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Paul F Schuster

Paul F Schuster is a Hydrologist Emeritus with the USGS Water Resources Mission Area, Earth Systems Process Division (ESPD), (Hydro-Eco Interactions Branch (HEIB) in Boulder, Colorado. Since 1987, he has been a principal investigator on many large scale and diverse hydrologic studies.

Paul's research and monitoring work has included many national-scale studies such as acid rain studies, Grand Canyon flood reconstruction studies, paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental pollution studies on the glaciers of Wyoming, aquatic cycling of mercury and climate change studies as far south as the Florida Everglades and as far north as the Yukon River Basin, Alaska. Paul has been the laboratory supervisor all of these studies, including the Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Budget (WEBB) Program. Paul encourages interactions among scientists and non scientists of diverse backgrounds and disciplines.

EDUCATION

  • Rutgers University, Cook College. Geology/Geography, B.S. 1986
  • Brookdale Community College. Mathematics, A.A. 1983

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

  • 1995-Present: Research Hydrologist, Yukon River Project, Climate and Land Use Mission Area
  • 2009-Present: Laboratory Supervisor, Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Budgets (WEBB) Project
  • 1989-2004: Senior scientist, Global Ice-Core Research Project
  • 1995-1999: Senior scientist, Aquatic Cycling of Mercury in the Everglades Project
  • 1987-1993: Senior staff scientist of the Corrosion By Wet Precipitation Project
  • 1986-1987: Hydrologist on the Cape may, N.J. Salt-water Intrusion Project
  • 1984-1986: Hydrologic technician on the N.J. Pine Barrens Acid Rain Project
  • 1984: Laboratory Assistant, Rutgers University, Cook College

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  • 20 first authored publications in scientifically refereed journals
  • 29 coauthored publications in scientifically refereed journals
  • 16 invited first-authored presentations of scientific findings and research at professional meetings
  • 84 authored and coauthored presentations of scientific findings and research at professional meetings
  • 95 colleague reviews for submission to professional journals and USGS series reports
  • 10 USGS awards for outstanding performance
  • 4 USGS Letters of recognition for exemplary performance
  • 1 USGS Superior Service Certificate for outstanding scientific contributions
  • 1 DOI Partners in Conservation Award

CURRENT MEMBERSHIP IN PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

  • American Geophysical Union
  • Co-convener, 2006 AGU Fall Meeting, Special session; Hydrology and Biogeochemistry of Northern Watersheds: Current Status and Response to Climate Change II.
  • R G Striegl and P F Schuster Presiding

Science and Products

Filter Total Items: 30

Potential impacts of mercury released from thawing permafrost

Mercury (Hg) is a naturally occurring element that bonds with organic matter and, when converted to methylmercury, is a potent neurotoxicant. Here we estimate potential future releases of Hg from thawing permafrost for low and high greenhouse gas emissions scenarios using a mechanistic model. By 2200, the high emissions scenario shows annual permafrost Hg emissions to the atmosphere comparable to
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Water Resources

Vulnerability of subsistence systems due to social and environmental change: A case study in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska

Arctic Indigenous communities have been classified as highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. The remoteness of Arctic communities, their dependence upon local species and habitats, and the historical marginalization of Indigenous peoples, enhances this characterization of vulnerability. However, vulnerability is a result of diverse historical, social, economic, political, cultural, institu
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Office of Tribal Relations

Permafrost stores a globally significant amount of mercury

Changing climate in northern regions is causing permafrost to thaw with major implications for the global mercury (Hg) cycle. We estimated Hg in permafrost regions based on in situ measurements of sediment total mercury (STHg), soil organic carbon (SOC), and the Hg to carbon ratio (RHgC) combined with maps of soil carbon. We measured a median STHg of 43 ± 30 ng Hg g soil−1 and a median RHgC of 1.6

Multidecadal increases in the Yukon River Basin of chemical fluxes as indicators of changing flowpaths, groundwater, and permafrost

The Yukon River Basin, underlain by discontinuous permafrost, has experienced a warming climate over the last century that has altered air temperature, precipitation, and permafrost. We investigated a water chemistry database from 1982 to 2014 for the Yukon River and its major tributary, the Tanana River. Significant increases of Ca, Mg, and Na annual flux were found in both rivers. Additionally,
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Ecosystems, Climate Adaptation Science Centers, Climate Adaptation Science Center

Increasing aeolian dust deposition to snowpacks in the Rocky Mountains inferred from snowpack, wet deposition, and aerosol chemistry

Mountain snowpacks are a vital natural resource for ∼1.5 billion people in the northern Hemisphere, helping to meet human and ecological demand for water in excess of that provided by summer rain. Springtime warming and aeolian dust deposition accelerate snowmelt, increasing the risk of water shortages during late summer, when demand is greatest. While climate networks provide data that can be use
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Water Resources, Climate Research and Development Program, Land Change Science Program, Colorado Water Science Center

Changing times, changing stories: Generational differences in climate change perspectives from four remote indigenous communities in Subarctic Alaska

Indigenous Arctic and Subarctic communities currently are facing a myriad of social and environmental changes. In response to these changes, studies concerning indigenous knowledge (IK) and climate change vulnerability, resiliency, and adaptation have increased dramatically in recent years. Risks to lives and livelihoods are often the focus of adaptation research; however, the cultural dimensions
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Office of Tribal Relations

Influences of glacial melt and permafrost thaw on the age of dissolved organic carbon in the Yukon River basin

Responses of near-surface permafrost and glacial ice to climate change are of particular significance for understanding long-term effects on global carbon cycling and carbon export by high-latitude northern rivers. Here we report Δ14C-dissolved organic carbon (DOC) values and dissolved organic matter optical data for the Yukon River, 15 tributaries of the Yukon River, glacial meltwater, and ground

