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Kathy E Lee

Kathy Lee joined the USGS in 1992 and now serves as a Deputy Program Coordinator for the USGS Environmental Health Program within the Ecosystems Mission Area.

In her current position, she develops science communication strategies to promote integrated science in a non-advocacy and factual style through review of scientific papers, and production of feature articles, webpages, and newsletters. She promotes accountability measures through team and external stakeholder reviews. Her science emphasis throughout her career has been the integration of chemical and physical stressors with associated biological responses to solve critical environmental health issues facing the Nation. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Science and Products

Filter Total Items: 18
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map of Puerto Rico shows locations of environmental contaminants in tapwater, including DBP, pesticides, pharms, VOC, PFAS

Puerto Rico Natural Hazards: Ecosystems and Environmental Contaminants | Peligros naturales de Puerto Rico: Ecosistemas y contaminantes ambientales

USGS researchers have studied environmental contaminants and pathogens to address questions involving exposure pathways and human-health implications. They also study climate change impacts and ecosystem health. On this page, read about ecosystems and environmental health research in Puerto Rico, including contaminants in tap water, and possible human exposures. Investigadores del USGS han...
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Natural Hazards Mission Area
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Puerto Rico Natural Hazards: Ecosystems and Environmental Contaminants | Peligros naturales de Puerto Rico: Ecosistemas y contaminantes ambientales

USGS researchers have studied environmental contaminants and pathogens to address questions involving exposure pathways and human-health implications. They also study climate change impacts and ecosystem health. On this page, read about ecosystems and environmental health research in Puerto Rico, including contaminants in tap water, and possible human exposures. Investigadores del USGS han...
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USGS GeoHEALTH logo with globe

GeoHEALTH–USGS Newsletter Issues Prior to 2020

The GeoHEALTH–USGS Newsletter—published since 2004—provides information on new USGS science activities pertinent to safeguarding the health of fish, wildlife, domesticated animals, livestock, and people from environmental exposures to contaminants and pathogens.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Environmental Health Program
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GeoHEALTH–USGS Newsletter Issues Prior to 2020

The GeoHEALTH–USGS Newsletter—published since 2004—provides information on new USGS science activities pertinent to safeguarding the health of fish, wildlife, domesticated animals, livestock, and people from environmental exposures to contaminants and pathogens.
Learn More
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Cyanobacterial bloom

GeoHealth Newsletter - USGS February 2020

This edition of the GeoHEALTH—USGS Newsletter features recent research from the USGS's Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology Programs
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Environmental Health Program
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GeoHealth Newsletter - USGS February 2020

This edition of the GeoHEALTH—USGS Newsletter features recent research from the USGS's Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology Programs
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USGS GeoHEALTH logo with globe

GeoHealth--USGS December 2018

This edition of the GeoHEALTH—USGS Newsletter is a special edition on algal toxins.
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Environmental Health Program
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GeoHealth--USGS December 2018

This edition of the GeoHEALTH—USGS Newsletter is a special edition on algal toxins.
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USGS GeoHEALTH logo with globe

GeoHealth Newsletter-- USGS, Environmental Health Program Updates, June 2018

In this issue, we introduce you to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) science teams and core capability teams that are supported by the Environmental Health Programs. USGS Environmental Health Science is led by the Contaminant Biology Program, which was started in the Fish and Wildlife Service in the 1940s, and the Toxic Substances Hydrology Program, which was started in 1982 in the USGS. These...
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Environmental Health Program
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GeoHealth Newsletter-- USGS, Environmental Health Program Updates, June 2018

In this issue, we introduce you to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) science teams and core capability teams that are supported by the Environmental Health Programs. USGS Environmental Health Science is led by the Contaminant Biology Program, which was started in the Fish and Wildlife Service in the 1940s, and the Toxic Substances Hydrology Program, which was started in 1982 in the USGS. These...
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USGS GeoHEALTH logo with globe

GeoHealth--USGS Newsletter, January 2018

This edition of the GeoHEALTH—USGS Newsletter features recent research from the Environmental Health Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology Programs.
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Environmental Health Program
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GeoHealth--USGS Newsletter, January 2018

This edition of the GeoHEALTH—USGS Newsletter features recent research from the Environmental Health Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology Programs.
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USGS GeoHEALTH logo with globe

