Deb Repert is a Microbiologist for the USGS Water Resources Mission Area.
Deb Repert has worked with the USGS since 1998 as a microbiologist focusing on nitrogen cycling processes in aquatic environments. She is interested in the physical, chemical and microbiological processes controlling the transport and fate of nutrients in both pristine and contaminated environments.
She received an undergraduate degree in Biology from Clarkson University and a Master's degree in Zoology with an emphasis in microbiology and stream ecology from Michigan State University.
Education
M.S. - Zoology, emphasis in microbiology and stream ecology, Michigan State University, 1992
B.S. - Biology, Clarkson University, 1988
Employment
Microbiologist, National Research Program, US Geological Survey, Boulder, CO, 1998-present
Research Technician, The Louis Calder Center, Fordham University, Armonk, NY, 1993-1997
Stream Research Coordinator, Arctic LTER Project, The Ecosystems Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA ,1992-1993
Laboratory Technician, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY, 1988-1989
Science and Products
Diel and synoptic sampling data from Boulder Creek and South Boulder Creek, near Boulder, Colorado, September–October 2019
Multiple sampling campaigns were conducted near Boulder, Colorado, to quantify constituent concentrations and loads in Boulder Creek and its tributary, South Boulder Creek. Diel sampling was initiated at approximately 1100 hours on September 17, 2019, and continued until approximately 2300 hours on September 18, 2019. During this time period, samples were collected at two locations on Boulder Cree
Water-Chemistry and Isotope Data for Selected Springs, Geysers, Streams, and Rivers in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
There are over 10,000 hydrothermal features in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), where waters have pH values ranging from about 1 to 10 and surface temperatures up to 95 °C. Active geothermal areas in YNP provide insight into a variety of processes occurring at depth, such as water-rock and oxidation-reduction (redox) reactions, the formation of alteration minerals, and microbial (thermophile)
Temporal Viral Viability Data from Avian Influenza A Viruses Maintained in Alaska Wetlands Under Experimental and Environmental Conditions
Data sets containing: (1) sample collection and influenza A virus (IAV) screening information for wild ducks, (2) water temperature data from four wetlands within the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, USA (3) water quality measurement from four wetlands within the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, USA, (4) genetic sequence data for IAVs recovered from replicate samples of wild
Chemical Data From 40 Years of Monitoring a Treated-Wastewater Groundwater Plume in a Sand and Gravel Aquifer, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 1978-2018
This U.S. Geological Survey data release provides a comprehensive dataset of water-quality data and sampling-site characteristics collected in 1978-2018 during a study of the effects of land disposal of treated wastewater on groundwater quality in an unconsolidated sand and gravel aquifer on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Treated sewage-derived wastewater was discharged to rapid-infiltration beds at Joi
Microbial Community and N-cycling gene abundance from Ponds and Groundwater on Cape Cod, MA (2015 - 2018)
Surface water, pore water, pond bottom sediments, and groundwater were sampled within and downgradient from five groundwater flow-through ponds that ranged from oligotrophic to eutrophic in Cape Cod, Massachusetts during different seasons from 2015 – 2018. The sampled ponds included Ashumet, Santuit, Snake, Shubael, and Longs. Pore water was collected between 15 to 100 cm below the pond bottoms on
Determination of the effect of temperature (Q10) on denitrification rates in sediments collected from a groundwater discharge site in Ashumet Pond on Cape Cod, MA
This data release presents results from a laboratory study designed to measure the effect of temperature on denitrification rates in sediments collected from 5- to 30-cm depth below the lake bottom, at a location where groundwater discharges to the lake. Sediment cores were collected June 25, 2014 from the West site (Fishermans Cove) in Ashumet Pond, Cape Cod, MA then shipped to Boulder, CO for la
Surface Water and Porewater Chemistry of Cell 3A, Prado Wetlands, Riverside, CA, USA (2018)
The data presented here was collected at Prado Wetlands in Riverside County, CA, USA. Physical water column parameters were collected using a multprobe sonde and includes date and time of sample collection, location (inlet, outlet), temperature (degrees Celsius), pH, specific conductivity (mircoSiemens per centimeter), and dissolved oxygen (milligrams per liter). An ISCO autosampler was utilized t
Nitrogen biogeochemistry in a boreal headwater stream network in Interior Alaska, 2008 to 2011
