MaryLynn Musgrove
MaryLynn Musgrove is a Research Physical Scientist and the Western Region Principal Aquifer Analyst for the National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) project. Her research interests include water quality, karst hydrology, and isotope geochemistry.
Biography
MaryLynn has Masters and PhD degrees in Geological Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied with Dr. Jay Banner. Her graduate research focused on the application of geochemical tracers and environmental isotopes to karst aquifers, paleohydrology, and paleoclimate studies. After completing her PhD in 2000, she completed postdoctoral work at Harvard University studying paleoclimate and links between science and policy. She joined the USGS and Texas Water Science Center in 2006.
MaryLynn is currently a geochemist with the National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) project, acting as the Principal Aquifer Analyst for the Western U.S. region. Her research interests continue to address karst hydrology and carbonate aquifer geochemistry, with ongoing contributions to understanding the central Texas Edwards aquifer. She is also a Research Fellow at the University of Texas Environmental Science Institute where she regularly serves on the committees of graduate students.
Science and Products
Outlining Potential Health Effects of Exposure to Critical Elements: From Chemical Structure to Adverse Outcome Pathways
The Federal Government was charged with ensuring a reliable supply of critical minerals from within the U.S., and to further this policy in a safe and environmentally responsible manner by identifying new sources of critical elements. The objective of this research is to delineate anticipated adverse outcome pathways for the critical elements.
Groundwater Quality—Current Conditions and Changes Through Time
Is groundwater the source of your drinking water? The USGS is assessing the quality of groundwater used for public supply using newly collected data along with existing water-quality data. Learn more about this invisible, vital resource so many of us depend on.
Rapid Fluctuations in Groundwater Quality
We think of groundwater as moving slowly, and groundwater quality as changing slowly—over decades or even centuries. But in some parts of some aquifers, groundwater quality can fluctuate rapidly, sometimes over just a few hours. Are such changes part of a long-term trend, or just part of a short-term cycle? And what does that mean for suitability for drinking?
National Water-Quality Assessment Project in Texas - Groundwater Activities
The USGS National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project was established by Congress in 1992 to answer the following question:
What is the status of the Nation’s water quality and is it getting better or worse?
Since 1992, NAWQA has been a primary source of nationally consistent data and information on the quality of the Nation’s streams and groundwater. Data and...
Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone Surface-water and Groundwater Interaction
The effects of urbanization across the recharge zone in Bexar County and potential impact on the water quality in the Edwards aquifer is a topic of specific concern for the City of San Antonio. The USGS Texas Water Science Center is simultaneously collecting water-quality data from surface-water runoff sites and paired shallow groundwater wells within the recharge zone of the Edwards aquifer...
National Water-Quality Assessment Project in Texas - Surface Water Activities
The USGS National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project was established by Congress in 1992 to answer the following question:
What is the status of the Nation’s water quality and is it getting better or worse?
Since 1992, NAWQA has been a primary source of nationally consistent data and information on the quality of the Nation’s streams and groundwater. Data and...
Hydrogeologic and Geochemical Investigation of the Trinity and Northern Segment Edwards Aquifers
The USGS Texas Water Science Center, in cooperation with the Clearwater Underground Water Conservation District and Bell County Adaptive Management Coalition, is evaluating the hydrogeology and water quality of the Northern segment of the Edwards and Trinity aquifers in Bell County to provide regional resource managers responsible for regulation of water use and drought management strategies...
Urban Waters Federal Partnership - Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone Monitoring Network
The USGS Texas Water Science Center is implementing a more complete and integrated monitoring network for the Edwards aquifer to improve the understanding of aquifer water quality and establish a baseline for measuring future water-quality changes.
Edwards Aquifer Studies in Texas
The Edwards aquifer in south-central Texas is one of the most productive aquifers in the Nation and is the primary source of water for the rapidly growing San Antonio area. Springs issuing from the Edwards aquifer provide habitat for several threatened and endangered species, serve as locations for recreational activities, and supply downstream users.
The USGS Texas Water Science Center...
Groundwater quality in the Colorado Plateaus aquifers, western United States
Groundwater provides nearly 50 percent of the Nation’s drinking water. To help protect this vital resource, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project assesses groundwater quality in aquifers that are important sources of drinking water. The Colorado Plateaus aquifers constitute one of the important areas...
Degnan, James R.; Musgrove, MaryLynn
Groundwater quality in the Edwards-Trinity aquifer system
Groundwater provides nearly 50 percent of the Nation’s drinking water. To help protect this vital resource, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project assesses groundwater quality in aquifers that are important sources of drinking water. The Edwards-Trinity aquifer system constitutes one of the important...
Musgrove, MaryLynn
Groundwater-quality and select quality-control data from the National Water-Quality Assessment Project, January 2017 through December 2019
Groundwater-quality environmental data were collected from 983 wells as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Project of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Program and are included in this report. The data were collected from six types of well networks: principal aquifer study networks, which are used to assess the quality...
Kingsbury, James A.; Bexfield, Laura M.; Arnold, Terri; Musgrove, MaryLynn; Erickson, Melinda L.; Degnan, James R.; Tesoriero, Anthony J.; Lindsey, Bruce D.; Belitz, Kenneth
The occurrence and distribution of strontium in U.S. groundwater
Groundwater samples from 32 principal aquifers across the United States (U.S.) provide a broad spatial scope of the occurrence and distribution of strontium (Sr) and are used to assess environments and factors that influence Sr concentration. Strontium is a common trace element in soils, rocks, and water and is ubiquitous in groundwater with...
