Sarah Stackpoole
Biography
I am a Research Ecologist with the US Geological Survey in Denver. I completed my undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, my graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and I joined the USGS in 2009. I use field studies along with large-scale data assimilation and statistical approaches to document water quality status and trends. I also use a variety of methods to integrate water quality metrics with climate and land-use datasets to identify drivers of change in surface water quality and potential stessors on human and aquatic ecosystem health.
Current and Past Projects:
- USGS National Water Quality Program Surface Water Status and Trends Team (2018 - present) - Document the impact of current and past anthropogenic phosphorus sources on soil saturation and water quality. Characterize the occurrence and distribution of pesticides in surface waters. https://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/swtrends/
- USGS LandCarbon Team (2009 - 2017) - Assimilate large-scale datasets and determine the best statistical models and extrapolation methods to provide an assessment of current rates of freshwater carbon storage, transport, and emissions for the conterminous United States and Alaska. https://www2.usgs.gov/climate_landuse/land_carbon/
Publications
Stackpoole, S.M., E.G. Stets, L.A. Sprague. 2019. Variable impacts of contemporary versus legacy agricultural phosphorus on US river water quality. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116:20562-20567, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1903226116.
Butman, D. E., R. G. Striegl, S. M. Stackpoole, P. A. Del Giorgio, Y. T. Prairie, D. J. Pilcher, P. A. Raymond, F. Paz Pellat, and J. Alcocer. 2018. Chapter 14: Inland waters. In Second State of the Carbon Cycle Report: A Sustained Assessment Report [Cavallero, N., G. Shrestha, R. Birdsey, M.A. Mayes, R. G. Najjar, S.C. Reed, P. Romero-Lankao, and Z. Zhu (eds.)]. US Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, pp.568-595, https://carbon2018.globalchange.gov/downloads/SOCCR2_Ch14_Inland_Waters.pdf.
Mc Guire, A.D., H. Genet, Z. Lyu, N. Pastick, S. Stackpoole, R. Birdsey, D. D'Amore, Y. He, T. S. Rupp, R. Striegl, B.K. Wylie, X. Zhou, Q. Zhuang, Z. Zhu. 2018. Assessing Historical and Projected Carbon Balance of Alaska: A Synthesis of Results and Policy/Management Implications. Ecological Applications, 28(6) 1396-1412. https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/eap.1768
Stackpoole, S. M., D. E. Butman, D. W. Clow, K. L. Verdin, B. V. Gaglioti, H. Genet, and R. Striegl. 2017. Inland waters and their role in the carbon cycle of Alaska. Ecological Applications, 27(5) 1403-1420. https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/eap.1552
Stets, E. G., D. Butman, C. P. McDonald, S. Stackpoole, M. D. DeGrandpre, and R. G. Striegl. 2017. Carbonate buffering and metabolic controls on carbon dioxide in rivers. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, (31) 663-677. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/2016GB005578
Stackpoole, S., E.G. Stets, D.W. Clow, D.A. Burns, G.R. Aiken, B.T. Aulenbach, I.F. Creed, R.M. Hirsch, H. Laudon, B.A. Pellerin, R.G. Striegl. 2017. Spatial and temporal patterns of dissolved organic matter quantity and quality in the Mississippi River Basin, 1997-2013. Hydrological Processes, (31) 902-915. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hyp.11072.