High latitude, boreal watersheds are nitrogen-limited ecosystems that export large amounts of organic carbon. Key controls on carbon cycling in these environments are the biogeochemical processes affecting the nitrogen cycle. This data release presents results of a 3-year field study from 2008-2011 to document the relation between seasonal and transport-associated changes in carbon and nitrogen
Seasonal and spatial variation in the location and reactivity of a nitrate-contaminated groundwater discharge zone in a lakebed
The U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program at Cape Cod has been investigating the fate and transport of a treated-wastewater, groundwater contaminant plume. A portion of the contaminated groundwater discharges into Ashumet Pond, a kettle hole, freshwater lake. A study was conducted from June 2013 to June 2015 to document transport, transformation, and discharge of dissolved inor
Natural gradient, lakebed tracer tests using nitrite in a nitrate-contaminated groundwater discharge zone in Ashumet Pond, Massachusetts
The U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program at Cape Cod has been investigating the fate and transport of a treated-wastewater, groundwater contaminant plume. A portion of the contaminated groundwater discharges into Ashumet Pond, a kettle hole, freshwater lake. A study was conducted from June 2013 to June 2015 to document transport, transformation, and discharge of dissolved inor
Water and Sediment Geochemistry Data from the Vicinity of Yellow Pine, Idaho, 2014-2015
Samples were collected at or near baseflow conditions. Water pH and specific conductance were measured in the field, with specific conductance also measured in the laboratory and calculated based on the ionic strength of samples based on laboratory analyses. Water samples were collected for laboratory analyses using a peristaltic pump with silicon tubing. Samples were filtered through a reusabl
Filter Total Items: 20
Elevated nitrogen deposition to fire-prone forests adjacent to urban and agricultural areas, Colorado front range, USA
As humans increasingly dominate the nitrogen cycle, deposition of reactive nitrogen (Nr) will continue to have adverse consequences for ecosystems. In the Rocky Mountains, Nr deposition remains elevated and has become increasingly dominated by ammonium, despite efforts to reduce emissions. Currently, spatial models of Nr deposition do not fully account for urban and agricultural emissions, sources
Evidence for interannual persistence of infectious influenza A viruses in Alaska wetlands
Influenza A viruses (IAVs) deposited by wild birds into the environment may lead to sporadic mortality events and economically costly outbreaks among domestic birds. There is a paucity of information, however, regarding the persistence of infectious IAVs within the environment following deposition. In this investigation, we assessed the persistence of 12 IAVs that were present in the cloaca and/or
Nitrogen biogeochemistry in a boreal headwater stream network in interior Alaska
High latitude, boreal watersheds are nitrogen (N)-limited ecosystems that export large amounts of organic carbon (C). Key controls on C cycling in these environments are the biogeochemical processes affecting the N cycle. A study was conducted in Nome Creek, an upland headwater tributary of the Yukon River, and two first-order tributaries to Nome Creek, to examine the relation between seasonal
Atmospheric dust deposition varies by season and elevation in the Colorado Front Range, USA
As atmospheric dust deposition continues to increase across the southwestern United States, it has the potential to alter ecosystem productivity and structure by delivering nutrients, base cations, and pollutants to remote mountain sites. Due to the sparse distribution of dust monitoring sites, open questions remain about the spatial and temporal variability of dust fluxes and composition across m
Reactive transport modeling to understand attenuation of arsenic concentrations in anoxic groundwater during Fe(II) oxidation by nitrate
A previously published field-experimental investigation showed that injection of nitrate in anoxic groundwater that contained aqueous and sediment-bound Fe(II) diminished concentrations of As(V) and As(III) to below drinking-water limits. In the current study, reactive transport modeling confirmed that the observed attenuation was consistent with oxidation of Fe(II) by nitrate, leading to precipit
Seasonal and spatial variation in the location and reactivity of a nitrate-contaminated groundwater discharge zone in a lakebed
Groundwater discharge delivering anthropogenic N from surrounding watersheds can impact lake nutrient budgets. However, upgradient groundwater processes and changing dynamics in N biogeochemistry at the groundwater-lake interface are complex and difficult to resolve. In this study, hydrograph variations in a groundwater flow-through lake altered discharge patterns of a wastewater-derived, groun
