Jennifer Murphy
Jenny is a hydrologist with the USGS, Central Midwest Water Science Center. Much of her work focuses on characterizing and understanding water-quality trends in the Nation's streams and rivers. Jenny also leads a team of scientists working to develop a proxy for harmful algal blooms in rivers.
Jenny has played an important role in characterizing water-quality trends with the Weighted Regressions on Time, Season and Discharge (WRTDS) model at >1,000 sites across the country using an extensive multi-agency dataset. Jenny's additional trends work includes looking at nitrate in the Mississippi River Basin, sediment in the lowermost Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers, and water quality in streams and rivers in the Delaware River Basin. Additionally, she has worked on projects ranging from the evaluation of best management practices in small agricultural drainages, to characterizing and understanding ecological flows, estimating water use at thermoelectric powerplants, and harmonizing multisource data. Her current interests are in trend studies, causal attribution of these trends, and exploring the influence of streamflow on water quality.
CURRENT & PAST PROJECTS
- Co-lead of multisource surface water-quality trends task as part of the IWAAs Delaware River Basin Regional Pilot
- NAWQA Surface Water Status and Trends team (Causal Analysis team lead)
- Evaluating agricultural best management practices in northwestern MS
- Ecological flows in the Cumberland and Tennessee River Basins
- Water-quality trends in the Mississippi River Basin
- Water use at thermoelectric powerplants
- Water quality in the lowermost Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers
Professional Experience
2020-Present, Hydrologist, USGS, Central Midwest Water Science Center, DeKalb, Illinois
2010-2020, Hydrologist, USGS, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center, Nashville, TN
2007-2009, Project Geologist, ECS Limited, Nashville, TN
Summer 2007, Field Geologist, US Forest Service, Lewis and Clark National Forest, Great Falls, MT
2006-2007, Research Assistant, USGS, Eastern Mineral Resources, Reston, VA
Education and Certifications
M.S., Earth and Environmental Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, 2011
B.A., Geology, Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin, 2006
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 23
Data to Incorporate Water Quality Analysis into Navigation Assessments as Demonstrated in the Mississippi River Basin Data to Incorporate Water Quality Analysis into Navigation Assessments as Demonstrated in the Mississippi River Basin
This data release includes estimates of annual and monthly mean concentrations and fluxes for nitrate plus nitrite, orthophosphate and suspended sediment for nine sites in the Mississippi River Basin (MRB) produced using the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) model (Hirsch and De Cicco, 2015). It also includes a model archive (R scripts and readMe file) used to...
Water-quality trends for rivers and streams in the Delaware River Basin using Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) models, Seasonal Kendall Trend (SKT) tests, and multisource data, Water Year 1978-2018 Water-quality trends for rivers and streams in the Delaware River Basin using Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) models, Seasonal Kendall Trend (SKT) tests, and multisource data, Water Year 1978-2018
This data release provides water-quality trends for rivers and streams in the Delaware River Basin determined using the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) model and the Seasonal Kendall Trend (SKT) test. Sixteen water-quality parameters were assessed, including nutrients (ammonia, nitrate, filtered orthophosphate, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and unfiltered...
Multi-source surface-water-quality data and U.S. Geological Survey streamgage match for the Delaware River Basin Multi-source surface-water-quality data and U.S. Geological Survey streamgage match for the Delaware River Basin
Jointly managed by multiple states and the federal government, there are many ongoing efforts to characterize and understand water quality in the Delaware River Basin (DRB). Many State, Federal and non-profit organizations have collected surface-water-quality samples across the DRB for decades and many of these data are available through the National Water Quality Monitoring Council's...
Hydrologic event-based water-quality and streamflow data for three oxbow tributaries in northwestern Mississippi, 2007-2016 Hydrologic event-based water-quality and streamflow data for three oxbow tributaries in northwestern Mississippi, 2007-2016
For about 10 years, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has monitored water quality and streamflow in three agricultural drainage ditches in an effort to evaluate the influence of best management practices on water quality. These ditches are small tributaries to oxbow lakes located in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain of northwestern Mississippi--two sites (LWSR and LWT2) drain to Lake...