Stackpoole, S., D. Butman, D. Clow, K. Verdin, B. Gaglioti, R. Striegl. 2016. Chapter 8 - Carbon burial, transport, and emission from inland aquatic ecosystems in Alaska. Z. Zhu and A.D. Mc Guire (Eds.) In Baseline and projected future carbon storage and greenhouse-gas fluxes in ecosystems of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1826, 208 p. [Link]
Butman, D., S. Stackpoole, E. Stets, C. McDonald, D. Clow, R. Striegl. 2016. Aquatic carbon cycling in the conterminous US and implications for terrestrial carbon accounting. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 113(1) 58-63. [Link]
Clow, D.W., Stackpoole, S.M., Verdin, K.L., Butman, D.E., Zhu, Z., Krabbenhoft, D.P., and Striegl, R.G., 2015, Organic Carbon Burial in Lakes and Reservoirs of the Conterminous United States: Environmental Science & Technology. [Link]
Creed, I.F., McKnight, D.M., Pellerin, B.A., Green, M.B., Bergamaschi, B.A., Aiken, G.R., Burns, D.A., Findlay, S.E.G., Shanley, J.B., Striegl, R.G., Aulenbach, B.T., Clow, D.W., Laudon, H., McGlynn, B.L., McGuire, K.J., Smith, R.A., and Stackpoole, S.M., 2015, The river as a chemostat: fresh perspectives on dissolved organic matter flowing down the river continuum: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. [Link]
Stackpoole SM, Stets EG, Striegl RG. 2014. The impact of climate and reservoirs on longitudinal riverine carbon fluxes from two major watersheds in the Central and Intermontane West. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 119:2013JG002496. [Link]
Stackpoole, S., D. Butman, D. Clow, C. McDonald, E. Stets, R. Striegl. 2014. Chapter 6 - Baseline carbon sequestration, transport, and emission from aquatic ecosystems in the eastern United States. Z. Zhu (Ed.) In Baseline and projected future carbon storage and greenhouse-gas fluxes in ecosystems of the Eastern United States: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1804, 204 p. [Link]
Stackpoole, S., D. Butman, D. Clow, C. McDonald, E. Stets, R. Striegl. Chapter 10 - Baseline carbon sequestration, transport, and emission from aquatic ecosystems in the western United States. Z. Zhu (Ed.). 2012. In Baseline and projected future carbon storage and greenhouse-gas fluxes in ecosystems of the Western United States: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1797, 192 p., [Link]
Zhu, Z., ed., M. Bouchard, D. Butman, T. Hawbaker, Z. Li, J. Liu, S. Liu, C. McDonald, R. Reker, K. Sayler, B. Sleeter, T. Sohl., S. Stackpoole, A. Wein, Z. Zhu. 2011. Baseline and projected future carbon storage and greenhouse-gas fluxes in the Great Plains region of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1787, 28 p., [Link]
Stackpoole, S. M.; Kosola, K. R.; Workmaster, B. A. A.; Guldan, N. M.; Browne, B. A.; Jackson, R. D. , 2011. Looking beyond fertilizer: Assessing the contribution of nitrogen from hydrologic inputs and organic matter to plant growth in the cranberry agroecosystem , Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 90:41-54. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10705-011-9442-4
Zhu, Zhiliang, ed.; Bergamaschi, Brian; Bernknopf, Richard; Clow, David; Dye, Dennis; Faulkner, Stephen; Forney, William; Gleason, Robert; Hawbaker,Todd; Liu, Jinxun; Liu, Shuguang; Prisley, Stephen; Reed, Bradley; Reeves, Matthew; Rollins, Matthew; Sleeter, Benjamin; Sohl, Terry; Stackpoole, Sarah; Stehman, Stephen; Striegl, Robert; Wein, Anne; Zhu, Zhiliang , 2010. A method for assessing carbon stocks, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse-gas fluxes in ecosystems of the United States under present conditions and future scenarios. U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5233, xviii, 85 p. ; appendices; Download Files: Main body; Appendix A; Appendix B; Appendix C; Appendix D; Appendix E; Appendix F; Appendix G; Appendix H; Appendix I. https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1787/
Stackpoole, S., B. Workmaster, R. Jackson, K. Kosola. 2008. Nitrogen conservation strategies of cranberry plants and ericoid mycorrhizal fungi in an agroecosystem. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 40: 2736-2742. [Link]
Data Releases
Stackpoole, S.M., Stets, E.G., and Sprague, L.A., 2019, Watershed-scale agricultural phosphorus balances and river export trends for the conterminous United States, 1992-2012: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P972DHYF.
