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Jennifer Morace

Jennifer Morace is a hydrologist at the USGS Oregon Water Science Center.

Jennifer Morace has been with USGS since 1991 and has worked for many of those years in different roles as part of the NAWQA (National Water Quality Assessment) Program. Many of her other projects have focused on assessing contaminants in surface waters of the Columbia River Basin to help inform efforts to improve water quality for all inhabitants of the ecosystem. Jennifer enjoys sharing the unbiased science that characterizes the USGS and strives to make the information accessible to everyone.  



 

 

Education and Certifications

  •  BS Chemistry with Math minor, Linfield College, 1993

  • MS Environmental Science & Engineering, Oregon Graduate Institute, 1996

Science and Products

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Osprey on nest

Columbia River Contaminants and Habitat Characterization Study

Fish, wildlife, and human populations along the lower Columbia River are exposed to an ever-growing variety of contaminants as a result of increasing urbanization, industrialization, and agricultural development.
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Oregon Water Science Center
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Columbia River Contaminants and Habitat Characterization Study

Fish, wildlife, and human populations along the lower Columbia River are exposed to an ever-growing variety of contaminants as a result of increasing urbanization, industrialization, and agricultural development.
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lamprey

Contaminants Affecting Pacific Lamprey in the Columbia River

Pacific Lampreys (Entosphenus tridentatus) have lived in the Columbia River Basin for millenia and have great ecological and cultural importance. Lamprey populations in the Pacific Northwest and other parts of the world have declined dramatically in recent decades, probably owing to multiple causes. The role of habitat contamination in the declines has rarely been studied and was the main...
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Oregon Water Science Center
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Contaminants Affecting Pacific Lamprey in the Columbia River

Pacific Lampreys (Entosphenus tridentatus) have lived in the Columbia River Basin for millenia and have great ecological and cultural importance. Lamprey populations in the Pacific Northwest and other parts of the world have declined dramatically in recent decades, probably owing to multiple causes. The role of habitat contamination in the declines has rarely been studied and was the main...
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Contaminants in larval, juvenile, and adult Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus), Oregon, 2017-2021

This data release contains analytical results of organohalogenated compounds and mercury in lamprey and sediment that were collected from rivers in Oregon and along the Pacific northwest coast from 2017 to 2021. In 2017, 20 lamprey were collected off the Washington and Oregon coasts by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. These ocean-caught juvenile lamprey were parasitizing target
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Oregon Water Science Center

Pesticides in Weekly Water Samples from the NAWQA California Regional Stream Quality Assessment (2017)

Dissolved pesticides were measured in weekly water samples from 85 wadeable streams in Central Coastal California over a variable six-week period during March-May, 2017, as part of the California Stream Quality Assessment (CSQA) study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Regional Stream-Quality Assessment (RSQA) Project. The 85 streams consisted of 40 urban sites (5-100percent urban la
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Oregon Water Science Center

Dissolved Pesticides in Weekly Water Samples from the NAWQA Regional Stream Quality Assessments (2013-2017)

Dissolved pesticides were measured in weekly water samples from 482 wadeable streams in five regions of the United States during 2013-2017, as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA). One study was conducted each year, starting with the Midwest (2013), followed by the Southeast Piedmont (2014), Pacific Northwest (2015), Northeast (2016), and Central Ca
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Oregon Water Science Center

Pesticides in Daily and Weekly Water Samples from the NAWQA Midwest and Southeast Stream Quality Assessments (2013-2014)

These datasets are one component of the multistressor studies conducted in Midwest streams in 2013 (MSQA) and in Southeast streams in 2014 (SESQA) by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment Project. High-frequency small-volume autosamplers were deployed at 7 sites each in MSQA and SESQA that collected daily and weekly composite water samples, which were analyzed for 225 pestic
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Oregon Water Science Center
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Organohalogenated contaminants in multiple life stages of the Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus), Oregon, USA

Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) are ecologically and culturally important anadromous animals native to the West Coast of the United States. Pacific lamprey populations are in decline, and contaminants may be a contributing factor. Between 2017 and 2021, three life stages of Pacific lamprey and collocated sediment samples were collected in Oregon (larval lamprey, sediment, and returning a
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Cassandra Smith, Sean E. Payne, Jennifer L. Morace, Elena Nilsen
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Water Resources Mission Area, Oregon Water Science Center

Prioritization framework for ranking riverine ecosystem stressors using example sites from the Tualatin River Basin, Oregon