Musgrove, MaryLynn
Water Quality of groundwater used for public supply in principal aquifers of the western United States
Groundwater provides nearly half of the Nation’s drinking water. As the Nation’s population grows, the importance of (and need for) high-quality drinking-water supplies increases. As part of a national-scale effort to assess groundwater quality in principal aquifers (PAs) that supply most of the groundwater used for public supply, the U.S....
Rosecrans, Celia Z.; Musgrove, MaryLynn
Effects of urbanization on water quality in the Edwards aquifer, San Antonio and Bexar County, Texas
OverviewContinuous water-quality monitoring data and chemical analysis of surface-water and groundwater samples collected during 2017–19 in the recharge zone of the Edwards aquifer were used to develop a better understanding of the surface-water/groundwater connection in and around Bexar County in south-central Texas. This fact sheet is provided...
Opsahl, Stephen P.; Musgrove, MaryLynn; Mecum, Keith E.
Temporal and spatial variability of water quality in the San Antonio segment of the Edwards aquifer recharge zone, Texas, with an emphasis on periods of groundwater recharge, September 2017–July 2019
Ongoing urbanization on the Edwards aquifer recharge zone in the greater San Antonio area raises concern about the potential adverse effects on the public water supply from development. To address this concern, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of San Antonio, studied patterns of temporal and spatial changes in water quality...
Opsahl, Stephen P.; Musgrove, MaryLynn; Mecum, Keith E. Prioritizing river basins for intensive monitoring and assessment by the US Geological Survey
The US Geological Survey (USGS) is currently (2020) integrating its water science programs to better address the nation’s greatest water resource challenges now and into the future. This integration will rely, in part, on data from 10 or more intensively monitored river basins from across the USA. A team of USGS scientists was convened to develop...
Van Metre, Peter C.; Qi, Sharon L.; Deacon, Jeffrey R.; Dieter, Cheryl A.; Driscoll, Jessica M.; Fienen, Michael N.; Kenney, Terry A.; Lambert, Patrick M.; Lesmes, David; Mason, Christopher Allen; Mueller-Solger, Anke; Musgrove, MaryLynn; Painter, Jaime A.; Rosenberry, Donald O.; Sprague, Lori A.; Tesoriero, Anthony J.; Windham-Myers, Lisamarie; Wolock, David M.
Groundwater-quality and select quality-control data from the National Water-Quality Assessment Project, January through December 2016, and previously unpublished data from 2013 to 2015
Environmental groundwater-quality data were collected from 648 wells as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Project of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Program and are included in this report. Most of the wells (514) were sampled from January through December 2016, and 60 of them were sampled in 2013 and 74 in 2014. The...
Arnold, Terri; Bexfield, Laura M.; Musgrove, MaryLynn; Erickson, Melinda L.; Kingsbury, James A.; Degnan, James R.; Tesoriero, Anthony J.; Kulongoski, Justin T.; Belitz, Kenneth
Groundwater quality in the Columbia Plateau Basaltic-Rock Aquifers, northwestern United States
Groundwater provides nearly 50 percent of the Nation’s drinking water. To help protect this vital resource, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project assesses groundwater quality in aquifers that are important sources of drinking water. The Columbia Plateau basaltic-rock aquifers constitute one of the...
Musgrove, MaryLynn
Groundwater quality in the High Plains Aquifer
Groundwater provides nearly 50 percent of the Nation’s drinking water. To help protect this vital resource, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project assesses groundwater quality in aquifers that are important sources of drinking water. The High Plains aquifer constitutes one of the important aquifers...
Musgrove, MaryLynn Timescales of water-quality change in a karst aquifer, south-central Texas
Understanding the drivers and timescales over which groundwater quality changes informs groundwater management, use, and protection. To better understand timescales of water-quality change over short (daily to monthly) and long (seasonal to decadal) timescales, the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Enhanced Trends...
Musgrove, MaryLynn; Solder, John E.; Opsahl, Stephen P.; Wilson, Jennifer T.
The Quality of Our Groundwater—Progress on a National Survey
A U.S. Geological Survey study of groundwater quality across the nation that began in 2013 now includes water-quality information for 18 of the most heavily used aquifers in the nation.
Strontium in U.S. Groundwater Used for Drinking-Water Source
A new USGS study reports that about 2.3 percent of drinking-water wells in the U.S. have concentrations of strontium at levels that present a potential human health risk. These wells provide water for an estimated 2.3 million people.
The Quality of Our Groundwater—Progress on a National Survey
A U.S. Geological Survey study of groundwater quality across the nation now includes water-quality information for 15 of the most heavily used aquifers in the nation.
The Quality of the Nation’s Groundwater: Progress on a National Survey
The U.S. Geological Survey makes progress on a complex undertaking to survey the quality of the nation’s largest drinking-water sources.
New reports assess the quality of drinking-water supplies in three Western and Southwestern regional aquifers, adding to 15 previously assessed across the nation.
Current website: https://www.usgs.gov/news/quality-nation-s-groundwater-progress-a-national-survey
Groundwater Quality in the East: The Piedmont and Blue Ridge Crystalline-Rock Aquifers
A regional assessment of untreated groundwater in the Piedmont and Blue Ridge crystalline-rock aquifers, which includes parts of 11 states across the contiguous United States, is now available from the U.S. Geological Survey.
Groundwater Quality in the North: The Glacial Aquifer System
A regional assessment of untreated groundwater in the Glacial aquifer system, which includes parts of 25 states across the northern contiguous United States, is now available from the U.S. Geological Survey.
Groundwater Quality in the West: Examining Basin and Range Basin-Fill Aquifers
A regional assessment of untreated groundwater in the Basin and Range basin-fill aquifers, which include parts of Nevada, California, Arizona, Utah and adjacent states, is now available from the U.S. Geological Survey.