Elena Nilsen
Elena Nilsen is a research chemist in the USGS Oregon Water Science Center
Elena Nilsen is a Research Chemist and Team Lead at the U.S. Geological Survey Oregon Water Science Center in Portland, OR. She studies contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) and other threats to aquatic foodwebs in rivers, estuaries, and coastal ocean habitats. Elena has worked extensively on methods development and refinement in collaboration with the USGS National Water Quality Laboratory. She completed a Bachelor of Science degree in biology at UC San Diego and a Doctorate in marine geochemistry at UC Santa Cruz. She started with the USGS as a Mendenhall Post-doctoral Fellow with the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in the San Francisco Bay Area studying impacts of contamination on estuarine ecology and geochemistry. She has been with the Oregon Water Science Center since 2007.
Research Interests
Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs); sediment and tissue chemistry; endocrine disruption; contaminant impacts on First Food species, e.g., Pacific lamprey, white sturgeon, salmonids, shellfish; primary productivity, foodweb dynamics; biomarkers; synergistic effects; ocean acidification, ocean anoxia, and climate change
Professional Experience
Research Chemist, U.S. Geological Survey, 2006 – present
Mendenhall Postdoctoral Research Fellow, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA 2004–2006
Graduate Student Research Assistant, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 1999–2004
Biology Research Assistant, private biotechnology industry, Silicon Valley, CA 1996–1999
Education and Certifications
University of California, San Diego, Biology, B.Sc., 1996
University of California, Santa Cruz, Ocean Sciences, Ph.D., 2004
U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Geology, Menlo Park, CA, Mendenhall Post-Doctoral Fellow in Organic Geochemistry, 2004–2006
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 19
Assessing reproductive and endocrine parameters in male largescale suckers (Catostomus macrocheilus) along a contaminant gradient in the lower Columbia River, USA
Persistent organochlorine pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p′-DDE), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are stable, bioaccumulative, and widely found in the environment, wildlife, and the human population. To explore the hypothesis that reproduction in male fish is associated with environmental exposures in the lower Columbia River (LC
Authors
Jill A. Jenkins, H.M. Olivier, R. O. Draugelis-Dale, B.E. Eilts, L. Torres, R. Patiño, Elena B. Nilsen, Steven L. Goodbred
Spatial and temporal trends in occurrence of emerging and legacy contaminants in the Lower Columbia River 2008-2010
The Lower Columbia River in Oregon and Washington, USA, is an important resource for aquatic and terrestrial organisms, agriculture, and commerce. An 86-mile stretch of the river was sampled over a 3 year period in order to determine the spatial and temporal trends in the occurrence and concentration of water-borne organic contaminants. Sampling occurred at 10 sites along this stretch and at 1 sit
Authors
David A. Alvarez, Stephanie D. Perkins, Elena B. Nilsen, Jennifer L. Morace
Foodweb transfer, sediment transport, and biological impacts of emerging and legacy organic contaminants in the lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, USA: Contaminants and Habitat (ConHab) Project
No abstract available
Authors
Elena B. Nilsen, Jennifer L. Morace
A survey of benthic sediment contaminants in reaches of the Columbia River Estuary based on channel sedimentation characteristics
While previous studies have documented contaminants in fish, sediments, water, and wildlife, few specifics are known about the spatial distribution of contaminants in the Columbia River Estuary (CRE). Our study goal was to characterize sediment contaminant detections and concentrations in reaches of the CRE that were concurrently being sampled to assess contaminants in water, invertebrates, fish,
Authors
Timothy D. Counihan, Ian R. Waite, Elena B. Nilsen, Jill M. Hardiman, Edwin Elias, Guy Gelfenbaum, Steven D. Zaugg
Reconnaissance of pharmaceuticals and wastewater indicators in streambed sediments of the lower Columbia River basin, Oregon and Washington
One by-product of advances in modern chemistry is the accumulation of synthetic chemicals in the natural environment. These compounds include contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), some of which are endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) that can have detrimental reproductive effects. The role of sediments in accumulating these types of chemicals and acting as a source of exposure for aquatic o
Authors
Elena Nilsen, Edward T. Furlong, Robert Rosenbauer
Contaminants of legacy and emerging concern in largescale suckers (Catostomus macrocheilus) and the foodweb in the lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, USA
We investigated occurrence, transport pathways, and effects of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants and other endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in aquatic media and the foodweb in the lower Columbia River. In 2009 and 2010, foodweb sampling at three sites along a gradient of contaminant exposure near Skamania (Washington), Columbia City (Oregon) and Longview (Washington) inclu
Authors
Elena B. Nilsen, Steven D. Zaugg, David A. Alvarez, Jennifer L. Morace, Ian R. Waite, Timothy D. Counihan, Jill M. Hardiman, Leticia Torres, Reynaldo Patiño, Matthew G. Mesa, Robert Grove
Water-quality monitoring for a pilot piling removal field evaluation, Coal Creek Slough, Washington, 2008-09
Significant Findings
Water and sediment quality monitoring was conducted before and after the removal of a piling field located in Coal Creek Slough near Longview, Washington. Passive chemical samplers and continuous water-quality monitoring instruments were deployed at the piling removal site, Coal Creek Slough Site 1 (CCS1), and at a comparison site, Coal Creek Slough Site 2 (CCS2), before (200
Authors
Elena B. Nilsen, David A. Alvarez
Non-USGS Publications**
Nilsen, E.B., and Delaney, M.L.:2005, Factors influencing the biogeochemistry of sedimentary carbon and phosphorus in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: Estuaries (2005) 28, p. 653. doi:10.1007/BF02732904
Nilsen, E. B., L. D. Anderson, and M. L. Delaney, 2003, Paleoproductivity, nutrient burial, climate change and the carbon cycle in the western equatorial Atlantic across the Eocene/Oligocene boundary: Paleoceanography, 18, 1057, doi:10.1029/2002PA000804, 3.