Anoxic nitrate reduction coupled with iron oxidation and attenuation of dissolved arsenic and phosphate in a sand and gravel aquifer
Nitrate has become an increasingly abundant potential electron acceptor for Fe(II) oxidation in groundwater, but this redox couple has not been well characterized within aquifer settings. To investigate this reaction and some of its implications for redox-sensitive groundwater contaminants, we conducted an in situ field study in a wastewater-contaminated aquifer on Cape Cod. Long-term (15 year) ge
Hydrologic controls on nitrogen cycling processes and functional gene abundance in sediments of a groundwater flow-through lake
The fate and transport of inorganic nitrogen (N) is a critically important issue for human and aquatic ecosystem health because discharging N-contaminated groundwater can foul drinking water and cause algal blooms. Factors controlling N-processing were examined in sediments at three sites with contrasting hydrologic regimes at a lake on Cape Cod, MA. These factors included water chemistry, seepage
Nitrogen cycling processes and microbial community composition in bed sediments in the Yukon River at Pilot Station
Information on the contribution of nitrogen (N)-cycling processes in bed sediments to river nutrient fluxes in large northern latitude river systems is limited. This study examined the relationship between N-cycling processes in bed sediments and N speciation and loading in the Yukon River near its mouth at the Bering Sea. We conducted laboratory bioassays to measure N-cycling processes in sedimen
Carbon and geochemical properties of cryosols on the North Slope of Alaska
Cryosols contain roughly 1700 Gt of Soil organic carbon (SOC) roughly double the carbon content of the atmosphere. As global temperature rises and permafrost thaws, this carbon reservoir becomes vulnerable to microbial decomposition, resulting in greenhouse gas emissions that will amplify anthropogenic warming. Improving our understanding of carbon dynamics in thawing permafrost requires more dat
Long-term groundwater contamination after source removal—The role of sorbed carbon and nitrogen on the rate of reoxygenation of a treated-wastewater plume on Cape Cod, MA, USA
The consequences of groundwater contamination can remain long after a contaminant source has been removed. Documentation of natural aquifer recoveries and empirical tools to predict recovery time frames and associated geochemical changes are generally lacking. This study characterized the long-term natural attenuation of a groundwater contaminant plume in a sand and gravel aquifer on Cape Cod, Mas
Potential For Denitrification near Reclaimed Water Application Sites in Orange County, Florida, 2009
The potential for denitrification was tested in water samples from four Upper Floridan aquifer wells near a reclaimed water application site, in west Orange County Florida, and two adjacent springs. Results of the study indicate that denitrifying bacteria are present in the groundwater and spring water samples, and that these bacteria can readily denitrify the waters when suitable geochemical cond
Science and Products
- Data
Diel and synoptic sampling data from Boulder Creek and South Boulder Creek, near Boulder, Colorado, September–October 2019
Multiple sampling campaigns were conducted near Boulder, Colorado, to quantify constituent concentrations and loads in Boulder Creek and its tributary, South Boulder Creek. Diel sampling was initiated at approximately 1100 hours on September 17, 2019, and continued until approximately 2300 hours on September 18, 2019. During this time period, samples were collected at two locations on Boulder CreeWater-Chemistry and Isotope Data for Selected Springs, Geysers, Streams, and Rivers in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
There are over 10,000 hydrothermal features in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), where waters have pH values ranging from about 1 to 10 and surface temperatures up to 95 °C. Active geothermal areas in YNP provide insight into a variety of processes occurring at depth, such as water-rock and oxidation-reduction (redox) reactions, the formation of alteration minerals, and microbial (thermophile)Temporal Viral Viability Data from Avian Influenza A Viruses Maintained in Alaska Wetlands Under Experimental and Environmental Conditions
Data sets containing: (1) sample collection and influenza A virus (IAV) screening information for wild ducks, (2) water temperature data from four wetlands within the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, USA (3) water quality measurement from four wetlands within the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, USA, (4) genetic sequence data for IAVs recovered from replicate samples of wildChemical Data From 40 Years of Monitoring a Treated-Wastewater Groundwater Plume in a Sand and Gravel Aquifer, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 1978-2018
