Lisa Nowell
Lisa Nowell is a Research Chemist with the USGS National Water Quality Program (NWQP), National Water Quality Assessment Project (NAWQA).
Since 2013, I have been part of the Regional Stream-Quality Assessment (RSQA) team, which is a multidisciplinary team conducting a series of multistressor studies of wadable streams in the Midwest, Southeast, Pacific Northwest, Northeast, and Central Coastal California regions. My primary focus is to track, interpret and model the occurrence of pesticides in stream water and sediment at the regional scale; and to interpret data on sediment toxicity and ecological condition in relation to chemical stressors. I have participated in the design and implementation of NAWQA since 1991, when I first joined the USGS as a member of NAWQA’s Pesticide National Synthesis team. Since that time, I have conducted national and regional-scale assessments of pesticides in water, sediment, and aquatic biota, and with my colleagues have developed tools (such as sediment benchmarks, aquatic-life benchmarks, the Pesticide Toxicity Index, and Health-Based Screening Levels) for interpreting the biological significance of pesticides in water and sediment. I also evaluated contaminants in water and sediment on the Gulf Coast before and after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and I co-authored a book on pesticides in stream sediment and aquatic biota.
Before coming to the USGS, I worked for the Food and Drug Administration; was an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow in environmental science and engineering at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and conducted post-doctoral research at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG) in Switzerland. I am an active member of the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), American Chemical Society, and American Geophysical Union. I currently serve on the Meetings Committee and 2018 Program Committee of SETAC North America, and I am an Associate Editor of the journal, Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal.
Science and Products
Quality of pesticide data for groundwater analyzed for the National Water-Quality Assessment Project, 2013–18
Design and methods of the California stream quality assessment (CSQA), 2017
Biofilms provide new insight into pesticide occurrence in streams and links to aquatic ecological communities
Legacy and current‐use contaminants in sediments alter macroinvertebrate communities in southeastern US Streams
Daily stream samples reveal highly complex pesticide occurrence and potential toxicity to aquatic life
Survey of bioaccessible pyrethroid insecticides and sediment toxicity in urban streams of the northeast United States
Effects of urban multi-stressors on three stream biotic assemblages
Mixed-chemical exposure and predicted effects potential in wadeable southeastern USA streams
Effect of sample holding time on bioaccessibility and sediment ecotoxicological assessments
Data analysis considerations for pesticides determined by National Water Quality Laboratory schedule 2437
Complex mixtures of dissolved pesticides show potential aquatic toxicity in a synoptic study of Midwestern U.S. streams
Influence of sediment chemistry and sediment toxicity on macroinvertebrate communities across 99 wadable streams of the Midwestern USA
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.
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Quality of pesticide data for groundwater analyzed for the National Water-Quality Assessment Project, 2013–18
The National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) submitted nearly 1,900 samples collected from groundwater sites across the United States in 2013–18 for analysis of 225 pesticide compounds (pesticides and pesticide degradates, hereafter referred to as “pesticides”) by USGS National Water Quality Laboratory schedule 2437 (S2437). For the associated NAWQA stAuthorsLaura M. Bexfield, Kenneth Belitz, Mark W. Sandstrom, Delicia Beaty, Laura Medalie, Bruce D. Lindsey, Lisa H. NowellDesign and methods of the California stream quality assessment (CSQA), 2017
During 2017, as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Project, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted the California Stream Quality Assessment to investigate the quality of streams in the Central California Foothills and Coastal Mountains ecoregion, United States. The goal of the California Stream Quality Assessment study was to assess the health of wadeable streams in the region by characteAuthorsJason T. May, Lisa H. Nowell, James F. Coles, Daniel T. Button, Amanda H. Bell, Sharon L. Qi, Peter C. Van MetreBiofilms provide new insight into pesticide occurrence in streams and links to aquatic ecological communities
Streambed sediment is commonly analyzed to assess occurrence of hydrophobic pesticides and risks to aquatic communities. However, stream biofilms also have the potential to accumulate pesticides and may be consumed by aquatic organisms. To better characterize risks to aquatic life, the U.S. Geological Survey Regional Stream Quality Assessment measured 93 current-use and 3 legacy pesticides in bedAuthorsBarbara Mahler, Travis S. Schmidt, Lisa H. Nowell, Sharon L. Qi, Peter C. Van Metre, Michelle Hladik, Daren M. Carlisle, Mark D. Munn, Jason MayLegacy and current‐use contaminants in sediments alter macroinvertebrate communities in southeastern US Streams
Sediment contamination of freshwater streams in urban areas is a recognized and growing concern. As a part of a comprehensive regional stream‐quality assessment, stream‐bed sediment was sampled from streams spanning a gradient of urban intensity in the Piedmont ecoregion of the southeastern United States. We evaluated relations between a broad suite of sediment contaminants (metals, current‐use peAuthorsPatrick W. Moran, Nile E. Kemble, Ian R. Waite, Barbara Mahler, Lisa H. Nowell, Peter C. Van MetreDaily stream samples reveal highly complex pesticide occurrence and potential toxicity to aquatic life