Strategic needs of water on the Yukon: an interdisciplinary approach to studying hydrology and climate change in the Lower Yukon River Basin

Strategic Needs of Water on the Yukon (SNOWY) is an interdisciplinary research project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF; http://www.nsf.gov/). The SNOWY team is made up of a diverse group of researchers from different backgrounds and organizations. This partnership between scientists from different disciplines (hydrology, geography, and social science), government agencies, nonprofit
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Water Resources

Carbon and geochemical properties of cryosols on the North Slope of Alaska

Cryosols contain roughly 1700 Gt of Soil organic carbon (SOC) roughly double the carbon content of the atmosphere. As global temperature rises and permafrost thaws, this carbon reservoir becomes vulnerable to microbial decomposition, resulting in greenhouse gas emissions that will amplify anthropogenic warming. Improving our understanding of carbon dynamics in thawing permafrost requires more dat

Mercury export from the Yukon River Basin and potential response to a changing climate

We measured mercury (Hg) concentrations and calculated export and yield from the Yukon River Basin (YRB) to quantify Hg flux from a large, permafrost-dominated, high-latitude watershed. Exports of Hg averaged 4400 kg Hg yr-1. The average annual yield for the YRB during the study period was 5.17 μg m-2 yr-1, which is 3–32 times more than Hg yields reported for 8 other major northern hemisphere rive
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Water Resources, Ecosystems, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Environmental Health Program, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Mercury Research Laboratory

Indigenous observations of climate change in the Lower Yukon River Basin, Alaska

Natural science climate change studies have led to an overwhelming amount of evidence that the Arctic and Subarctic are among the world's first locations to begin experiencing climate change. Indigenous knowledge of northern regions is a valuable resource to assess the effects of climate change on the people and the landscape. Most studies, however, have focused on coastal Arctic and Subarctic com
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Office of Tribal Relations

Anthropogenic aerosols as a source of ancient dissolved organic matter in glaciers

Glacier-derived dissolved organic matter represents a quantitatively significant source of ancient, yet highly bioavailable carbon to downstream ecosystems. This finding runs counter to logical perceptions of age–reactivity relationships, in which the least reactive material withstands degradation the longest and is therefore the oldest. The remnants of ancient peatlands and forests overrun by gla
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A boat docked near the Shingobee Headwaters research station.

Shingobee Headwaters Aquatic Ecosystems Project (SHAEP)

The Shingobee Headwaters Aquatic Ecosystems Project (SHAEP) brings together scientists from the USGS along with students and professors from universities in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and California for a unique study opportunity. This diverse group of scientists research the physical, chemical, and biological processes of lakes, wetlands, and streams at local and watershed scales.
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Water Resources
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Shingobee Headwaters Aquatic Ecosystems Project (SHAEP)

The Shingobee Headwaters Aquatic Ecosystems Project (SHAEP) brings together scientists from the USGS along with students and professors from universities in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and California for a unique study opportunity. This diverse group of scientists research the physical, chemical, and biological processes of lakes, wetlands, and streams at local and watershed scales.
Learn More
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Table Top Mountain and the West Twin Creek catchment

Nome Creek Experimental Watershed

The Nome Creek Experimental Watershed (NCEW) has been the site of multiple studies focused on understanding hydrology, biogeochemistry, and ecosystem changes related to permafrost thaw and fire in the boreal forest.
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Alaska Science Center
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Nome Creek Experimental Watershed

The Nome Creek Experimental Watershed (NCEW) has been the site of multiple studies focused on understanding hydrology, biogeochemistry, and ecosystem changes related to permafrost thaw and fire in the boreal forest.
Learn More
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Alaskan tundra

Yukon River Basin Indigenous Observation Network

The hydrology of the Yukon River Basin has changed over the last several decades as evidenced by a variety of discharge, gravimetric, and geochemical analyses. The Indigenous Observation Network (ION), a community-based project, was initiated by the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council and USGS. Capitalizing on existing USGS monitoring and research infrastructure and supplementing USGS col
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Climate Adaptation Science Centers, Climate Adaptation Science Center
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Yukon River Basin Indigenous Observation Network

The hydrology of the Yukon River Basin has changed over the last several decades as evidenced by a variety of discharge, gravimetric, and geochemical analyses. The Indigenous Observation Network (ION), a community-based project, was initiated by the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council and USGS. Capitalizing on existing USGS monitoring and research infrastructure and supplementing USGS col
Learn More
link
Alaskan tundra

Yukon River Basin Indigenous Observation Network

The hydrology of the Yukon River Basin has changed over the last several decades as evidenced by a variety of discharge, gravimetric, and geochemical analyses. The Indigenous Observation Network (ION), a community-based project, was initiated by the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council and USGS. Capitalizing on existing USGS monitoring and research infrastructure and supplementing USGS col
By
Climate Adaptation Science Centers, Climate Adaptation Science Center
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Yukon River Basin Indigenous Observation Network

The hydrology of the Yukon River Basin has changed over the last several decades as evidenced by a variety of discharge, gravimetric, and geochemical analyses. The Indigenous Observation Network (ION), a community-based project, was initiated by the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council and USGS. Capitalizing on existing USGS monitoring and research infrastructure and supplementing USGS col
Learn More

Long-term hydrological and biological data from Williams and Shingobee Lakes, north-central Minnesota

The Shingobee Headwaters Aquatic Ecosystem Project is a long-term, multi-disciplinary monitoring and research study of a 28-square-kilometer headwaters watershed in north-central Minnesota that began in 1978. Emphasis is on processes related to hydrology, limnology, geochemistry, and watershed ecology and the land-water and atmosphere-water interfaces. Lakes are a substantial focus and integrator
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Water Resources

Science and Products