Pamela Reilly
Current Projects:
*Landslide Monitoring in the Atlantic Highlands, NJ.
*Background Soil Arsenic Concentrations in the NJ Coastal Plain
*Mercury Variability and Sources in the NJ Coastal Plain
*Researching innovative monitoring techniques for HABs
*NAWQA SW lead for NJ WSC
Biography
Pamela Reilly is a Hydrologist in the Water Quality and Biological Studies Section of the U.S. Geological Survey New Jersey Water Science center. She received a BS in Biology from Monmouth University in 1998 and a MS in Environmental Studies, with a focus on environmental health, from Rutgers University in 2004. Her work at the USGS is centered on broad, interdisciplinary studies of water quality, hydrology, geochemistry and ecology. Her present research involves characterizing contaminant sources and mobility in streams and subsurface environments to inform NJ regulatory and remediation actions. Other research interests include understanding urbanization effects on water resources and using innovative tools for contaminant monitoring. She is passionate about taking complex scientific findings and communicating them in way that water-resource managers can use to make public health and regulatory decisions.
EDUCATION
B.S. Biology, Monmouth University, 1998
M.S. Environmental Science, Rutgers University, 2004
1998-1999. Environmental Consultant with RMC Environmental at Lakehurst Naval Base, NJ.
1999-2000. Intern in the Field Operations Unit, USGS New Jersey Water Science Center
2000-Current. Hydrologist in the Water Quality and Biological Research Studies Section at the USGS New Jersey Water Science Center
Science and Products
Microbial Source Tracking in the Lower Passaic River Basin Study Area, New Jersey
The USGS NJWSC is collaborating with the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission (PVSC) on an Urban Waters Federal Partnership project in the Lower Passaic River basin to investigate the occurrence and potential sources of E. coli fecal indicator bacteria.
Landslide Monitoring and Research in the Atlantic Highlands area, New Jersey
Recent shallow landslides have occurred on the steep hillslopes of the Atlantic Highlands area during and after large storm events with exceptionally heavy rainfall. These shallow landslides have resulted in extensive damage to residential property and local infrastructure and threatened human safety.The USGS New Jersey Water Science Center (NJWSC) and the USGS Landslide Hazards...
Groundwater levels, soil moisture, precipitation, and slope movement in the coastal bluffs of the Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, 2015-2016
U.S. Geological Survey data release
Capturing the transient hydrological response in sandy soils during a rare cloudburst associated with shallow slope failures; A case study in the Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, USA
A cloudburst on 7 August 2018 in the coastal bluffs of the Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, induced flooding, erosion and multiple shallow slope failures that adversely affected the surrounding hillside residential area. Historically, short-duration deluges are rare in the New York Bay region, with only eight cloudbursts of greater magnitude...
Ashland, Francis; Reilly, Pamela A.; Fiore, Alex R.
Virginia flow-ecology modeling results—An initial assessment of flow reduction effects on aquatic biota
BackgroundThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), reviewed a previously compiled set of linear regression models to assess their utility in defining the response of the aquatic biological community to streamflow depletion.As part of the 2012 Virginia Healthy Watersheds...
Rapp, Jennifer L.; Reilly, Pamela A.
Landslide monitoring in the Atlantic Highlands area, New Jersey
Shallow and deep-seated landslides have occurred episodically on the steep coastal bluffs of the Atlantic Highlands area (Boroughs of Atlantic Highlands and Highlands) in New Jersey. The oldest documented deep-seated landslide occurred in April 1782 and significantly changed the morphology of the bluff. However, recent landslides have been mostly...
Reilly, Pamela A.; Ashland, Francis X.; Fiore, Alex R. Characterizing meteorological and hydrologic conditions associated with shallow landslide initiation in the coastal bluffs of the Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey
Meteorological and hydrologic conditions associated with shallow landslide initiation in the coastal bluffs of the Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey remain undocumented despite a history of damaging slope movement extending back to at least 1903. This study applies an empirical approach to quantify the rainfall conditions leading to shallow...
De Graff, Jerome V.; Shakoor, Abdul; Ashland, Francis; Fiore, Alex R.; Reilly, Pamela A. An assessment of mercury in estuarine sediment and tissue in Southern New Jersey using public domain data
Mercury (Hg) is considered a contaminant of global concern for coastal environments due to its toxicity, widespread occurrence in sediment, and bioaccumulation in tissue. Coastal New Jersey, USA, is characterized by shallow bays and wetlands that provide critical habitat for wildlife but share space with expanding urban landscapes. This study was...