Foks, S.S., S.M. Stackpoole, M. M. Dornblaser, E.T. Whiddon, S.E. Breitmeyer, D.A. Campbell, J.T. Crawford, E.B. Metcalf, E.G. Stets, B.A. Uhle, B.M. Voss, K.P. Wickland, R.G. Striegl. 2018. Water quality, quantity, and gas fluxes of the Upper Mississippi River Basin (WY 2012-2016). U.S. Geological Survey Data Release. https://doi.org/10.5066/F7P849S4.
Science and Products
Inland waters
1. The total flux of carbon—which includes gaseous emissions, lateral flux, and burial—from inland waters across the conterminous United States (CONUS) and Alaska is 193 teragrams of carbon (Tg C) per year. The dominant pathway for carbon movement out of inland waters is the emission of carbon dioxide gas across water surfaces of streams, rivers,...
Cavallaro, N.; Shrestha, G.; Birdsey, R.; Mayes, M. A.; Najjar, R.G.; Reed, S.C.; Romero-Lankao, P.; Zhu, Z.; Butman, David E.; Striegl, Robert G.; Stackpoole, Sarah M.; Del Giorgio, Paul; Prairie, Yves; Pilcher, Darren; Raymond, Peter; Paz Pellat, Fernando; Alcocer, Javier Assessing historical and projected carbon balance of Alaska: A synthesis of results and policy/management implications
We summarize the results of a recent interagency assessment of land carbon dynamics in Alaska, in which carbon dynamics were estimated for all major terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems for the historical period (1950–2009) and a projection period (2010–2099). Between 1950 and 2009, upland and wetland (i.e., terrestrial) ecosystems of the state...
McGuire, A. David; Genet, Hélène; Lyu, Zhou; Pastick, Neal J.; Stackpoole, Sarah M.; Birdsey, Richard; D'Amore, David; He, Yujie; Rupp, T. Scott; Striegl, Robert G.; Wylie, Bruce K.; Zhou, Xiaoping; Zhuang, Qianlai; Zhu, Zhiliang Inland waters and their role in the carbon cycle of Alaska
The magnitude of Alaska (AK) inland waters carbon (C) fluxes is likely to change in the future due to amplified climate warming impacts on the hydrology and biogeochemical processes in high latitude regions. Although current estimates of major aquatic C fluxes represent an essential baseline against which future change can be compared, a...
Stackpoole, Sarah M.; Butman, David E.; Clow, David W.; Verdin, Kristine L.; Gaglioti, Benjamin V.; Genet, Hélène; Striegl, Robert G. Carbonate buffering and metabolic controls on carbon dioxide in rivers
Multiple processes support the significant efflux of carbon dioxide (CO2) from rivers and streams. Attribution of CO2 oversaturation will lead to better quantification of the freshwater carbon cycle and provide insights into the net cycling of nutrients and pollutants. CO2 production is closely related to O2consumption because of the...
Stets, Edward G.; Butman, David; McDonald, Cory P.; Stackpoole, Sarah M.; DeGrandpre, Michael D.; Striegl, Robert G. Spatial and temporal patterns of dissolved organic matter quantity and quality in the Mississippi River Basin, 1997–2013
Recent studies have found insignificant or decreasing trends in time-series dissolved organic carbon (DOC) datasets, questioning the assumption that long-term DOC concentrations in surface waters are increasing in response to anthropogenic forcing, including climate change, land use, and atmospheric acid deposition. We used the weighted...
Stackpoole, Sarah M.; Stets, Edward G.; Clow, David W.; Burns, Douglas A.; Aiken, George R.; Aulenbach, Brent T.; Creed, Irena F.; Hirsch, Robert M.; Laudon, Hjalmar; Pellerin, Brian; Striegl, Robert G. Aquatic carbon cycling in the conterminous United States and implications for terrestrial carbon accounting
Inland water ecosystems dynamically process, transport, and sequester carbon. However, the transport of carbon through aquatic environments has not been quantitatively integrated in the context of terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we present the first integrated assessment, to our knowledge, of freshwater carbon fluxes for the conterminous United...
