Paul F Schuster
A Hydrologist with the Water 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.
Biography
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
TECHNICAL TRAINING RECEIVED
Ion Chromatography Animal Behavior
Geochemistry for Ground-water Systems Aquatic Chemistry
Isotope Hydrology Off-road Driving
Basic Helicopter/Airplane Safety Motorboat operations
Avalanche Safety Report Planning
CPR Certification Firearms Safety
Wilderness/Advanced First Aid Wilderness Survival
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
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....
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.
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...
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...
Schaefer, Kevin; Elshorbany, Yasin; Jafarov, Elchin; Schuster, Paul F.; Striegl, Robert G.; Wickland, Kimberly P.; Sunderland, Elsie M. 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...
Herman-Mercer, Nicole M.; Laituri, Melinda; Massey, Maggie; Matkin, Elli; Toohey, Ryan C.; Elder, Kelly; Schuster, Paul F.; Mutter, Edda A. 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...
Schuster, Paul F.; Schaefer, Kevin; Aiken, George R.; Antweiler, Ronald C.; DeWild, John F.; Gryziec, Joshua D.; Gusmeroli, Alessio; Hugelius, Gustaf; Jafarov, Elchin E.; Krabbenhoft, David P.; Liu, Lin; Herman-Mercer, Nicole M.; Mu, Cuicui; Roth, David A.; Schaefer, Tim; Striegl, Robert G.; Wickland, Kimberly P.; Zhang, Tingjun 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....
Clow, David W.; Williams, Mark W.; Schuster, Paul F. 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...
Toohey, Ryan C.; Herman-Mercer, Nicole M.; Schuster, Paul F.; Mutter, Edda A.; Koch, Joshua C. 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...
Herman-Mercer, Nicole M.; Matkin, Elli; Laituri, Melinda J.; Toohey, Ryan C.; Massey, Maggie; Elder, Kelly; Schuster, Paul F.; Mutter, Edda A. 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...
Aiken, George R.; Spencer, Robert G.M.; Striegl, Robert G.; Schuster, Paul F.; Raymond, Peter A.
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,...
Herman-Mercer, Nicole M.; Schuster, Paul F. 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...
Mu, Cuicui; Zhang, Tingjun; Schuster, Paul F.; Schaefer, Kevin; Wickland, Kimberly P.; Repert, Deborah A.; Liu, Lin; Schaefer, Tim; Cheng, Guodong 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...
Stubbins, Aron; Hood, Eran; Raymond, Peter A.; Aiken, George R.; Sleighter, Rachel L.; Hernes, Peter J.; Butman, David; Hatcher, Patrick G.; Striegl, Robert G.; Schuster, Paul F.; Abdulla, Hussain A.N.; Vermilyea, Andrew W.; Scott, Durelle T.; Spencer, Robert G.M. 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...
Schuster, Paul F.; Striegl, Robert G.; Aiken, George R.; Krabbenhoft, David P.; DeWild, John F.; Butler, Kenna D.; Kamark, Ben; Dornblaser, Mark 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,...
Herman-Mercer, Nicole M.; Schuster, Paul F.; Maracle, Karonhiakt'tie
Scientists Quantify Export Of Mercury From The Yukon River
Thawing permafrost in the Yukon River watershed may be a source of naturally occurring mercury being conveyed by rivers into the environment, according to USGS research scientists.