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
Acid rain and its environmental effects: Recent scientific advances
Regional meteorological drivers and long term trends of winter-spring nitrate dynamics across watersheds in northeastern North America
Approaches to stream solute load estimation for solutes with varying dynamics from five diverse small watershed
A new look at liming as an approach to accelerate recovery from acidic deposition effects
Hydraulic and biochemical gradients limit wetland mercury supply to an Adirondack stream
Mercury in fish and macroinvertebrates from New York's streams and rivers: A compendium of data sources
Development of flood regressions and climate change scenarios to explore estimates of future peak flows
Quantifying watershed-scale groundwater loading and in-stream fate of nitrate using high-frequency water quality data
Critical loads of atmospheric deposition to Adirondack lake watersheds: A guide for policymakers
Effects of harvesting forest biomass on water and climate regulation services: A synthesis of long-term ecosystem experiments in eastern North America
Estimates of natural streamflow at two streamgages on the Esopus Creek, New York, water years 1932 to 2012
The river as a chemostat: fresh perspectives on dissolved organic matter flowing down the river continuum
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.
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Acid rain and its environmental effects: Recent scientific advances
The term ‘acid rain’ refers to atmospheric deposition of acidic constituents that impact the earth as rain, snow, particulates, gases, and vapor. Acid rain was first recognized by Ducros (1845) and subsequently described by the English chemist Robert Angus Smith (Smith, 1852) whose pioneering studies linked the sources to industrial emissions and included early observations of deleterious environmAuthorsDouglas A. Burns, Julian Aherne, David A. Gay, Christopher M.B. LehmannRegional meteorological drivers and long term trends of winter-spring nitrate dynamics across watersheds in northeastern North America
This study evaluated the contribution of winter rain-on-snow (ROS) events to annual and seasonal nitrate (N-NO3) export and identified the regional meteorological drivers of inter-annual variability in ROS N-NO3 export (ROS-N) at 9 headwater streams located across Ontario, Canada and the northeastern United States. Although on average only 3.3 % of annual precipitation fell as ROS during winter ovAuthorsJill Crossman, M Catherine Eimers, Nora J. Casson, Douglas A. Burns, John L. Campbell, Gene E Likens, Myron J Mitchell, Sarah J. Nelson, James B. Shanley, Shaun A. Watmough, Kara L WebsterApproaches to stream solute load estimation for solutes with varying dynamics from five diverse small watershed
Estimating streamwater solute loads is a central objective of many water-quality monitoring and research studies, as loads are used to compare with atmospheric inputs, to infer biogeochemical processes, and to assess whether water quality is improving or degrading. In this study, we evaluate loads and associated errors to determine the best load estimation technique among three methods (a period-wAuthorsBrent T. Aulenbach, Douglas A. Burns, James B. Shanley, Ruth D. Yanai, Kikang Bae, Adam Wild, Yang Yang, Dong YiA new look at liming as an approach to accelerate recovery from acidic deposition effects
Acidic deposition caused by fossil fuel combustion has degraded aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in North America for over four decades. The only management option other than emissions reductions for combating the effects of acidic deposition has been the application of lime to neutralize acidity after it has been deposited on the landscape. For this reason, liming has been a part of acid rain sAuthorsGregory B. Lawrence, Douglas A. Burns, Karen Riva-MurrayHydraulic and biochemical gradients limit wetland mercury supply to an Adirondack stream
Net fluxes (change between upstream and downstream margins) for water, methylmercury (MeHg), total mercury (THg), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and chloride (Cl) were assessed twice in an Adirondack stream reach (Sixmile Brook, USA), to test the hypothesized importance of wetland-stream hydraulic and chemical gradients as fundamental controls on fluvial mercury (Hg) supply. The 500 m study reachAuthorsPaul M. Bradley, Douglas A. Burns, Judson Harvey, Celeste A. Journey, Mark E. Brigham, Karen Riva-MurrayMercury in fish and macroinvertebrates from New York's streams and rivers: A compendium of data sources
The U.S. Geological Survey has compiled a list of existing data sets, from selected sources, containing mercury (Hg) concentration data in fish and macroinvertebrate samples that were collected from flowing waters of New York State from 1970 through 2014. Data sets selected for inclusion in this report were limited to those that contain fish and (or) macroinvertebrate data that were collected acroAuthorsKaren Riva-Murray, Douglas A. BurnsDevelopment of flood regressions and climate change scenarios to explore estimates of future peak flows
A new Web-based application, titled “Application of Flood Regressions and Climate Change Scenarios To Explore Estimates of Future Peak Flows”, has been developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New York State Department of Transportation, that allows a user to apply a set of regression equations to estimate the magnitude of future floods for any stream or river in New York SAuthorsDouglas A. Burns, Martyn J. Smith, Douglas A. FreehaferQuantifying watershed-scale groundwater loading and in-stream fate of nitrate using high-frequency water quality data
