This video acts as a “visual abstract” for a recent publication analyzing the stormwater management practices in Clarksburg, MD. The video features interviews with the team of USGS scientists as well as a water specialist from Montgomery County.
Natalie C Hall, PhD
Natalie is a Supervisory Geographer at the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center with a focus of expertise on hyperspectral imaging of algae.
Originally from South Africa, Natalie has a PhD in Environmental Science and Public Policy, with an emphasis on molecular microbiology. Natalie’s work has been dedicated to water quality, including urban stormwater, and harmful algal blooms (HABs). Other areas of interest include microbial ecology, in particular denitrifier communities in urban stormwater best management practices (BMPs). Current research is focused on validation of lab and field hyperspectral instrumentation, and the development of an algal spectral library. These efforts seek to advance our ability to characterize potentially toxic HABs using hyperspectral imaging.
Collateral Duty
Director of Congressional Affairs for the Interagency Veterans Advisory Council (which seeks to support the recruitment, acclimation, retention, and promotion of over 640,000 Veterans, Reservists, and military spouses in federal civilian government)
Education and Certifications
PhD, Environmental Science and Policy (Molecular Microbiology), George Mason University
MA International Politics (Strategic Studies), University of Pretoria, South Africa
BA Politics and Languages, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Honors and Awards
2023 Project of the Year (Clarksburg Stormwater Management Project)
Science and Products
Understanding the Effects of Stormwater Management Practices on Water Quality and Flow
Soil characteristics and microbial taxonomy in selected urban stormwater best management practices (BMPs) in Clarksburg, MD, 2015
This video acts as a “visual abstract” for a recent publication analyzing the stormwater management practices in Clarksburg, MD. The video features interviews with the team of USGS scientists as well as a water specialist from Montgomery County.
This video acts as a “visual abstract” for a recent publication analyzing the stormwater management practices in Clarksburg, MD. The video features interviews with the team of USGS scientists as well as a water specialist from Montgomery County.
This video acts as a “visual abstract” for a recent publication analyzing the stormwater management practices in Clarksburg, MD. The video features interviews with the team of USGS scientists as well as a water specialist from Montgomery County.
The publications below were either authored or co-authored by Natalie Hall of the USGS MD-DE-DC Water Science Center.
Evaluating water-quality trends in agricultural watersheds prioritized for management-practice implementation
Spectral mixture analysis for surveillance of harmful algal blooms (SMASH): A field-, laboratory-, and satellite-based approach to identifying cyanobacteria genera from remotely sensed data
Lessons learned from 20 y of monitoring suburban development with distributed stormwater management in Clarksburg, Maryland, USA
The presence of denitrifiers in bacterial communities of urban stormwater best management practices (BMPs)
Science and Products
- Science
Understanding the Effects of Stormwater Management Practices on Water Quality and Flow
Urban development can have detrimental impacts on streams including altering hydrology, increasing nutrient, sediment, and pollutant loadings, and degrading biological integrity. Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) can be used to mitigate the effects of urban development by retaining large volumes of stormwater runoff and treating runoff to remove pollutants. This project focuses on... - Data
Soil characteristics and microbial taxonomy in selected urban stormwater best management practices (BMPs) in Clarksburg, MD, 2015
The data were gathered as a preliminary assessment of soil microbiology and conditions in selected urban stormwater best management practices (BMPs) in Clarksburg, MD. Four bioretention facilities (BF), four dry ponds (DP), and four surface sand filters (SSF) were selected. Three samples were taken from each BMP (a single sample from one dry swale (DS) was also collected). BMPs were selected based - Multimedia
Soaking Up Stormwater
This video acts as a “visual abstract” for a recent publication analyzing the stormwater management practices in Clarksburg, MD. The video features interviews with the team of USGS scientists as well as a water specialist from Montgomery County.
This video acts as a “visual abstract” for a recent publication analyzing the stormwater management practices in Clarksburg, MD. The video features interviews with the team of USGS scientists as well as a water specialist from Montgomery County.
Soaking Up Stormwater (AD)This video acts as a “visual abstract” for a recent publication analyzing the stormwater management practices in Clarksburg, MD. The video features interviews with the team of USGS scientists as well as a water specialist from Montgomery County.
This video acts as a “visual abstract” for a recent publication analyzing the stormwater management practices in Clarksburg, MD. The video features interviews with the team of USGS scientists as well as a water specialist from Montgomery County.
- Publications
The publications below were either authored or co-authored by Natalie Hall of the USGS MD-DE-DC Water Science Center.
Evaluating water-quality trends in agricultural watersheds prioritized for management-practice implementation
Many agricultural watersheds rely on the voluntary use of management practices (MPs) to reduce nonpoint source nutrient and sediment loads; however, the water-quality effects of MPs are uncertain. We interpreted water-quality responses from as early as 1985 through 2020 in three agricultural Chesapeake Bay watersheds that were prioritized for MP implementation, namely, the Smith Creek (Virginia),AuthorsJames S. Webber, Jeffrey G. Chanat, John Clune, Olivia H. Devereux, Natalie Celeste Hall, Robert D. Sabo, Qian ZhangSpectral mixture analysis for surveillance of harmful algal blooms (SMASH): A field-, laboratory-, and satellite-based approach to identifying cyanobacteria genera from remotely sensed data
Algal blooms around the world are increasing in frequency and severity, often with the possibility of adverse effects on human and ecosystem health. The health and economic impacts associated with harmful algal blooms, or HABs, provide compelling rationale for developing new methods for monitoring these events via remote sensing. Although concentrations of chlorophyll-a and key pigments like phycoAuthorsCarl J. Legleiter, Tyler Victor King, Kurt D. Carpenter, Natalie Celeste Hall, Adam Mumford, E. Terrence Slonecker, Jennifer L. Graham, Victoria G. Stengel, Nancy Simon, Barry H. RosenLessons learned from 20 y of monitoring suburban development with distributed stormwater management in Clarksburg, Maryland, USA
Urban development is a well-known stressor for stream ecosystems, presenting a challenge to managers tasked with mitigating its effects. For the past 20 y, streamflow, water quality, geomorphology, and benthic communities were monitored in 5 watersheds in Montgomery County, Maryland, USA. This study presents a synthesis of multiple studies of monitoring efforts in the study area and new analysis oAuthorsKristina G. Hopkins, Sean Woznicki, Brianna Williams, Charles C. Stillwell, Eric Naibert, Marina Metes, Daniel Jones, Dianna M. Hogan, Natalie Celeste Hall, Rosemary M. Fanelli, Aditi S. BhaskarThe presence of denitrifiers in bacterial communities of urban stormwater best management practices (BMPs)
Stormwater best management practices (BMPs) are engineered structures that attempt to mitigate the impacts of stormwater, which can include nitrogen inputs from the surrounding drainage area. The goal of this study was to assess bacterial community composition in different types of stormwater BMP soils to establish whether a particular BMP type harbors more denitrification potential. Soil samplingAuthorsNatalie Hall, Masoumeh Sikaroodi, Dianna M. Hogan, R. Christian Jones, Patrick Gillevet - News