Rob leads groundwater data collection efforts including state-wide synoptics and fractured-rock aquifer monitoring. He is reponsible for field operations using 10- and 5-ton hydraulic derricks, a truck-mounted direct-push sampler, portable soil and rock boring rigs, and other equipment. He has led cooperative projects with the State of New Jersey and EPA.
Rob has worked for USGS since 1980.
Professional Experience
2005-2021 USGS Toxics Substances Hydrology Program Fractured Bedrock Research Site- NAWC. Continuous groundwater level and stream flow data collection networks, and straddle packer systems for multiple wells. Create and maintain a packer testing facility. Assist multiple research groups from government, academia, and industry.
Delaware River Basin NAWQA- Collect core samples and sediment for phase 1, and water levels for phase 2.
1984-2021: Install and maintain network of continuous water-level recorders, Collect punctuated water-level data, Collect groundwater and surface-water samples, Geologic logging, Drill/Hammer and install shallow piezometers with the mobile drill rig and direct push tools, Well development, Install piezometers and collect water-level and water-quality data from groundwater below streambeds,
Install soil gas probes and collect soil-gas probe data, Install submersible pumps for aquifer tests, water-quality sampling and other specialized borehole data collection, Collect drive point samples and cores in glacial and Coastal Plain sediments, Set straddle packers, collect packed zone pressure data, Provide assistance on surface and borehole geophysics, Collect slug test data.
1996: Project Chief: Potentiometric Surfaces of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy Aquifer System near National Park, New Jersey
1989-1993: Acting Field Operations Chief
1988-1991: Project Chief: Water Levels in Major Artesian Aquifers of the New Jersey Coastal Plain
1982-1983: Volunteer Museum of Natural History- Mineral Sciences Dept.
1980-1982: Hydrologic Field Assistant, Colorado
Pinelands Acid Rain, Atlantic County, Camden County, South River, Lake Hopatcong, Cumberland County, Picatinny Arsenal, Rutgers University, Lamington, Passaic Tunnel, McDonalds Branch, Princeton University, Fairlawn, Chloride synoptic, Sandy Hook, Forsythe Refuge Center, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, Atlantic Highlands Landslide, Colts Neck synoptic,
Beaufort, SC, Warminster and Lansdale , PA, Otis Air Force Base, MA, Mercury, LINJ NAWQA, Pine Lake Gain/Loss project, IWASS sampling, Delaware Geoprobe coring, Delmarva Groundwater Network, Virginia Geoprobe coring
Coastal Plain water-level synoptics, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018
Education and Certifications
B.A. in Earth and Environmental Sciences from Queens College (of the City University of NY) in 1979
Science and Products
Contaminant Fate and Transport Studies in Fractured Sedimentary Rock Aquifers at the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), West Trenton, N.J.
Water Levels in the Ten Major Confined Aquifers of the New Jersey Coastal Plain
Water-level conditions in the confined aquifers of the New Jersey Coastal Plain, 2013
Water-level conditions in the confined aquifers of the New Jersey Coastal Plain, 2008
Pathways for arsenic from sediments to groundwater to streams: Biogeochemical processes in the Inner Coastal Plain, New Jersey, USA
Arsenic in sediments, groundwater, and streamwater of a glauconitic Coastal Plain terrain, New Jersey, USA-Chemical " fingerprints" for geogenic and anthropogenic sources
Mercury and methylmercury dynamics in a coastal plain watershed, New Jersey, USA
Water-level conditions in selected confined aquifers of the New Jersey and Delaware coastal plain, 2003
Hydrogeologic framework, ground-water quality, and simulation of ground-water flow at the Fair Lawn Well Field Superfund site, Bergen County, New Jersey
Water levels in, extent of freshwater in, and water withdrawal from eight major confined aquifers, New Jersey Coastal Plain, 1993
Water Levels In Major Artesian Aquifers Of The New Jersey Coastal Plain, 1988
Science and Products
- Science
Contaminant Fate and Transport Studies in Fractured Sedimentary Rock Aquifers at the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), West Trenton, N.J.
