013. The modeling reach spanned 46.4 river miles (RM) along the Boise River from Veteran’s Memorial PAuthorsAlexandra B. EtheridgeAn evaluation of seepage gains and losses in Indian Creek Reservoir, Ada County, Idaho, April 2010–November 2011
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Water Resources, conducted an investigation on Indian Creek Reservoir, a small impoundment in east Ada County, Idaho, to quantify groundwater seepage into and out of the reservoir. Data from the study will assist the Idaho Water Resources Department’s Comprehensive Aquifer Management Planning effort to estimate available waterAuthorsMarshall L. Williams, Alexandra B. EtheridgeWater-quality conditions near the confluence of the Snake and Boise Rivers, Canyon County, Idaho
Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) have been established under authority of the Federal Clean Water Act for the Snake River-Hells Canyon reach, on the border of Idaho and Oregon, to improve water quality and preserve beneficial uses such as public consumption, recreation, and aquatic habitat. The TMDL sets targets for seasonal average and annual maximum concentrations of chlorophyll-a at 14 and 30AuthorsMolly S. Wood, Alexandra Etheridge - Science
Evaluating the effects of wastewater-derived nutrients on phytoplankton abundance and community structure in the San Francisco Estuary and Delta
Planned upgrades to the Sacramento Regional wastewater treatment plant (SRWTP) will substantially reduce nutrient discharge and also alter the types and amounts of nutrients being distributed across the San Francisco Delta and Estuary (Delta). One highly anticipated outcome of lower nutrients is improved productivity in the phytoplankton communities that supply aquatic food webs, which should... - Multimedia
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*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