Transient, acutely toxic concentrations of pesticides in streams can go undetected by fixed-interval sampling programs. Here we compare temporal patterns in occurrence of current-use pesticides in daily composite samples to those in weekly composite and weekly discrete samples of surface water from 14 small stream sites. Samples were collected over 10–14 weeks at 7 stream sites in each of the MidwAuthorsJulia E. Norman, Barbara Mahler, Lisa H. Nowell, Peter C. Van Metre, Mark W. Sandstrom, Mark A. Corbin, Yaorong Qian, James F. Pankow, Wentai Luo, Nicholas B. Fitzgerald, William E. Asher, Kevin J. McWhirterSurvey of bioaccessible pyrethroid insecticides and sediment toxicity in urban streams of the northeast United States
Pyrethroids are a class of widely-used insecticides that can be transported from terrestrial applications to aquatic systems via runoff and tend to sorb to organic carbon in sediments. Pyrethroid occurrence is detrimental to stream ecosystems due to toxicity to sediment-dwelling invertebrates which are particularly at risk of pyrethroid exposure in urban streams. In this work, 49 streams located iAuthorsKara E. Huff-Hartz, Samuel A. Nutile, Courtney Y. Fung, Federico L. Sinche, Patrick W. Moran, Peter C. Van Metre, Lisa H. Nowell, Michael J. LydyEffects of urban multi-stressors on three stream biotic assemblages
During 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment(NAWQA) project assessed stream quality in 75 streams across an urban disturbance gradient within the Piedmont ecoregion of southeastern United States. Our objectives were to identify primary instream stressors affecting algal, macroinvertebrate and fish assemblages in wadeable streams. Biotic communities were surveyedAuthorsIan R. Waite, Mark D. Munn, Patrick W. Moran, Christopher P. Konrad, Lisa H. Nowell, Michael R. Meador, Peter C. Van Metre, Daren CarlisleMixed-chemical exposure and predicted effects potential in wadeable southeastern USA streams
Complex chemical mixtures have been widely reported in larger streams but relatively little work has been done to characterize them and assess their potential effects in headwaterstreams. In 2014, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) sampled 54 Piedmont streams over ten weeks and measured 475 unique organic compounds using five analytical methods. Maximum and median exposure conditions wereAuthorsPaul M. Bradley, Celeste A. Journey, Jason P. Berninger, Daniel T. Button, Jimmy M. Clark, Steven R. Corsi, Laura A. DeCicco, Kristina G. Hopkins, Bradley J. Huffman, Naomi Nakagaki, Julia E. Norman, Lisa H. Nowell, Sharon L. Qi, Peter C. Van Metre, Ian R. WaiteEffect of sample holding time on bioaccessibility and sediment ecotoxicological assessments
The ecotoxicological effects of hydrophobic organic compound (HOC) contamination in sediment are often assessed using laboratory exposures of cultured invertebrates to field-collected sediment. The use of a sediment holding time (storage at 4°C) between field sampling and the beginning of the bioassay is common practice, yet the effect of holding time on the reliability of bioassay results is largAuthorsKara S Huff Hartz, Federico L. Sinche, Samuel A. Nutile, Courtney Y. Fung, Patrick W. Moran, Peter C. Van Metre, Lisa H. Nowell, Marc A. Mills, Michael J LydyData analysis considerations for pesticides determined by National Water Quality Laboratory schedule 2437
In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Laboratory (NWQL) made a new method available for the analysis of pesticides in filtered water samples: laboratory schedule 2437. Schedule 2437 is an improvement on previous analytical methods because it determines the concentrations of 225 fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and associated degradates in one method at similar or lower coAuthorsMegan E. Shoda, Lisa H. Nowell, Wesley W. Stone, Mark W. Sandstrom, Laura M. BexfieldComplex mixtures of dissolved pesticides show potential aquatic toxicity in a synoptic study of Midwestern U.S. streams
Aquatic organisms in streams are exposed to pesticide mixtures that vary in composition over time in response to changes in flow conditions, pesticide inputs to the stream, and pesticide fate and degradation within the stream. To characterize mixtures of dissolved-phase pesticides and degradates in Midwestern streams, a synoptic study was conducted at 100 streams during May–August 2013. In weeklyAuthorsLisa H. Nowell, Patrick W. Moran, Travis S. Schmidt, Julia E. Norman, Naomi Nakagaki, Megan E. Shoda, Barbara Mahler, Peter C. Van Metre, Wesley W. Stone, Mark W. Sandstrom, Michelle L. HladikInfluence of sediment chemistry and sediment toxicity on macroinvertebrate communities across 99 wadable streams of the Midwestern USA
Simultaneous assessment of sediment chemistry, sediment toxicity, and macroinvertebrate communities can provide multiple lines of evidence when investigating relations between sediment contaminants and ecological degradation. These three measures were evaluated at 99 wadable stream sites across 11 states in the Midwestern United States during the summer of 2013 to assess sediment pollution acrossAuthorsPatrick W. Moran, Lisa H. Nowell, Nile E. Kemble, Barbara Mahler, Ian R. Waite, Peter C. Van MetreNon-USGS Publications**
Nowell, Lisa H., Hoigné, Jürg , 1992. Photolysis of chlorine at sunlight and ultraviolet wavelengths: I. Degradation rates. Water Research, v. 26, no. 5, p. 593-598Nowell, Lisa H., Hoigné, Jürg , 1992. Photolysis of chlorine at sunlight and ultraviolet wavelengths: II. Hydroxyl radical production. Water Research, v. 26, no. 5, p. 599-605**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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