Contaminants associated with industrial, airport, and other activities are present in groundwater in fractured-rock aquifers, posing long-term hazards to drinking-water supplies and ecosystems. The heterogeneous character of fractured rock challenges our understanding, monitoring, and remediation of such sites.Water Levels in the Ten Major Confined Aquifers of the New Jersey Coastal Plain
The Coastal Plain aquifers of New Jersey provide an important source of water for more than 3.5 million people. The USGS, in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, has been measuring water levels in the confined aquifers of the New Jersey Coastal Plain every five years beginning in 1978. Persistent, regionally extensive cones of depression are present in Ocean and... - Publications
Water-level conditions in the confined aquifers of the New Jersey Coastal Plain, 2013
The Coastal Plain aquifers of New Jersey provide an important source of water for more than 3.5 million people. In 2013, groundwater withdrawals from 10 confined aquifers of the New Jersey Coastal Plain totaled about 190 million gallons per day. Steadily increasing withdrawals from the late 1800s to the early 1990s resulted in declining water levels and the formation of regional cones of depressioWater-level conditions in the confined aquifers of the New Jersey Coastal Plain, 2008
Groundwater-level altitudes in 10 confined aquifers of the New Jersey Coastal Plain were measured and evaluated to provide an overview of regional groundwater conditions during fall 2008. Water levels were measured in more than 900 wells in New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and northern Delaware and potentiometric surface maps prepared for the confined Cohansey aquifer of Cape May County, the RioPathways for arsenic from sediments to groundwater to streams: Biogeochemical processes in the Inner Coastal Plain, New Jersey, USA
The Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments that underlie the Inner Coastal Plain of New Jersey contain the arsenic-rich mineral glauconite. Streambed sediments in two Inner Coastal Plain streams (Crosswicks and Raccoon Creeks) that traverse these glauconitic deposits are enriched in arsenic (15–25 mg/kg), and groundwater discharging to the streams contains elevated levels of arsenic (>80 μg/L at a siteArsenic in sediments, groundwater, and streamwater of a glauconitic Coastal Plain terrain, New Jersey, USA-Chemical " fingerprints" for geogenic and anthropogenic sources
Glauconite-bearing deposits are found worldwide, but As levels have been determined for relatively few. The As content of glauconites in sediments of the Inner Coastal Plain of New Jersey can exceed 100 mg/kg, and total As concentrations (up to 5.95 μg/L) found historically and recently in streamwaters exceed the State standard. In a major watershed of the Inner Coastal Plain, chemical “fingerprinMercury and methylmercury dynamics in a coastal plain watershed, New Jersey, USA
The upper Great Egg Harbor River watershed in New Jersey's Coastal Plain is urbanized but extensive freshwater wetlands are present downstream. In 2006-2007, studies to assess levels of total mercury (THg) found concentrations in unfiltered streamwater to range as high as 187 ng/L in urbanized areas. THg concentrations wereWater-level conditions in selected confined aquifers of the New Jersey and Delaware coastal plain, 2003
The Coastal Plain aquifers of New Jersey provide an important source of water for more than 2 million people. Steadily increasing withdrawals from the late 1800s to the early 1990s resulted in declining water levels and the formation of regional cones of depression. In addition to decreasing water supplies, declining water levels in the confined aquifers have led to reversals in natural hydraulicHydrogeologic framework, ground-water quality, and simulation of ground-water flow at the Fair Lawn Well Field Superfund site, Bergen County, New Jersey
Production wells in the Westmoreland well field, Fair Lawn, Bergen County, New Jersey (the 'Fair Lawn well field Superfund site'), are contaminated with volatile organic compounds, particularly trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, and 1,1,1-trichloroethane. In 1983, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) placed the Westmoreland well field on its National Priority List of Superfund sitWater levels in, extent of freshwater in, and water withdrawal from eight major confined aquifers, New Jersey Coastal Plain, 1993
Water levels in 722 wells in the Coastal Plain of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and northeastern Delaware were measured during October and November 1993 and were used to define the potentiometric surface of the eight major confined aquifers of the area. Isochlors (lines of equal chloride concentration) for 250 and 10,000 milligrams per liter are included to show the extent of freshwater in each of theWater Levels In Major Artesian Aquifers Of The New Jersey Coastal Plain, 1988
Water levels in 1,251 wells in the New Jersey Coastal Plain, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, and Kent and New Castle Counties, Delaware, were measured from October 1988 to February 1989 and compared with 1,071 water levels measured from September 1983 to May 1984. Water levels in 916 of the wells measured in the 1983 study were remeasured in the 1988 study. Alternate wells were selected to repl