We describe a new approach that couples hydrograph separation with high-frequency nitrate data to quantify time-variable groundwater and runoff loading of nitrate to streams, and the net in-stream fate of nitrate at the watershed-scale. The approach was applied at three sites spanning gradients in watershed size and land use in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Results indicate that 58-73% of the annuAuthorsMatthew P. Miller, Anthony J. Tesoriero, Paul D. Capel, Brian A. Pellerin, Kenneth E. Hyer, Douglas A. BurnsByWater Resources Mission Area, National Water Quality Program, California Water Science Center, Chesapeake Bay Activities, New York Water Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center, Utah Water Science Center, Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science CenterCritical loads of atmospheric deposition to Adirondack lake watersheds: A guide for policymakers
Acid deposition is sometimes referred to as “acid rain,” although part of the acid load reaches the surface by means other than rainfall. In the eastern U.S., acid deposition consists of several forms of sulfur and nitrogen that largely originate as emissions to the atmosphere from sources such as electricity-generating facilities (coal, oil, and natural gas), diesel- and gasoline-burning vehiclesAuthorsDouglas A. Burns, Timothy J. SullivanEffects of harvesting forest biomass on water and climate regulation services: A synthesis of long-term ecosystem experiments in eastern North America
Demand for woody biomass fuels is increasing amidst concerns about global energy security and climate change, but there may be negative implications of increased harvesting for forest ecosystem functions and their benefits to society (ecosystem services). Using new methods for assessing ecosystem services based on long-term experimental research, post-harvest changes in ten potential benefits wereAuthorsJesse Caputo, Colin D Beier, Peter M Groffman, Douglas A. Burns, Frederick D Beall, Paul W. Hazlett, Thad E YorksEstimates of natural streamflow at two streamgages on the Esopus Creek, New York, water years 1932 to 2012
Streamflow in the Esopus Creek watershed is altered by two major watershed management activities carried out by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection as part of its responsibility to maintain a water supply for New York City: (1) diversion of water from the Schoharie Creek watershed to the Esopus Creek through the Shandaken Tunnel, and (2) impoundment of the Esopus Creek by a daAuthorsDouglas A. Burns, Christopher L. GazoorianThe river as a chemostat: fresh perspectives on dissolved organic matter flowing down the river continuum
A better understanding is needed of how hydrological and biogeochemical processes control dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations and dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition from headwaters downstream to large rivers. We examined a large DOM dataset from the National Water Information System of the US Geological Survey, which represents approximately 100 000 measurements of DOC concentratAuthorsIrena F. Creed, Diane M. McKnight, Brian Pellerin, Mark B. Green, Brian A. Bergamaschi, George R. Aiken, Douglas A. Burns, Stuart E G Findlay, James B. Shanley, Robert G. Striegl, Brent T. Aulenbach, David W. Clow, Hjalmar Laudon, Brian L. McGlynn, Kevin J. McGuire, Richard A. Smith, Sarah M. StackpooleNon-USGS Publications**
Harpold, A.A., Burns, D.A., Walter, T., Shaw, S.B., and Steenhuis, T.S., 2010, Relating hydrogeomorphologic properties to stream buffering chemistry in the Neversink River Watershed, New York State, USA, Hydrological Processes, 24: 3759-3771.Vidon, P., Allan, C., Burns, D., Duval, T., Gurwick, N., Inamdar, S., Lowrance, R., Okay, J., Scott, D., Sebestyen, S., 2010, Hot spots and hot moments in riparian zones: Potential for improved water quality management, Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 46: 278-298.Kerr, J.G., Eimers, M.C., Creed, I.F., Adams, M.B., Beall, F., Burns, D., Campbell, J.L., Christopher, S.F., Clair, T.A., Couchesne, F., Duchense, L., Fernandez, I., Houle, D., Jeffries, D.S., Likens, G.E., Mitchell, M.J., Shanley, J., Yao, H., 2012, The effect of seasonal drying on sulphate dynamics in streams across southeastern Canada and the northeastern USA, Biogeochemistry, 111: 393-409.Burns, D.A., Blett, T., Haeuber, R., Pardo, L., 2008, Critical loads as a policy tool for protecting ecosystems from the effects of air pollutants, Frontiers of Ecology and the Environment, 6: 156-159.Elliott, E.M., Kendall, C., Boyer, E.W., Burns, D.A., Wankel, S.D., Bain, D.J., Harlin, K., Butler, T.J., Carlton, R., 2007, An isotopic tracer of stationary source NOx emissions across the midwestern and northeastern United States, Environmental Science and Technology, 41: 7661-7667.Burns, D.A., Plummer, L.N., McDonnell, J.J., Busenberg, E., Casile, G.C., Kendall, C., Hooper, R.P., Freer, J.E., Peters, N.E., Beven, K., and Schlosser, P., 2003, The geochemical evolution of groundwater in a forested Piedmont catchment, Ground Water, 41: 913-925.Burns, D.A., and Nguyen, L., 2002, Nitrate movement and removal along a shallow groundwater flow path in a riparian wetland within a sheep-grazed pastoral catchment: results of a tracer study, New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 36: 371-385.Vitvar, T., Burns, D.A., Lawrence, G.B., McDonnell, J.J., and Wolock, D.M., 2002, Estimation of groundwater residence times in watersheds from the recession of the runoff-hydrograph: method and application in the Neversink watershed, Catskill Mountains, New York, Hydrological Processes, 16: 1871-1877.Burns, D.A., Lawrence, G.B., and Murdoch, P.S., 1998, Catskill streams still susceptible to acid rain, Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 79: 197, 200-201.
