Douglas A Burns
Doug is a Research Hydrologist currently working as the Coordinator of the Delaware River Basin Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS).
Doug holds an M.S. in Environmental Sciences from the Univ. of Virginia, and a Ph.D. in Water Resources Management from the State Univ. of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry. His disciplinary background is primarily in biogeochemistry and hydrology with a focus on understanding the processes that control the cycling of chemical elements through watersheds and ecosystems. An emphasis on the cycling of atmopsheric pollutants and their environmental effects is noteworthy. He has worked as a Research Hydrologist in the New York Water Science Center since 1987 on studies that include the effects of acid rain on ecosystems, the cycling of nitrogen in watersheds, and environmental mercury cycling. His investigations have also included the environmental effects of landscape disturbance such as suburban land use, climate change, and forest harvesting. A recent interest is studying the effects of ongoing and future climate change on streamflow, with an emphasis on high flows. He works collaboratively, often with several investigators from the USGS, and other agencies and universities. Study approaches applied include monitoring of water and soil chemistry, quantifying the rates of key cycling processes, experimental manipulations of landscapes, use of natural and applied isotope tracers, and statistical and process-level models. He is also active in professional societies, has organized conferences at regional, national, and international levels, and has served in leadership roles in many organizations and agencies. Other activities include chairing a proposal evaluation panel for a federal agency, working at the science-policy interface by serving as Director of the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program, and serving on an EPA Clean Air Act Advisory Panel, as well as serving on program evaluation and advisory panels for several agencies and science organizations.
more about Douglas A Burns
Science and Products
Analysis of δ15N and δ18O to differentiate NO3− sources in runoff at two watersheds in the Catskill Mountains of New York
The effects of atmospheric nitrogen deposition in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and southern Wyoming— A synthesis and critical assessment of published results
Controls of stream chemistry and fish populations in the Neversink watershed, Catskill Mountains, New York
Quantifying contributions to storm runoff through end-member mixing analysis and hydrologic measurements at the Panola Mountain research watershed (Georgia, USA)
Catchment-scale variation in the nitrate concentrations of groundwater seeps in the Catskill Mountains, New York, U.S.A.
Topographic controls on the chemistry of subsurface stormflow
Soil calcium status and the response of stream chemistry to changing acidic deposition rates
The role of event water, a rapid shallow flow component, and catchment size in summer stormflow
Riparian control of stream-water chemistry: Implications for hydrochemical basin models
Relation of climate change to the acidification of surface waters by nitrogen deposition
Effect of groundwater springs on NO3− concentrations during summer in Catskill Mountain streams
Base cation concentrations in subsurface flow from a forested hillslope: The role of flushing frequency
Non-USGS Publications**
66. Burns, D.A., Lawrence, G.B., and Murdoch, P.S., 1998, Catskill streams still susceptible to acid rain, Northeastern Geology and Environmental Sciences, 20: 294-298.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Analysis of δ15N and δ18O to differentiate NO3− sources in runoff at two watersheds in the Catskill Mountains of New York
The effects of atmospheric nitrogen deposition in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and southern Wyoming— A synthesis and critical assessment of published results
Controls of stream chemistry and fish populations in the Neversink watershed, Catskill Mountains, New York
Quantifying contributions to storm runoff through end-member mixing analysis and hydrologic measurements at the Panola Mountain research watershed (Georgia, USA)
Catchment-scale variation in the nitrate concentrations of groundwater seeps in the Catskill Mountains, New York, U.S.A.
Topographic controls on the chemistry of subsurface stormflow
Soil calcium status and the response of stream chemistry to changing acidic deposition rates
The role of event water, a rapid shallow flow component, and catchment size in summer stormflow
Riparian control of stream-water chemistry: Implications for hydrochemical basin models
Relation of climate change to the acidification of surface waters by nitrogen deposition
Effect of groundwater springs on NO3− concentrations during summer in Catskill Mountain streams
Base cation concentrations in subsurface flow from a forested hillslope: The role of flushing frequency
Non-USGS Publications**
66. Burns, D.A., Lawrence, G.B., and Murdoch, P.S., 1998, Catskill streams still susceptible to acid rain, Northeastern Geology and Environmental Sciences, 20: 294-298.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.