Water-quality trends and trend component estimates for the Nation's rivers and streams using Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) models and generalized flow normalization, 1972-2012 Water-quality trends and trend component estimates for the Nation's rivers and streams using Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) models and generalized flow normalization, 1972-2012
Nonstationary streamflow due to environmental and human-induced causes can affect water quality over time, yet these effects are poorly accounted for in water-quality trend models. This data release provides instream water-quality trends and estimates of two components of change, for sites across the Nation previously presented in Oelsner et al. (2017). We used previously calibrated...
Annual estimates of suspended-sediment concentration and load to support trend analysis on the Mississippi River and Atchafalaya River, 1980-2015 Annual estimates of suspended-sediment concentration and load to support trend analysis on the Mississippi River and Atchafalaya River, 1980-2015
This data release contains annual estimates of suspended-sediment concentration and load for the Mississippi River, St. Francisville site and the Atchafalaya River, Melville site from 1980-2015. Annual estimates and flow-normalized estimates were generated using the Weighted Regressions on Time, Season and Discharge (WRTDS) model. Input data for the model included suspended-sediment...
Filter Total Items: 35
Water quality of sand and gravel aquifers in McHenry County, Illinois, 2020 and comparisons to conditions in 2010 Water quality of sand and gravel aquifers in McHenry County, Illinois, 2020 and comparisons to conditions in 2010
McHenry County, Illinois, obtains most of its drinking water from shallow sand and gravel aquifers (groundwater). To evaluate this groundwater resource, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with McHenry County, Illinois, collected water-quality samples from 41 of 42 monitoring wells in the McHenry County Groundwater Monitoring Network and 4 monitoring wells from the U.S. Geological...
Authors
Amy Gahala, Lance Gruhn, Jennifer Murphy, Lisa A. Matson
Spatial patterns and seasonal timing of increasing riverine specific conductance from 1998 to 2018 suggest legacy contamination in the Delaware River Basin Spatial patterns and seasonal timing of increasing riverine specific conductance from 1998 to 2018 suggest legacy contamination in the Delaware River Basin
Increasing salinization of freshwater threatens water supplies that support a range of human and ecological uses. The latest assessments of Delaware River Basin (DRB) surface-water-quality changes indicate widespread salinization has occurred in recent decades, which may lead to meaningful degradation in water quality. To better understand how and when salinity transport occurs and...
Authors
Christine Rumsey, John C. Hammond, Jennifer Murphy, Megan Shoda, Alexander Soroka
Incorporating water quality analysis into navigation assessments as demonstrated in the Mississippi River Basin Incorporating water quality analysis into navigation assessments as demonstrated in the Mississippi River Basin
A description of historical and ambient water quality conditions is often required as part of navigational studies. This paper describes a series of tools developed by the USGS that can aid navigation managers in developing water quality assessments. The tools use R, a statistical software program, and provide methods to retrieve historical streamflow and water quality data, summarize...
Authors
Barbara Kleiss, Jennifer C. Murphy, Casey Mayne, Jake Allgeier, Amanda Edmondson, Katrina Ginsberg, Keaton Jones, Timothy Lauth, Emily Moe, Julie Murphy, Mead Allison
Landscape drivers of dynamic change in water quality of US rivers Landscape drivers of dynamic change in water quality of US rivers
Water security is a top concern for social well-being and dramatic changes in the availability of freshwater have occurred as a result of human uses and landscape management. Elevated nutrient loading and perturbations to major ion composition have resulted from human activities and have degraded freshwater resources. This study addresses the emerging nature of stream water quality in...
Authors
Edward Stets, Lori Sprague, Gretchen Oelsner, Henry Johnson, Jennifer Murphy, Karen Ryberg, Aldo Vecchia, Robert Zuellig, James Falcone, Melissa Riskin
A historical look at changing water quality in the Delaware River basin A historical look at changing water quality in the Delaware River basin
In 2019 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) launched a pilot regional Integrated Water Availability Assessment (IWAA) in the Delaware River Basin (fig. 1). IWAA is intended to explore, test, and refine systems and processes for assessing water availability for human and ecological uses and understanding their underlying controls. Water quality plays an important role in supporting...
