Sharon A Fitzgerald, PhD
Biography
I am a biogeochemist who has been with the Survey since 1991. I was born and raised in Queens, NY and have lived in Wisconsin (doctorate and hired into the USGS), Michigan (post doc), Florida (attached to the USGS), Puerto Rico (attached to the USGS), Alberta (attached to the USGS), and now in Raleigh still with the USGS. I am trained in early diagenetic processes involving organic matter decomposition in bed sediments and pelagic-benthic coupling processes. I have extensive experience with sediment coring and porewater extraction. I have an interest in using biogenic silica in lake sediments to reconstruct paleoclimate.
Professional positions:
U.S. Geological Survey, Hydrologist or Research Hydrologist (1991 to present), Madison/Middleton WI, St. Petersburg FL, Guaynabo Puerto Rico, Calgary AB, Canada, Raleigh, NC.
National Research Council, Post Doctoral Fellow (1990-91), NOAA/Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, Ann Arbor, MI. Research Proposal/Topic: “An Organic Carbon Budget for Pelagic/Benthic Coupling in Lake Michigan.”
Education:
University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee: PhD – 1989, Geosciences/Biogeochemistry (major), Limnology (minor), Dissertation: “The Biogeochemistry of Amino Acids in Sediments from the Great Lakes.”
Queens College (City University of New York): B.A. - 1982, Environmental Biogeochemistry within Geosciences (Major), No minor (96 credits in the major)
Science and Products
Albemarle-Pamlico Drainage Study Unit
The Albemarle-Pamilco Drainage Study Unit (ALBE) is part of the National Water Quality Program (NWQP, formerly National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA)). NWQP is an ongoing program of the U.S. Geological Survey to provide an understanding of water-quality conditions; whether conditions are...
Albemarle Sound, NC -- National Monitoring Network Demonstration Site
The Albemarle Sound region was selected in 2012 as one of two demonstration sites in the Nation to test and improve the design of the National Water Quality Monitoring Council’s National Monitoring Network (NMN) for U.S. Coastal Waters and Tributaries. The goal of the NMN for U.S. Coastal Waters and Tributaries is to provide information about the health of our oceans, coastal ecosystems, and...
Characterization of water-quality and bed-sediment conditions in Currituck Sound, North Carolina, prior to the Mid-Currituck Bridge construction, 2011–18
The North Carolina Turnpike Authority plans to improve transportation in the Currituck Sound area by constructing a two-lane bridge—the Mid-Currituck Bridge—across Currituck Sound from the mainland to the Outer Banks, North Carolina. The results of the final environmental impact statement for the project indicate potential water-quality and...
Harden, Stephen L.; Fitzgerald, Sharon A.; Wagner, Chad R.; Bristow, Emilia L.; Loftin, Keith A.; Rosen, Barry H.
Assessing water quality from highway runoff at selected sites in North Carolina with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM)
In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) entered into a cooperative agreement with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to develop a North Carolina-enhanced variation of the national Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM) with available North Carolina-specific streamflow and water-quality data and to...
Weaver, J. Curtis; Granato, Gregory E.; Fitzgerald, Sharon A.
Characterization of water-quality and bed-sediment conditions in Currituck Sound, North Carolina, prior to the Mid-Currituck Bridge construction, 2011–15
The North Carolina Turnpike Authority, a division of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, is planning to make transportation improvements in the Currituck Sound area by constructing a two-lane bridge from U.S. Highway 158 just south of Coinjock, North Carolina, to State Highway 12 on the Outer Banks just south of Corolla, North...
Wagner, Chad R.; Fitzgerald, Sharon; Antolino, Dominick J.
Effect of land-applied biosolids on surface-water nutrient yields and groundwater quality in Orange County, North Carolina
Land application of municipal wastewater biosolids is the most common method of biosolids management used in North Carolina and the United States. Biosolids have characteristics that may be beneficial to soil and plants. Land application can take advantage of these beneficial qualities, whereas disposal in landfills or incineration poses no...
Wagner, Chad R.; Fitzgerald, Sharon A.; McSwain, Kristen Bukowski; Harden, Stephen L.; Gurley, Laura N.; Rogers, Shane W.
Characterization of stormwater runoff from bridges in North Carolina and the effects of bridge runoff on receiving streams
The presentation will provide an overview of a collaborative study between USGS, NC Department of Transportation and URS Corporation to characterize stormwater runoff from bridges in North Carolina and the effects of bridge runoff on receiving streams. This investigation measured bridge deck runoff from 15 bridges for 12-15 storms, stream water-...
Wagner, Chad; Fitzgerald, Sharon; Lauffer, Matthew
Baseline well inventory and groundwater-quality data from a potential shale gas resource area in parts of Lee and Chatham Counties, North Carolina, October 2011-August 2012
Records were obtained for 305 wells and 1 spring in northwestern Lee and southeastern Chatham counties, North Carolina. Well depths ranged from 26 to 720 feet and yields ranged from 0.25 to 100 gallons per minute. A subset of 56 wells and 1 spring were sampled for baseline groundwaterquality constituents including the following: major ions;...
Chapman, Melinda J.; Gurley, Laura N.; Fitzgerald, Sharon A.
Water-quality characteristics indicative of wastewater in selected streams in the upper Neuse River Basin, Durham and Orange Counties, North Carolina, from 2004 to 2013
Data were collected during three time periods to assess the effects of wastewater treatment and disposal practices on the occurrence of selected contaminants indicative of wastewater in the upper Neuse River Basin, North Carolina. The first phase of data collection, December 2004 to June 2005, and the second phase, April to October 2008, addressed...
Ferrell, Gloria M.; Yearout, Matthew S.; Grimes, Barbara H.; Graves, Alexandria K.; Fitzgerald, Sharon A.; Meyer, Michael T.
Estuarine monitoring programs in the Albemarle Sound study area, North Carolina
Albemarle Sound was selected in 2012 as one of the two demonstration sites in the Nation to test and improve the design of the National Water Quality Monitoring Council’s National Monitoring Network (NMN) for U.S. Coastal Waters and their tributaries. The goal of the NMN for U.S. coastal waters and tributaries is to provide information about...
Moorman, Michelle; Kolb, Katharine R.; Supak, Stacy
Characterization of stormwater runoff from bridges in North Carolina and the effects of bridge deck runoff on receiving streams
In 2008, the North Carolina General Assembly passed House Bill 2436 that required the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to study the water-quality effects of bridges on receiving streams. In response, the NCDOT and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collaborated on a study to provide information necessary to address the...
Wagner, Chad R.; