Dr. Emily K. Read is the Chief of Web Communications for the United States Geological Survey Water Resources Mission Area.
As Web Communications Branch Chief, Emily is responsible for the digital delivery of water data and information in accessible, discoverable, and interoperable formats. Emily oversees the digital marketing and promotion of USGS Water science and educational resources. Emily earned a B.S. from the University of Arizona, a M.S. from Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Wisconsin- Madison. After completing her dissertation, Emily was a postdoctoral associate at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY, and a Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY. At the U.S. Geological Survey, Emily is active in national-scale research on water quality, interactive data visualizations for water, and the promotion of interdisciplinarity for addressing water resources issues. Emily previously served as Science Advisor for the U.S. Geological Survey Office of Water Information. Emily lives in Madison, WI with her family.
Science and Products
NEON Workshop: Operationalizing Ecological Forecasts
The usability gap in water resources open data and actionable science initiatives
The water cycle
Teams, networks, and networks of networks advancing our understanding and conservation of inland waters
USGS-Water Resources Mission Area progress toward an internet of water
Iterative near-term ecological forecasting: Needs, opportunities, and challenges
Water quality data for national-scale aquatic research: The Water Quality Portal
Generating community-built tools for data sharing and analysis in environmental networks
Consequences of gas flux model choice on the interpretation of metabolic balance across 15 lakes
An analysis of water data systems to inform the Open Water Data Initiative
Building the team for team science
Iterative ecological forecasting: Needs, opportunities, and challenges
geoknife: Reproducible web-processing of large gridded datasets
Non-USGS Publications**
**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
- Science
NEON Workshop: Operationalizing Ecological Forecasts
Ecosystems are changing worldwide and critical decisions that affect ecosystem health and sustainability are being made every day. As ecologists, we have a responsibility to ensure that these decisions are made with access to the best available science. However, to bring this idea into practice, ecology needs to make a substantial leap forward towards becoming a more predictive science. Furthermor - Multimedia
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Filter Total Items: 15
The usability gap in water resources open data and actionable science initiatives
The open data movement represents a major advancement for informed water management. Data that are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable—or FAIR—are now prerequisite to responsible data stewardship. In contrast to FAIR, accessibility and usability case studies and guidelines designed around human access and understanding are lacking in the literature, especially for water resources. SuAuthorsMA Kenney, MD Gerst, Emily K. ReadThe water cycle
An illustrated diagram of the water cycle. This is a modern, updated version of the widely used diagram featured on the USGS Water Science School. Notably, this new water cycle diagram depicts humans and major categories of human water use as key components of the water cycle, in addition to the key pools and fluxes of the hydrologic cycle. This product targets an 8th grade audience and is designeAuthorsHayley R. Corson-Dosch, Cee S. Nell, Rachel E. Volentine, Althea A. Archer, Ellen Bechtel, Jennifer L. Bruce, Nicole Felts, Tara A. Gross, Dianne Lopez-Trujillo, Charlotte E. Riggs, Emily K. ReadTeams, networks, and networks of networks advancing our understanding and conservation of inland waters
Networks are defined as groups of interconnected people and things, and by this definition, networks play a major role in the science of inland waters. In this article, we bring the latest social network research to understand and improve inland waters science and conservation outcomes. What we found is that relationships matter. Different teams and networks have different objectives and lifespanAuthorsEmily K. Read, Jennifer Cross, Nicole M. Herman-Mercer, Samantha K. Oliver, Catherine M. O'ReillyUSGS-Water Resources Mission Area progress toward an internet of water