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.Driscoll, C.T., Cirmo, C.P., Fahey, T.J., Blette, V.L., Bukaveckas, P.A., Burns, D.A., Gubala, C.P., Leopold, D.J., Newton, R.M., Raynal, D.J., Schofield, C.L., Yavitt, J.B., and Porcella, D.B., 1996, The experimental watershed liming study: Comparison of lake and watershed neutralization strategies, Biogeochemistry, 32: 143-174.McDonnell, J.J., Freer, J., Hooper, R., Kendall, C., Burns, D., Beven, K., and Peters, J., 1996, New method developed for studying flow on hillslopes, Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 77: 465 and 472.Clair, T.C., Burns, D.A., Perez, I.R., Blais, J., and Percy, K., 2011, Ecosystems, in: Technical Challenges of Multipollutant Air Quality Management, Hidy, G., Brook, J.R., Demerjian, K.L., Molina, L.T., Pennell, W.T., and Scheffe, R. (eds.), Springer, Dordrecht, Netherlands, Ch. 6, p. 139-229.Nguyen, L., Rutherford, K., and Burns, D., 1999, Denitrification and nitrate removal in two contrasting riparian wetlands, in: Proceedings of the 20th New Zealand Land Treatment Collective Technical Session, M. Tomer, M Robinson, and G Gielen (eds.), New Plymouth, New Zealand, p. 127-131.Kendall, C., Silva, S.R., Chang, C.C.Y., Burns, D.A.., Campbell, D.H., and Shanley, J.B., 1996, Use of the d18O and d15N of nitrate to determine sources of nitrate in early spring runoff in forested catchments, in: Isotopes in Water Resources Management, Proceedings of the Symposium on Isotopes in Water Resources Management, March 20-24, 1995, Volume 1, IAEA-SM-336/29, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria, p. 167-176.Kendall, C., Campbell, D.H., Burns, D.A., Shanley, J.B., Silva, S.R., Chang, C.C.Y., 1995, Tracing sources of nitrate in snowmelt runoff using the oxygen and nitrogen isotopic compositions of nitrate, in: Biogeochemistry of Seasonally Snow-Covered Catchments, K.A. Tonnessen, M.W. Williams, M. Trantner, M. (eds.), International Association of Hydrological Sciences Proceedings, July 3-14, 1995, Boulder, CO, I.A.H.S. Publication 228, Wallingford, U.K., p. 339-347.Hendrey, G.R., Galloway, J.N., Norton, S.A., Schofield, C.L., Burns, D.A., and Shaffer, P.W., 1980, Sensitivity of the eastern United States to acid precipitation impacts on surface waters, in: Drablos, D., and Tollan, A. (eds.), Ecological Impact of Acid Precipitation, SNSF Proceedings, Oslo, p. 216-217.Allen, G., Burns, D.A., Negra, C., and Thurston, G.D., 2009, Indicator measurements for assessing the impacts of anthropogenic air pollutants on human health and ecosystems, EM: The Magazine for Environmental Managers, Oct. 2009, p. 20-25, Air and Waste Management Association, Pittsburgh, PA.Burns, D.A., 2005, What do hydrologists mean when they use the term flushing? Hydrological Processes, 19: 1325-1327.**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.