GeoHealth--USGS Newsletter, October 2017

This edition of the GeoHEALTH—USGS Newsletter features recent research from the Environmental Health Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology Programs.
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Environmental Health Program
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GeoHealth--USGS Newsletter, October 2017

This edition of the GeoHEALTH—USGS Newsletter features recent research from the Environmental Health Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology Programs.
Learn More
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USGS GeoHEALTH logo with globe

GeoHealth--USGS Newsletter, May 2017

This edition of the GeoHEALTH—USGS Newsletter features recent research from the Environmental Health Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology Programs.
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Environmental Health Program
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GeoHealth--USGS Newsletter, May 2017

This edition of the GeoHEALTH—USGS Newsletter features recent research from the Environmental Health Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology Programs.
Learn More
link
USGS GeoHEALTH logo with globe

GeoHealth--USGS Newsletter, February 2017

This edition of the GeoHEALTH—USGS Newsletter features recent research from the Environmental Health Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology Programs.
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Environmental Health Program
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GeoHealth--USGS Newsletter, February 2017

This edition of the GeoHEALTH—USGS Newsletter features recent research from the Environmental Health Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology Programs.
Learn More
link
USGS GeoHEALTH logo with globe

GeoHealth--USGS Newsletter, August 2016

This edition of the GeoHEALTH—USGS Newsletter features recent research from the Environmental Health Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology Programs.
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Environmental Health Program
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GeoHealth--USGS Newsletter, August 2016

This edition of the GeoHEALTH—USGS Newsletter features recent research from the Environmental Health Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology Programs.
Learn More
link
USGS GeoHEALTH logo with globe

GeoHealth--USGS Newsletter, December 2015

This edition of the GeoHEALTH—USGS Newsletter features recent research from the Environmental Health Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology Programs.
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Environmental Health Program
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GeoHealth--USGS Newsletter, December 2015

This edition of the GeoHEALTH—USGS Newsletter features recent research from the Environmental Health Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology Programs.
Learn More
link
USGS GeoHEALTH logo with globe

GeoHealth--USGS Newsletter, September 2015

This edition of the GeoHEALTH—USGS Newsletter features recent research from the Environmental Health Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology Programs.
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Environmental Health Program
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GeoHealth--USGS Newsletter, September 2015

This edition of the GeoHEALTH—USGS Newsletter features recent research from the Environmental Health Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology Programs.
Learn More

Chemicals of Emerging Concern and Fish Biological Endpoints Data Collected From Select Tributaries of the St. Croix River, Minnesota and Wisconsin, 2011-12

The U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, St. Cloud State University, and the University of St. Thomas conducted a cooperative study to investigate the occurrence of chemicals of emerging concern (CECs) and potential effects to aquatic biota in select tributaries of the St. Croix River in Minnesota and Wisconsin. In 2011, treated wastewater effluent samples were collected from 22 sites in
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Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Chemicals of Emerging Concern in Water and Bottom Sediment in Great Lakes Areas of Concern, 2013 - Analytical Methods, Collection Methods, Environmental Data, and Quality Assurance

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), identified the occurrence of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in water and bottom sediment collected in 2013 at 57 sites throughout the Great Lakes Basin. The 2013 effort is part of a long-term study that began in 2010. Included in this direct
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Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center
Filter Total Items: 36

Understanding the influence of nutrients on stream ecosystems in agricultural landscapes

Sustaining the quality of the Nation’s water resources and the health of our diverse ecosystems depends on the availability of sound water-resources data and information to develop effective, science-based policies. Effective management of water resources also brings more certainty and efficiency to important economic sectors. Taken together, these actions lead to immediate and long-term economic,
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Water Resources Mission Area, National Water Quality Program, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center

Contaminants of emerging concern presence and adverse effects in fish: A case study in the Laurentian Great Lakes

The Laurentian Great Lakes are a valuable natural resource that is affected by contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), including sex steroid hormones, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, and new generation pesticides. However, little is known about the fate and biological effects of CECs in tributaries to the Great Lakes. In the current study, 16 sites on three rivers i
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Water Resources Mission Area, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Contaminants of emerging concern in tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes: I. Patterns of occurrence