Authors
Jennifer Murphy, Megan Shoda
Pooling resources across organizations — Multisource water-quality data for the Delaware River Basin Pooling resources across organizations — Multisource water-quality data for the Delaware River Basin
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently launched a pilot Integrated Water Availability Assessment (IWAA) in the Delaware River Basin to explore, test, and refine systems and processes for assessing water availability for human and ecological uses based on water monitoring data. Water-quality monitoring provides citizens, managers, and scientists with the information needed to evaluate...
Authors
Jennifer Murphy, Megan Shoda
Non-USGS Publications**
Murphy, J.C., G.M. Hornberger, and R.G. Liddle, 2014, Concentration–discharge relationships in the coal mined region of the New River basin and Indian Fork sub-basin, Tennessee, USA. Hydrological Processes 28: 718-728.
Debra Perrone, Jennifer Murphy, and George M. Hornberger (2011), Gaining Perspective on the Water−Energy Nexus at the Community Scale. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2011, 45 (10), pp 4228–4234
DOI: 10.1021/es103230n.
DOI: 10.1021/es103230n.
**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
Filter Total Items: 23
Data to Incorporate Water Quality Analysis into Navigation Assessments as Demonstrated in the Mississippi River Basin Data to Incorporate Water Quality Analysis into Navigation Assessments as Demonstrated in the Mississippi River Basin
This data release includes estimates of annual and monthly mean concentrations and fluxes for nitrate plus nitrite, orthophosphate and suspended sediment for nine sites in the Mississippi River Basin (MRB) produced using the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) model (Hirsch and De Cicco, 2015). It also includes a model archive (R scripts and readMe file) used to...
Water-quality trends for rivers and streams in the Delaware River Basin using Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) models, Seasonal Kendall Trend (SKT) tests, and multisource data, Water Year 1978-2018 Water-quality trends for rivers and streams in the Delaware River Basin using Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) models, Seasonal Kendall Trend (SKT) tests, and multisource data, Water Year 1978-2018
This data release provides water-quality trends for rivers and streams in the Delaware River Basin determined using the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) model and the Seasonal Kendall Trend (SKT) test. Sixteen water-quality parameters were assessed, including nutrients (ammonia, nitrate, filtered orthophosphate, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and unfiltered...
Multi-source surface-water-quality data and U.S. Geological Survey streamgage match for the Delaware River Basin Multi-source surface-water-quality data and U.S. Geological Survey streamgage match for the Delaware River Basin
Jointly managed by multiple states and the federal government, there are many ongoing efforts to characterize and understand water quality in the Delaware River Basin (DRB). Many State, Federal and non-profit organizations have collected surface-water-quality samples across the DRB for decades and many of these data are available through the National Water Quality Monitoring Council's...
Hydrologic event-based water-quality and streamflow data for three oxbow tributaries in northwestern Mississippi, 2007-2016 Hydrologic event-based water-quality and streamflow data for three oxbow tributaries in northwestern Mississippi, 2007-2016
For about 10 years, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has monitored water quality and streamflow in three agricultural drainage ditches in an effort to evaluate the influence of best management practices on water quality. These ditches are small tributaries to oxbow lakes located in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain of northwestern Mississippi--two sites (LWSR and LWT2) drain to Lake...
Water-quality trends and trend component estimates for the Nation's rivers and streams using Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) models and generalized flow normalization, 1972-2012 Water-quality trends and trend component estimates for the Nation's rivers and streams using Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) models and generalized flow normalization, 1972-2012
Nonstationary streamflow due to environmental and human-induced causes can affect water quality over time, yet these effects are poorly accounted for in water-quality trend models. This data release provides instream water-quality trends and estimates of two components of change, for sites across the Nation previously presented in Oelsner et al. (2017). We used previously calibrated...
Annual estimates of suspended-sediment concentration and load to support trend analysis on the Mississippi River and Atchafalaya River, 1980-2015 Annual estimates of suspended-sediment concentration and load to support trend analysis on the Mississippi River and Atchafalaya River, 1980-2015
This data release contains annual estimates of suspended-sediment concentration and load for the Mississippi River, St. Francisville site and the Atchafalaya River, Melville site from 1980-2015. Annual estimates and flow-normalized estimates were generated using the Weighted Regressions on Time, Season and Discharge (WRTDS) model. Input data for the model included suspended-sediment...