**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
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- Publications
Filter Total Items: 19
Assessing reproductive and endocrine parameters in male largescale suckers (Catostomus macrocheilus) along a contaminant gradient in the lower Columbia River, USA
Persistent organochlorine pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p′-DDE), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are stable, bioaccumulative, and widely found in the environment, wildlife, and the human population. To explore the hypothesis that reproduction in male fish is associated with environmental exposures in the lower Columbia River (LCAuthorsJill A. Jenkins, H.M. Olivier, R. O. Draugelis-Dale, B.E. Eilts, L. Torres, R. Patiño, Elena B. Nilsen, Steven L. GoodbredSpatial and temporal trends in occurrence of emerging and legacy contaminants in the Lower Columbia River 2008-2010
The Lower Columbia River in Oregon and Washington, USA, is an important resource for aquatic and terrestrial organisms, agriculture, and commerce. An 86-mile stretch of the river was sampled over a 3 year period in order to determine the spatial and temporal trends in the occurrence and concentration of water-borne organic contaminants. Sampling occurred at 10 sites along this stretch and at 1 sitAuthorsDavid A. Alvarez, Stephanie D. Perkins, Elena B. Nilsen, Jennifer L. MoraceFoodweb transfer, sediment transport, and biological impacts of emerging and legacy organic contaminants in the lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, USA: Contaminants and Habitat (ConHab) Project
No abstract availableAuthorsElena B. Nilsen, Jennifer L. MoraceA survey of benthic sediment contaminants in reaches of the Columbia River Estuary based on channel sedimentation characteristics
While previous studies have documented contaminants in fish, sediments, water, and wildlife, few specifics are known about the spatial distribution of contaminants in the Columbia River Estuary (CRE). Our study goal was to characterize sediment contaminant detections and concentrations in reaches of the CRE that were concurrently being sampled to assess contaminants in water, invertebrates, fish,AuthorsTimothy D. Counihan, Ian R. Waite, Elena B. Nilsen, Jill M. Hardiman, Edwin Elias, Guy Gelfenbaum, Steven D. ZauggReconnaissance of pharmaceuticals and wastewater indicators in streambed sediments of the lower Columbia River basin, Oregon and Washington
One by-product of advances in modern chemistry is the accumulation of synthetic chemicals in the natural environment. These compounds include contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), some of which are endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) that can have detrimental reproductive effects. The role of sediments in accumulating these types of chemicals and acting as a source of exposure for aquatic oAuthorsElena Nilsen, Edward T. Furlong, Robert RosenbauerContaminants of legacy and emerging concern in largescale suckers (Catostomus macrocheilus) and the foodweb in the lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, USA
We investigated occurrence, transport pathways, and effects of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants and other endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in aquatic media and the foodweb in the lower Columbia River. In 2009 and 2010, foodweb sampling at three sites along a gradient of contaminant exposure near Skamania (Washington), Columbia City (Oregon) and Longview (Washington) incluAuthorsElena B. Nilsen, Steven D. Zaugg, David A. Alvarez, Jennifer L. Morace, Ian R. Waite, Timothy D. Counihan, Jill M. Hardiman, Leticia Torres, Reynaldo Patiño, Matthew G. Mesa, Robert GroveWater-quality monitoring for a pilot piling removal field evaluation, Coal Creek Slough, Washington, 2008-09
Significant Findings Water and sediment quality monitoring was conducted before and after the removal of a piling field located in Coal Creek Slough near Longview, Washington. Passive chemical samplers and continuous water-quality monitoring instruments were deployed at the piling removal site, Coal Creek Slough Site 1 (CCS1), and at a comparison site, Coal Creek Slough Site 2 (CCS2), before (200AuthorsElena B. Nilsen, David A. AlvarezNon-USGS Publications**
Nilsen, E.B., and Delaney, M.L.:2005, Factors influencing the biogeochemistry of sedimentary carbon and phosphorus in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: Estuaries (2005) 28, p. 653. doi:10.1007/BF02732904Nilsen, E. B., L. D. Anderson, and M. L. Delaney, 2003, Paleoproductivity, nutrient burial, climate change and the carbon cycle in the western equatorial Atlantic across the Eocene/Oligocene boundary: Paleoceanography, 18, 1057, doi:10.1029/2002PA000804, 3.**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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