No abstract available.AuthorsDavid L. Blodgett, Emily K. ReadIterative near-term ecological forecasting: Needs, opportunities, and challenges
Two foundational questions about sustainability are “How are ecosystems and the services they provide going to change in the future?” and “How do human decisions affect these trajectories?” Answering these questions requires an ability to forecast ecological processes. Unfortunately, most ecological forecasts focus on centennial-scale climate responses, therefore neither meeting the needs of near-AuthorsMike Dietze, Andrew Fox, Lindsay Beck-Johnson, Julio L. Betancourt, Mevin Hooten, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Timothy H. Keitt, Melissa A. Kenney, Christine M. Laney, Laurel G. Larsen, Henry W. Loescher, Claire K. Lunch, Bryan Pijanowski, James T. Randerson, Emily K. Read, Andrew T. Tredennick, Rodrigo Vargas, Kathleen C. Weathers, Ethan P. WhiteWater quality data for national-scale aquatic research: The Water Quality Portal
Aquatic systems are critical to food, security, and society. But, water data are collected by hundreds of research groups and organizations, many of which use nonstandard or inconsistent data descriptions and dissemination, and disparities across different types of water observation systems represent a major challenge for freshwater research. To address this issue, the Water Quality Portal (WQP) wAuthorsEmily K. Read, Lindsay Carr, Laura A. DeCicco, Hilary Dugan, Paul C. Hanson, Julia A. Hart, James Kreft, Jordan S. Read, Luke WinslowGenerating community-built tools for data sharing and analysis in environmental networks
Rapid data growth in many environmental sectors has necessitated tools to manage and analyze these data. The development of tools often lags behind the proliferation of data, however, which may slow exploratory opportunities and scientific progress. The Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) collaborative model supports an efficient and comprehensive data–analysis–insight life cycle, iAuthorsJordan S. Read, Corinna Gries, Emily K. Read, Jennifer Klug, Paul C. Hanson, Matthew R. Hipsey, Eleanor Jennings, Catherine O'Reilley, Luke A. Winslow, Don Pierson, Christopher G. McBride, David HamiltonConsequences of gas flux model choice on the interpretation of metabolic balance across 15 lakes
Ecosystem metabolism and the contribution of carbon dioxide from lakes to the atmosphere can be estimated from free-water gas measurements through the use of mass balance models, which rely on a gas transfer coefficient (k) to model gas exchange with the atmosphere. Theoretical and empirically based models of krange in complexity from wind-driven power functions to complex surface renewal models;AuthorsHilary Dugan, R. Iestyn Woolway, Arianto Santoso, Jessica Corman, Aline Jaimes, Emily Nodine, Vijay P. Patil, Jacob A. Zwart, Jennifer A. Brentrup, Amy Hetherington, Samantha K. Oliver, Jordan S. Read, Kirsten Winter, Paul Hanson, Emily K. Read, Luke Winslow, Kathleen WeathersAn analysis of water data systems to inform the Open Water Data Initiative
Improving access to data and fostering open exchange of water information is foundational to solving water resources issues. In this vein, the Department of the Interior's Assistant Secretary for Water and Science put forward the charge to undertake an Open Water Data Initiative (OWDI) that would prioritize and accelerate work toward better water data infrastructure. The goal of the OWDI is to buiAuthorsDavid L. Blodgett, Emily K. Read, Jessica M. Lucido, Tad Slawecki, Dwane YoungBuilding the team for team science
The ability to effectively exchange information and develop trusting, collaborative relationships across disciplinary boundaries is essential for 21st century scientists charged with solving complex and large-scale societal and environmental challenges, yet these communication skills are rarely taught. Here, we describe an adaptable training program designed to increase the capacity of scientistsAuthorsEmily K. Read, M. O'Rourke, G. S. Hong, P. C. Hanson, Luke A. Winslow, S. Crowley, C. A. Brewer, K. C. WeathersIterative ecological forecasting: Needs, opportunities, and challenges
