Scott Ator is a Hydrologist at the USGS MD-DE-DC Water Science Center.
I have been a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Baltimore, Maryland since 1994, including a Research Hydrologist from 2005 through 2010. My work has focused primarily on the design, implementation, and analysis and interpretation of results of water-quality and geochemical studies (including major-ion chemistry, nutrients, and pesticides) in streams and groundwater at multiple spatial
Professional Experience
Hydrologist at USGS MD-DE-DC Water Science Center, Catonsville, MD, 1994 to present day
Research Hydrologist at USGS MD-DE-DC Water Science Center, Catonsville, MD, 2005-2010
Education and Certifications
MS, Environmental Science and Policy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 2003
BS, Geology, summa cum laude, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 1994
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 42
Understanding nutrients in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and implications for management and restoration: The Eastern Shore
The Eastern Shore includes only a small part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, but contributes disproportionately large loads of the excess nitrogen and phosphorus that have contributed to ecological and economic degradation of the bay in recent decades. Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States and a vital ecological and economic resource. The bay and its tributaries have been deg
The quality of our Nation's waters: water quality in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain surficial aquifer system, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Virginia, 1988-2009
The surficial aquifer system of the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain is made up of unconfined aquifers that underlie most of the area. This aquifer system is a critical renewable source of drinking water and is the source of most flow to streams and of recharge to underlying confined aquifers. Millions of people rely on the surficial aquifer system for public and domestic water supply, in particula
Nitrate fate and transport through current and former depressional wetlands in an agricultural landscape, Choptank Watershed, Maryland, United States
Understanding local groundwater hydrology and geochemistry is critical for evaluating the effectiveness of wetlands at mitigating agricultural impacts on surface waters. The effectiveness of depressional wetlands at mitigating nitrate (NO3) transport from fertilized row crops, through groundwater, to local streams was examined in the watershed of the upper Choptank River, a tributary of Chesapeake
Nutrient load summaries for major lakes and estuaries of the Eastern United States, 2002
Nutrient enrichment of lakes and estuaries across the Nation is widespread. Nutrient enrichment can stimulate excessive plant and algal growth and cause a number of undesirable effects that impair aquatic life and recreational activities and can also result in economic effects. Understanding the amount of nutrients entering lakes and estuaries, the physical characteristics affecting the nutrient p
A regional classification of the effectiveness of depressional wetlands at mitigating nitrogen transport to surface waters in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain
Nitrogen from nonpoint sources contributes to eutrophication, hypoxia, and related ecological degradation in Atlantic Coastal Plain streams and adjacent coastal estuaries such as Chesapeake Bay and Pamlico Sound. Although denitrification in depressional (non-riparian) wetlands common to the Coastal Plain can be a significant landscape sink for nitrogen, the effectiveness of individual wetlands at
Estimating contributions of nitrate and herbicides from groundwater to headwater streams, northern Atlantic Coastal Plain, USA
Groundwater transport often complicates understanding of surface-water contamination. We estimated the regional flux of nitrate and selected herbicides from groundwater to nontidal headwater streams of the Atlantic Coastal Plain (New Jersey through North Carolina) based on late-winter or spring base-flow samples from 174 streams. Sampled streams were selected randomly, and flux estimates are based
Sources, fate, and transport of nitrogen and phosphorus in the Chesapeake Bay watershed: An empirical model
Spatially Referenced Regression on Watershed Attributes (SPARROW) was used to provide empirical estimates of the sources, fate, and transport of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and the mean annual TN and TP flux to the bay and in each of 80,579 nontidal tributary stream reaches. Restoration efforts in recent decades have been insufficient to meet esta
Contributions of Phosphorus from Groundwater to Streams in the Piedmont, Blue Ridge, and Valley and Ridge Physiographic Provinces, Eastern United States
Phosphorus from natural and human sources is likely to be discharged from groundwater to streams in certain geochemical environments. Water-quality data collected from 1991 through 2007 in paired networks of groundwater and streams in different hydrogeologic and land-use settings of the Piedmont, Blue Ridge, and Valley and Ridge Physiographic Provinces in the eastern United States were compiled an
Sources of suspended-sediment flux in streams of the chesapeake bay watershed: A regional application of the sparrow model
We describe the sources and transport of fluvial suspended sediment in nontidal streams of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and vicinity. We applied SPAtially Referenced Regressions on Watershed attributes, which spatially correlates estimated mean annual flux of suspended sediment in nontidal streams with sources of suspended sediment and transport factors. According to our model, urban development g
Natural and Human Influences on Water Quality in a Shallow Regional Unconsolidated Aquifer, Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain
Data collected from more than 400 wells in the surficial unconfined aquifer in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain (New York through North Carolina) were compiled and analyzed to improve understanding of multiple natural and human influences on water quality in such shallow regional aquifers. Geochemical patterns were identified and described through principal components analysis on major ions, an
Pesticides in Ground Water of Central and Western Maryland
Selected pesticides and degradates (products of pesticide degradation) are detectable in ground water in many parts of central and western Maryland, although concentrations are generally less than 0.1 micrograms per liter. Ground-water samples collected recently (1994-2003) from 72 wells in areas of Maryland underlain by consolidated carbonate, crystalline, or siliciclastic aquifers (areas north a
Synthesis of U.S. Geological Survey science for the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and implications for environmental management