Butman, David; Stackpoole, Sarah M.; Stets, Edward G.; McDonald, Cory P.; Clow, David W.; Striegl, Robert G. Organic carbon burial in lakes and reservoirs of the conterminous United States
Organic carbon (OC) burial in lacustrine sediments represents an important sink in the global carbon cycle; however, large-scale OC burial rates are poorly constrained, primarily because of the sparseness of available data sets. Here we present an analysis of OC burial rates in water bodies of the conterminous U.S. (CONUS) that takes advantage of...
Clow, David W.; Stackpoole, Sarah M.; Verdin, Kristine L.; Butman, David E.; Zhu, Zhi-Liang; Krabbenhoft, David P.; Striegl, Robert G. The river as a chemostat: fresh perspectives on dissolved organic matter flowing down the river continuum
A better understanding is needed of how hydrological and biogeochemical processes control dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations and dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition from headwaters downstream to large rivers. We examined a large DOM dataset from the National Water Information System of the US Geological Survey, which represents...
Creed, Irena F.; McKnight, Diane M.; Pellerin, Brian; Green, Mark B.; Bergamaschi, Brian; Aiken, George R.; Burns, Douglas A.; Findlay, Stuart E G; Shanley, James B.; Striegl, Robert G.; Aulenbach, Brent T.; Clow, David W.; Laudon, Hjalmar; McGlynn, Brian L.; McGuire, Kevin J.; Smith, Richard A.; Stackpoole, Sarah M. The impact of climate and reservoirs on longitudinal riverine carbon fluxes from two major watersheds in the Central and Intermontane West
A nested sampling network on the Colorado (CR) and Missouri Rivers (MR) provided data to assess impacts of large-scale reservoir systems and climate on carbon export. The Load Estimator (LOADEST) model was used to estimate both dissolved inorganic and organic carbon (DIC and DOC) fluxes for a total of 22 sites along the main stems of the CR and MR...
Stackpoole, Sarah M.; Stets, Edward G.; Striegl, Robert G.
Baseline and projected future carbon storage and greenhouse-gas fluxes in ecosystems of the Western United States
This assessment was conducted to fulfill the requirements of section 712 of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 and to improve understanding of carbon and greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes in ecosystems of the Western United States. The assessment examined carbon storage, carbon fluxes, and other GHG fluxes (methane and nitrous oxide...
Zhu, Zhi-Liang; Reed, Bradley C.
Baseline and projected future carbon storage and greenhouse-gas fluxes in the Great Plains region of the United States
This assessment was conducted to fulfill the requirements of section 712 of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 and to improve understanding of carbon and greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes in the Great Plains region in the central part of the United States. The assessment examined carbon storage, carbon fluxes, and other GHG fluxes (...
Zhu, Zhi-Liang; Bouchard, Michelle; Butman, David; Hawbaker, Todd; Li, Zhengpeng; Liu, Jinxun; Liu, Shu-Guang; McDonald, Cory; Reker, Ryan R.; Sayler, Kristi; Sleeter, Benjamin; Sohl, Terry; Stackpoole, Sarah; Wein, Anne; Zhu, Zhi-Liang
Assessing carbon stocks, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse-gas fluxes in ecosystems of the United States under present conditions and future scenarios
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) requires the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to develop a methodology and conduct an assessment of carbon storage, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse-gas (GHG) fluxes in the Nation's ecosystems. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed and published the methodology (U.S....
Zhu, Zhi-Liang; Stackpoole, Sarah
Phosphorus and River Water Quality
Investigating the effects of historical phosphorus on current river water quality.
Managing phosphorus in U.S. streams and rivers still a challenge
Despite decades of efforts to reduce phosphorus loads in streams, phosphorus continues to be a problem in many U.S. streams and rivers, causing explosive growth of aquatic plants and algae, including formation of harmful algal blooms. A new study by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Program investigates why.