A fundamental environmental challenge facing humanity in the 21st century and beyond is predicting the impacts of global environmental change. This challenge is complicated by the fact that we live on a non-stationary, unreplicated planet that is rapidly moving outside the envelope of natural variability into an historical non-analog world. In other words, while the past helps inform us about howAuthorsMike Dietze, Andrew Fox, Julio L. Betancourt, Mevin Hooten, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Tim H. Keitt, Melissa Kenney, Christine Laney, Laurel Larsen, Henry W. Loescher, Claire Lunch, Bryan Pijanowski, James T. Randerson, Emily K. Read, Andrew T. Tredennick, Kathleen Weathers, Ethan P. Whitegeoknife: Reproducible web-processing of large gridded datasets
Geoprocessing of large gridded data according to overlap with irregular landscape features is common to many large-scale ecological analyses. The geoknife R package was created to facilitate reproducible analyses of gridded datasets found on the U.S. Geological Survey Geo Data Portal web application or elsewhere, using a web-enabled workflow that eliminates the need to download and store large datAuthorsJordan S. Read, Jordan I. Walker, Alison P. Appling, David L. Blodgett, Emily K. Read, Luke A. WinslowNon-USGS Publications**
Read, EK, V Patil, S Oliver, A Hetherington, J Brentrup, J Zwart, K Winters, J Corman, E Nodine, IR Woolway, H Dugan, A Jaimes, A Santoso, G Hong, LA Winslow, PC Hanson, KC Weathers. 2015. The importance of lake-specific characteristics for water quality across the continental US. Ecological Applications, 25(4), 943-955. [Link]Cheruvelil KS, PA Soranno, KC Weathers, PC Hanson, SJ Goring, CT Filstrup, EK Read. 2014. Creating and maintaining high-performing collaborative research teams: the importance of diversity and interpersonal skills. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 12: 31-38. DOI: 10.1890/130001Read EK, M Ivancic, PC Hanson, B Cade-Menun, and KD McMahon. 2014. Phosphorus speciation in a eutrophic lake by 31P NMR spectroscopy. Water Research. DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2014.06.005McMahon KD and EK Read. 2013. Microbial contributions to phosphorus cycling in eutrophic lakes and wastewater. Annual Reviews: Microbiology. 67:199-219. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-micro-092412-155713Kara, EL, C. Heimerl, T. Killpack, M. Van de Bogert, H. Yoshida, and S. R. Carpenter. 2012. Assessing a decade of phosphorus management in the Lake Mendota, Wisconsin watershed and scenarios for enhanced phosphorus management. Aquatic Sciences 74(2):241-253. DOI: 10.1007/s00027-011-0215-6Carey CC, PC Hanson, DA Bruesewitz, GW Holtgrieve, EL Kara, KC Rose, RL Smyth, KC Weathers. 2012. Organized Oral Session 43: Novel Applications of High-Frequency Sensor Data in Aquatic Ecosystems: Discoveries from GLEON, the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 93, 100-105. DOI: 10.1890/0012-9623-93.1.100Kara EL, PC Hanson, DP Hamilton, M Hipsey, KD McMahon, JS Read, LA Winslow, J Dedrick, KC Rose, CC Carey, S Bertilsson, D Motta-Marques, L Beversdorf, T Miller, CH Wu, YF Hsieh, E Gaiser, TK Kratz. 2012. Time-scale dependence in numerical simulations: Assessment of physical, chemical, and biological predictions in a stratified lake from scales of hours to months. Environmental Modelling and Software. 35: 104-121Kara EL, LA Winslow, YH Hu, PC Hanson, and KD McMahon. 2012. A decade of seasonal dynamics and co-occurrences within freshwater bacterioplankton communities from Lake Mendota, WI, USA. ISME Journal 7(3): 680-684. DOI:10.1038/ismej.2012.118Kara, EL. 2012. "Eutrophication processes and microbial ecology of Lake Mendota, Wisconsin." PhD Dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dissertation Abstracts International 74.02.Hanson PC, DP Hamilton, EH Stanley, N Preston, O Langman, EL Kara. 2011. Nature of the Load Versus Nature of the Lake in Determining the Fate of Allochthonous Dissolved Organic Carbon. PLoS ONE 6(7): e21884. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0021884Kara EL and A Shade. 2009. Temporal dynamics of South End tidal creek bacterial communities, Sapelo Island, Georgia. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 75:1058-1064Shade A, CC Carey, EL Kara, S Bertilsson, KD McMahon, and M Smith. 2009. Can the black box be cracked? The augmentation of microbial ecology with high-resolution, automated sensing technologies. ISME Journal. 3:881-888Kara EL. 2006. Funneling: A Threat to Indiana’s Lakes. Water Column, Vol.18 No.1: 1-2**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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