Human activities introduce a variety of chemicals to the Laurentian Great Lakes including pesticides, pharmaceuticals, flame retardants, plasticizers, and solvents (collectively referred to as contaminants of emerging concern or CECs) potentially threatening the vitality of these valuable ecosystems. We conducted a basin-wide study to identify the presence of CECs and other chemicals of interest i
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Water Resources Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Contaminants of emerging concern in the Great Lakes Basin: A report on sediment, water, and fish tissue chemistry collected in 2010-2012

Despite being detected at low levels in surface waters and sediments across the United States, contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in the Great Lakes Basin are not well characterized in terms of spatial and temporal occurrence. Additionally, although the detrimental effects of exposure to CECs on fish and wildlife have been documented for many CECs in laboratory studies, we do not adequately u
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Prior knowledge-based approach for associating contaminants with biological effects: A case study in the St. Croix River basin, MN, WI, USA

Evaluating potential adverse effects of complex chemical mixtures in the environment is challenging. One way to address that challenge is through more integrated analysis of chemical monitoring and biological effects data. In the present study, water samples from five locations near two municipal wastewater treatment plants in the St. Croix River basin, on the border of MN and WI, USA, were analyz
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Water Resources Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Occurrence and effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the St. Croix River

The St. Croix River is one of the last undisturbed, large floodplain rivers in the upper Mississippi River System. The Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway encompasses 255 river miles from the St. Croix Flowage and Namekagon River to the confluence of the St. Croix River with the Mississippi River at Prescott, Wisconsin. The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 includes protection of the “outstandin
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Water Resources Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Linking field-based metabolomics and chemical analyses to prioritize contaminants of emerging concern in the Great Lakes basin

The ability to focus on the most biologically relevant contaminants affecting aquatic ecosystems can be challenging because toxicity-assessment programs have not kept pace with the growing number of contaminants requiring testing. Because it has proven effective at assessing the biological impacts of potentially toxic contaminants, profiling of endogenous metabolites (metabolomics) may help screen
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Water Resources Mission Area, Ecosystems Mission Area, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Environmental Health Program, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Pathway-based approaches for assessment of real-time exposure to an estrogenic wastewater treatment plant effluent on fathead minnow reproduction

Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents are known contributors of chemical mixtures into the environment. Of particular concern are endocrine-disrupting compounds, such as estrogens, which can affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis function in exposed organisms. The present study examined reproductive effects in fathead minnows exposed for 21 d to a historically estrogenic WWTP effluen
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Water Resources Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

USGS lidar science strategy—Mapping the technology to the science

Summary The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) utilizes light detection and ranging (lidar) and enabling technologies to support many science research activities. Lidar-derived metrics and products have become a fundamental input to complex hydrologic and hydraulic models, flood inundation models, fault detection and geologic mapping, topographic and land-surface mapping, landslide and volcano hazards
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Core Science Systems Mission Area, National Geospatial Program, 3D Elevation Program

Chemicals of emerging concern in water and bottom sediment in the Great Lakes Basin, 2012: collection methods, analytical methods, quality assurance, and study data

In synoptic surveys of surface-water quality across the United States, a large group of organic chemicals associated with agricultural, household, and industrial waste have been detected. These chemicals are referred to collectively as chemicals of emerging concern (CECs) and include prescription drugs and antibiotics, over-the-counter medications, reproductive hormones, personal-care products, de
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Water Resources Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Spatial and temporal patterns of endocrine active chemicals in small streams indicate differential exposure to aquatic organisms

Alkylphenolic chemicals (APCs) and hormones were measured six times from February through October 2007 in three Minnesota streams receiving wastewater to identify spatial and temporal patterns in concentrations and in estrogen equivalency. Fish were collected once during the study to evaluate endpoints indicative of endocrine disruption. The most commonly detected APCs were 4-tert-octylphenol and
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Water Resources Mission Area, Ecosystems Mission Area, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Environmental Health Program, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Transcriptomic effects-based monitoring for endocrine active chemicals: Assessing relative contribution of treated wastewater to downstream pollution

The present study investigated whether a combination of targeted analytical chemistry information with unsupervised, data-rich biological methodology (i.e., transcriptomics) could be utilized to evaluate relative contributions of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents to biological effects. The effects of WWTP effluents on fish exposed to ambient, receiving waters were studied at three locati
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Environmental Health Program
USGS hydrographers collecting a water-quality sample at the Zumbro River near Rochester, Minnesota
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Science and Products