Ng, Kara; Szabo, Zoltan; Reilly, Pamela A.; Barringer, Julia; Smalling, Kelly L.
Urban development and stream ecosystem health—Science capabilities of the U.S. Geological Survey
Urban development creates multiple stressors that can degrade stream ecosystems by changing stream hydrology, water quality, and physical habitat. Contaminants, habitat destruction, and increasing streamflow variability resulting from urban development have been associated with the disruption of biological communities, particularly the loss of...
Reilly, Pamela A.; Szabo, Zoltan; Coles, James F. Biogeochemical environments of streambed-sediment pore waters with and without arsenic enrichment in a sedimentary rock terrain, New Jersey Piedmont, USA
Release of arsenic (As) from sedimentary rocks has resulted in contamination of groundwater in aquifers of the New Jersey Piedmont Physiographic Province, USA; the contamination also may affect the quality of the region's streamwater to which groundwater discharges. Biogeochemical mechanisms involved in the release process were investigated in the...
Mumford, Adam C.; Barringer, Julia L.; Reilly, Pamela A.; Eberl, Dennis D.; Blum, Alex E.; Young, Lily Y. Occurrence and mobility of mercury in groundwater
Mercury (Hg) has long been identified as an element that is injurious, even lethal, to living organisms. Exposure to its inorganic form, mainly from elemental Hg (Hg(0)) vapor (Fitzgerald & Lamborg, 2007) can cause damage to respiratory, neural, and renal systems (Hutton, 1987; USEPA, 2012; WHO, 2012). The organic form, methylmercury (CH3Hg+;...
Bradley, Paul M.; Barringer, Julia L.; Szabo, Zoltan; Reilly, Pamela A.
Arsenic in New Jersey Coastal Plain streams, sediments, and shallow groundwater: effects from different geologic sources and anthropogenic inputs on biogeochemical and physical mobilization processes
Arsenic (As) concentrations in New Jersey Coastal Plain streams generally exceed the State Surface Water Quality Standard (0.017 micrograms per liter (µg/L)), but concentrations seldom exceed 1 µg/L in filtered stream-water samples, regardless of geologic contributions or anthropogenic inputs. Nevertheless, As concentrations...
Barringer, Julia L.; Reilly, Pamela A.; Eberl, Dennis D.; Mumford, Adam C.; Benzel, William M.; Szabo, Zoltan; Shourds, Jennifer L.; Young, Lily Y.
Method to support Total Maximum Daily Load development using hydrologic alteration as a surrogate to address aquatic life impairment in New Jersey streams
More than 300 ambient monitoring sites in New Jersey have been identified by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) in its integrated water-quality monitoring and assessment report (that is, the 305(b) Report on general water quality and 303(d) List of waters that do not support their designated uses) as being impaired with...
Kennen, Jonathan; Riskin, Melissa L.; Reilly, Pamela A.; Colarullo, Susan J. Occurrence and mobility of mercury in groundwater: Chapter 5
1. Introduction 1.1. FORMS, TOXICITY, AND HEALTH EFFECTS Mercury (Hg) has long been identified as an element that is injurious, even lethal, to living organisms. Exposure to its inorganic form, mainly from elemental Hg (Hg(0)) vapor (Fitzgerald & Lamborg, 2007) can cause damage to respiratory, neural, and renal systems (Hutton, 1987; ...
Bradley, Paul M.; Barringer, Julia L.; Szabo, Zoltan; Reilly, Pamela A. Arsenic in groundwater: a summary of sources and the biogeochemical and hydrogeologic factors affecting arsenic occurrence and mobility
Arsenic (As) is a metalloid element (atomic number 33) with one naturally occurring isotope of atomic mass 75, and four oxidation states (-3, 0, +3, and +5) (Smedley and Kinniburgh, 2002). In the aqueous environment, the +3 and +5 oxidation states are most prevalent, as the oxyanions arsenite (H3AsO3 or H2AsO3- at pH ~9-11) and arsenate (H2AsO4-...
Bradley, Paul M.; Barringer, Julia L.; Reilly, Pamela A.