Filter Total Items: 35
Water quality of sand and gravel aquifers in McHenry County, Illinois, 2020 and comparisons to conditions in 2010 Water quality of sand and gravel aquifers in McHenry County, Illinois, 2020 and comparisons to conditions in 2010
McHenry County, Illinois, obtains most of its drinking water from shallow sand and gravel aquifers (groundwater). To evaluate this groundwater resource, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with McHenry County, Illinois, collected water-quality samples from 41 of 42 monitoring wells in the McHenry County Groundwater Monitoring Network and 4 monitoring wells from the U.S. Geological...
Authors
Amy Gahala, Lance Gruhn, Jennifer Murphy, Lisa A. Matson
Spatial patterns and seasonal timing of increasing riverine specific conductance from 1998 to 2018 suggest legacy contamination in the Delaware River Basin Spatial patterns and seasonal timing of increasing riverine specific conductance from 1998 to 2018 suggest legacy contamination in the Delaware River Basin
Increasing salinization of freshwater threatens water supplies that support a range of human and ecological uses. The latest assessments of Delaware River Basin (DRB) surface-water-quality changes indicate widespread salinization has occurred in recent decades, which may lead to meaningful degradation in water quality. To better understand how and when salinity transport occurs and...
Authors
Christine Rumsey, John C. Hammond, Jennifer Murphy, Megan Shoda, Alexander Soroka
Incorporating water quality analysis into navigation assessments as demonstrated in the Mississippi River Basin Incorporating water quality analysis into navigation assessments as demonstrated in the Mississippi River Basin
A description of historical and ambient water quality conditions is often required as part of navigational studies. This paper describes a series of tools developed by the USGS that can aid navigation managers in developing water quality assessments. The tools use R, a statistical software program, and provide methods to retrieve historical streamflow and water quality data, summarize...
Authors
Barbara Kleiss, Jennifer C. Murphy, Casey Mayne, Jake Allgeier, Amanda Edmondson, Katrina Ginsberg, Keaton Jones, Timothy Lauth, Emily Moe, Julie Murphy, Mead Allison
Landscape drivers of dynamic change in water quality of US rivers Landscape drivers of dynamic change in water quality of US rivers
Water security is a top concern for social well-being and dramatic changes in the availability of freshwater have occurred as a result of human uses and landscape management. Elevated nutrient loading and perturbations to major ion composition have resulted from human activities and have degraded freshwater resources. This study addresses the emerging nature of stream water quality in...
Authors
Edward Stets, Lori Sprague, Gretchen Oelsner, Henry Johnson, Jennifer Murphy, Karen Ryberg, Aldo Vecchia, Robert Zuellig, James Falcone, Melissa Riskin
A historical look at changing water quality in the Delaware River basin A historical look at changing water quality in the Delaware River basin
In 2019 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) launched a pilot regional Integrated Water Availability Assessment (IWAA) in the Delaware River Basin (fig. 1). IWAA is intended to explore, test, and refine systems and processes for assessing water availability for human and ecological uses and understanding their underlying controls. Water quality plays an important role in supporting...
Authors
Jennifer Murphy, Megan Shoda
Pooling resources across organizations — Multisource water-quality data for the Delaware River Basin Pooling resources across organizations — Multisource water-quality data for the Delaware River Basin
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently launched a pilot Integrated Water Availability Assessment (IWAA) in the Delaware River Basin to explore, test, and refine systems and processes for assessing water availability for human and ecological uses based on water monitoring data. Water-quality monitoring provides citizens, managers, and scientists with the information needed to evaluate...
Authors
Jennifer Murphy, Megan Shoda
Non-USGS Publications**
Murphy, J.C., G.M. Hornberger, and R.G. Liddle, 2014, Concentration–discharge relationships in the coal mined region of the New River basin and Indian Fork sub-basin, Tennessee, USA. Hydrological Processes 28: 718-728.
Debra Perrone, Jennifer Murphy, and George M. Hornberger (2011), Gaining Perspective on the Water−Energy Nexus at the Community Scale. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2011, 45 (10), pp 4228–4234
DOI: 10.1021/es103230n.
DOI: 10.1021/es103230n.
**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.