As human populations increase, so does their influence over the environment. Altered terrain, degraded water quality, and threatened or endangered species are all-too-common consequences of a growing anthropogenic influence on the landscape. To help manage these effects, researchers have developed new ways to characterize current environmental conditions and help resource managers seek solutions t
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Steven Sobieszczyk, Krista L. Jones, Stewart A. Rounds, Elena B. Nilsen, Jennifer L. Morace
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Water Resources Mission Area, Oregon Water Science Center

Design and methods of the Pacific Northwest Stream Quality Assessment (PNSQA), 2015

In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) project conducted the Pacific Northwest Stream Quality Assessment (PNSQA) to investigate stream quality across the western part of the Pacific Northwest. The goal of the PNSQA was to assess the health of streams in the region by characterizing multiple water-quality factors that are stressors to in-stream aquatic
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Rich W. Sheibley, Jennifer L. Morace, Celeste A. Journey, Peter C. Van Metre, Amanda H. Bell, Naomi Nakagaki, Daniel T. Button, Sharon L. Qi
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Water Resources Mission Area, Washington Water Science Center

Year-round monitoring of contaminants in Neal and Rogers Creeks, Hood River Basin, Oregon, 2011-12, and assessment of risks to salmonids

Pesticide presence in streams is a potential threat to Endangered Species Act listed salmonids in the Hood River basin, Oregon, a primarily forested and agricultural basin. Two types of passive samplers, polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) and semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs), were simultaneously deployed at four sites in the basin during Mar. 2011–Mar. 2012 to measure the pr
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Whitney B. Temple, Jennifer L. Morace, Elena B. Nilsen, David Alvarez, Kevin Masterson
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Water Resources Mission Area, Oregon Water Science Center

The Pacific northwest stream quality assessment

In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program is assessing stream quality in the Pacific Northwest. The goals of the Pacific Northwest Stream Quality Assessment (Pacific Northwest study) are to assess the quality of streams in the region by characterizing multiple water-quality factors that are stressors to aquatic life and to evaluate the relation be
Authors
Peter C. Van Metre, Jennifer L. Morace, Rich W. Sheibley
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

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
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David A. Alvarez, Stephanie D. Perkins, Elena B. Nilsen, Jennifer L. Morace
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Columbia Environmental Research Center

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
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Water Resources Mission Area, Oregon Water Science Center

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
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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
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Oregon Water Science Center, Western Fisheries Research Center, Columbia River Research Laboratory (CRRL)

Reconnaissance of contaminants in selected wastewater-treatment-plant effluent and stormwater runoff entering the Columbia River, Columbia River Basin, Washington and Oregon, 2008-10

Toxic contamination is a significant concern in the Columbia River Basin in Washington and Oregon. To help water managers and policy makers in decision making about future sampling efforts and toxic-reduction activities, a reconnaissance was done to assess contaminant concentrations directly contributed to the Columbia River through wastewater-treatment-plant (WWTP) effluent and stormwater runoff
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Jennifer L. Morace
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Water Resources Mission Area, Oregon Water Science Center

Relation Between Selected Water-Quality Variables, Climatic Factors, and Lake Levels in Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes, Oregon, 1990-2006

Growth and decomposition of dense blooms of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae in Upper Klamath Lake frequently cause extreme water-quality conditions that have led to critical fishery concerns for the region, including the listing of two species of endemic suckers as endangered. The Bureau of Reclamation has asked the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to examine water-quality data collected by the Klamath Trib
Authors
Jennifer L. Morace
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Water Resources Mission Area, Oregon Water Science Center

Water-quality data, Columbia River estuary, 2004-05

This report describes the water-quality data collected by the USGS from 2004 through 05 as part of the Ecosystem Monitoring Project and attempts to quantify the spatial distribution and temporal variation of water-quality conditions, including contaminant concentrations, in water and suspended sediment in the Columbia River Estuary, and evaluate these water-quality conditions against aquatic-life
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Jennifer L. Morace
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Water Resources Mission Area, Oregon Water Science Center

Water Quality in the Yakima River Basin, Washington, 1999-2000

This report contains the major findings of a 1999?2000 assessment of water quality in streams and drains in the Yakima River Basin. It is one of a series of reports by the NAWQA Program that present major findings on water resources in 51 major river basins and aquifer systems across the Nation. In these reports, water quality is assessed at many scales?from large rivers that drain lands h
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Gregory J. Fuhrer, Jennifer L. Morace, Henry M. Johnson, Joseph F. Rinella, James C. Ebbert, Sandra S. Embrey, Ian R. Waite, Kurt D. Carpenter, Daniel R. Wise, Curt A. Hughes
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Water Resources Mission Area, Oregon Water Science Center

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