The purpose of this report is to present a synthesis of the USGS Chesapeake Bay science related to the 2001-06 goals and provide implications for environmental management. The report provides USGS findings that address the science needs of the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) restoration goals and includes summaries of 1. land-use change; 2. water quality in the watershed, including nutrients, sedimen
Science and Products
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 42
Understanding nutrients in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and implications for management and restoration: The Eastern Shore
The Eastern Shore includes only a small part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, but contributes disproportionately large loads of the excess nitrogen and phosphorus that have contributed to ecological and economic degradation of the bay in recent decades. Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States and a vital ecological and economic resource. The bay and its tributaries have been degThe quality of our Nation's waters: water quality in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain surficial aquifer system, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Virginia, 1988-2009
The surficial aquifer system of the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain is made up of unconfined aquifers that underlie most of the area. This aquifer system is a critical renewable source of drinking water and is the source of most flow to streams and of recharge to underlying confined aquifers. Millions of people rely on the surficial aquifer system for public and domestic water supply, in particulaNitrate fate and transport through current and former depressional wetlands in an agricultural landscape, Choptank Watershed, Maryland, United States
Understanding local groundwater hydrology and geochemistry is critical for evaluating the effectiveness of wetlands at mitigating agricultural impacts on surface waters. The effectiveness of depressional wetlands at mitigating nitrate (NO3) transport from fertilized row crops, through groundwater, to local streams was examined in the watershed of the upper Choptank River, a tributary of ChesapeakeNutrient load summaries for major lakes and estuaries of the Eastern United States, 2002
Nutrient enrichment of lakes and estuaries across the Nation is widespread. Nutrient enrichment can stimulate excessive plant and algal growth and cause a number of undesirable effects that impair aquatic life and recreational activities and can also result in economic effects. Understanding the amount of nutrients entering lakes and estuaries, the physical characteristics affecting the nutrient pA regional classification of the effectiveness of depressional wetlands at mitigating nitrogen transport to surface waters in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain
Nitrogen from nonpoint sources contributes to eutrophication, hypoxia, and related ecological degradation in Atlantic Coastal Plain streams and adjacent coastal estuaries such as Chesapeake Bay and Pamlico Sound. Although denitrification in depressional (non-riparian) wetlands common to the Coastal Plain can be a significant landscape sink for nitrogen, the effectiveness of individual wetlands atEstimating contributions of nitrate and herbicides from groundwater to headwater streams, northern Atlantic Coastal Plain, USA
Groundwater transport often complicates understanding of surface-water contamination. We estimated the regional flux of nitrate and selected herbicides from groundwater to nontidal headwater streams of the Atlantic Coastal Plain (New Jersey through North Carolina) based on late-winter or spring base-flow samples from 174 streams. Sampled streams were selected randomly, and flux estimates are basedSources, fate, and transport of nitrogen and phosphorus in the Chesapeake Bay watershed: An empirical model
Spatially Referenced Regression on Watershed Attributes (SPARROW) was used to provide empirical estimates of the sources, fate, and transport of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and the mean annual TN and TP flux to the bay and in each of 80,579 nontidal tributary stream reaches. Restoration efforts in recent decades have been insufficient to meet estaContributions of Phosphorus from Groundwater to Streams in the Piedmont, Blue Ridge, and Valley and Ridge Physiographic Provinces, Eastern United States
Phosphorus from natural and human sources is likely to be discharged from groundwater to streams in certain geochemical environments. Water-quality data collected from 1991 through 2007 in paired networks of groundwater and streams in different hydrogeologic and land-use settings of the Piedmont, Blue Ridge, and Valley and Ridge Physiographic Provinces in the eastern United States were compiled anSources of suspended-sediment flux in streams of the chesapeake bay watershed: A regional application of the sparrow model
We describe the sources and transport of fluvial suspended sediment in nontidal streams of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and vicinity. We applied SPAtially Referenced Regressions on Watershed attributes, which spatially correlates estimated mean annual flux of suspended sediment in nontidal streams with sources of suspended sediment and transport factors. According to our model, urban development gNatural and Human Influences on Water Quality in a Shallow Regional Unconsolidated Aquifer, Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain
Data collected from more than 400 wells in the surficial unconfined aquifer in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain (New York through North Carolina) were compiled and analyzed to improve understanding of multiple natural and human influences on water quality in such shallow regional aquifers. Geochemical patterns were identified and described through principal components analysis on major ions, anPesticides in Ground Water of Central and Western Maryland
Selected pesticides and degradates (products of pesticide degradation) are detectable in ground water in many parts of central and western Maryland, although concentrations are generally less than 0.1 micrograms per liter. Ground-water samples collected recently (1994-2003) from 72 wells in areas of Maryland underlain by consolidated carbonate, crystalline, or siliciclastic aquifers (areas north aSynthesis of U.S. Geological Survey science for the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and implications for environmental management
The purpose of this report is to present a synthesis of the USGS Chesapeake Bay science related to the 2001-06 goals and provide implications for environmental management. The report provides USGS findings that address the science needs of the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) restoration goals and includes summaries of 1. land-use change; 2. water quality in the watershed, including nutrients, sedimen - Science
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