This U.S. Geological Survey data release provides a comprehensive dataset of water-quality data and sampling-site characteristics collected in 1978-2018 during a study of the effects of land disposal of treated wastewater on groundwater quality in an unconsolidated sand and gravel aquifer on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Treated sewage-derived wastewater was discharged to rapid-infiltration beds at JoiMicrobial Community and N-cycling gene abundance from Ponds and Groundwater on Cape Cod, MA (2015 - 2018)
Surface water, pore water, pond bottom sediments, and groundwater were sampled within and downgradient from five groundwater flow-through ponds that ranged from oligotrophic to eutrophic in Cape Cod, Massachusetts during different seasons from 2015 – 2018. The sampled ponds included Ashumet, Santuit, Snake, Shubael, and Longs. Pore water was collected between 15 to 100 cm below the pond bottoms onDetermination of the effect of temperature (Q10) on denitrification rates in sediments collected from a groundwater discharge site in Ashumet Pond on Cape Cod, MA
This data release presents results from a laboratory study designed to measure the effect of temperature on denitrification rates in sediments collected from 5- to 30-cm depth below the lake bottom, at a location where groundwater discharges to the lake. Sediment cores were collected June 25, 2014 from the West site (Fishermans Cove) in Ashumet Pond, Cape Cod, MA then shipped to Boulder, CO for laSurface Water and Porewater Chemistry of Cell 3A, Prado Wetlands, Riverside, CA, USA (2018)
The data presented here was collected at Prado Wetlands in Riverside County, CA, USA. Physical water column parameters were collected using a multprobe sonde and includes date and time of sample collection, location (inlet, outlet), temperature (degrees Celsius), pH, specific conductivity (mircoSiemens per centimeter), and dissolved oxygen (milligrams per liter). An ISCO autosampler was utilized tNitrogen biogeochemistry in a boreal headwater stream network in Interior Alaska, 2008 to 2011
High latitude, boreal watersheds are nitrogen-limited ecosystems that export large amounts of organic carbon. Key controls on carbon cycling in these environments are the biogeochemical processes affecting the nitrogen cycle. This data release presents results of a 3-year field study from 2008-2011 to document the relation between seasonal and transport-associated changes in carbon and nitrogenSeasonal and spatial variation in the location and reactivity of a nitrate-contaminated groundwater discharge zone in a lakebed
The U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program at Cape Cod has been investigating the fate and transport of a treated-wastewater, groundwater contaminant plume. A portion of the contaminated groundwater discharges into Ashumet Pond, a kettle hole, freshwater lake. A study was conducted from June 2013 to June 2015 to document transport, transformation, and discharge of dissolved inorNatural gradient, lakebed tracer tests using nitrite in a nitrate-contaminated groundwater discharge zone in Ashumet Pond, Massachusetts
The U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program at Cape Cod has been investigating the fate and transport of a treated-wastewater, groundwater contaminant plume. A portion of the contaminated groundwater discharges into Ashumet Pond, a kettle hole, freshwater lake. A study was conducted from June 2013 to June 2015 to document transport, transformation, and discharge of dissolved inorWater and Sediment Geochemistry Data from the Vicinity of Yellow Pine, Idaho, 2014-2015
Samples were collected at or near baseflow conditions. Water pH and specific conductance were measured in the field, with specific conductance also measured in the laboratory and calculated based on the ionic strength of samples based on laboratory analyses. Water samples were collected for laboratory analyses using a peristaltic pump with silicon tubing. Samples were filtered through a reusabl - Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 20
Elevated nitrogen deposition to fire-prone forests adjacent to urban and agricultural areas, Colorado front range, USA
As humans increasingly dominate the nitrogen cycle, deposition of reactive nitrogen (Nr) will continue to have adverse consequences for ecosystems. In the Rocky Mountains, Nr deposition remains elevated and has become increasingly dominated by ammonium, despite efforts to reduce emissions. Currently, spatial models of Nr deposition do not fully account for urban and agricultural emissions, sourcesEvidence for interannual persistence of infectious influenza A viruses in Alaska wetlands
Influenza A viruses (IAVs) deposited by wild birds into the environment may lead to sporadic mortality events and economically costly outbreaks among domestic birds. There is a paucity of information, however, regarding the persistence of infectious IAVs within the environment following deposition. In this investigation, we assessed the persistence of 12 IAVs that were present in the cloaca and/orNitrogen biogeochemistry in a boreal headwater stream network in interior Alaska
High latitude, boreal watersheds are nitrogen (N)-limited ecosystems that export large amounts of organic carbon (C). Key controls on C cycling in these environments are the biogeochemical processes affecting the N cycle. A study was conducted in Nome Creek, an upland headwater tributary of the Yukon River, and two first-order tributaries to Nome Creek, to examine the relation between seasonalAtmospheric dust deposition varies by season and elevation in the Colorado Front Range, USA
As atmospheric dust deposition continues to increase across the southwestern United States, it has the potential to alter ecosystem productivity and structure by delivering nutrients, base cations, and pollutants to remote mountain sites. Due to the sparse distribution of dust monitoring sites, open questions remain about the spatial and temporal variability of dust fluxes and composition across mReactive transport modeling to understand attenuation of arsenic concentrations in anoxic groundwater during Fe(II) oxidation by nitrate
A previously published field-experimental investigation showed that injection of nitrate in anoxic groundwater that contained aqueous and sediment-bound Fe(II) diminished concentrations of As(V) and As(III) to below drinking-water limits. In the current study, reactive transport modeling confirmed that the observed attenuation was consistent with oxidation of Fe(II) by nitrate, leading to precipitSeasonal and spatial variation in the location and reactivity of a nitrate-contaminated groundwater discharge zone in a lakebed
Groundwater discharge delivering anthropogenic N from surrounding watersheds can impact lake nutrient budgets. However, upgradient groundwater processes and changing dynamics in N biogeochemistry at the groundwater-lake interface are complex and difficult to resolve. In this study, hydrograph variations in a groundwater flow-through lake altered discharge patterns of a wastewater-derived, grounAnoxic nitrate reduction coupled with iron oxidation and attenuation of dissolved arsenic and phosphate in a sand and gravel aquifer
Nitrate has become an increasingly abundant potential electron acceptor for Fe(II) oxidation in groundwater, but this redox couple has not been well characterized within aquifer settings. To investigate this reaction and some of its implications for redox-sensitive groundwater contaminants, we conducted an in situ field study in a wastewater-contaminated aquifer on Cape Cod. Long-term (15 year) geHydrologic controls on nitrogen cycling processes and functional gene abundance in sediments of a groundwater flow-through lake
The fate and transport of inorganic nitrogen (N) is a critically important issue for human and aquatic ecosystem health because discharging N-contaminated groundwater can foul drinking water and cause algal blooms. Factors controlling N-processing were examined in sediments at three sites with contrasting hydrologic regimes at a lake on Cape Cod, MA. These factors included water chemistry, seepageNitrogen cycling processes and microbial community composition in bed sediments in the Yukon River at Pilot Station
Information on the contribution of nitrogen (N)-cycling processes in bed sediments to river nutrient fluxes in large northern latitude river systems is limited. This study examined the relationship between N-cycling processes in bed sediments and N speciation and loading in the Yukon River near its mouth at the Bering Sea. We conducted laboratory bioassays to measure N-cycling processes in sedimenCarbon and geochemical properties of cryosols on the North Slope of Alaska
Cryosols contain roughly 1700 Gt of Soil organic carbon (SOC) roughly double the carbon content of the atmosphere. As global temperature rises and permafrost thaws, this carbon reservoir becomes vulnerable to microbial decomposition, resulting in greenhouse gas emissions that will amplify anthropogenic warming. Improving our understanding of carbon dynamics in thawing permafrost requires more datLong-term groundwater contamination after source removal—The role of sorbed carbon and nitrogen on the rate of reoxygenation of a treated-wastewater plume on Cape Cod, MA, USA
The consequences of groundwater contamination can remain long after a contaminant source has been removed. Documentation of natural aquifer recoveries and empirical tools to predict recovery time frames and associated geochemical changes are generally lacking. This study characterized the long-term natural attenuation of a groundwater contaminant plume in a sand and gravel aquifer on Cape Cod, MasPotential For Denitrification near Reclaimed Water Application Sites in Orange County, Florida, 2009
The potential for denitrification was tested in water samples from four Upper Floridan aquifer wells near a reclaimed water application site, in west Orange County Florida, and two adjacent springs. Results of the study indicate that denitrifying bacteria are present in the groundwater and spring water samples, and that these bacteria can readily denitrify the waters when suitable geochemical cond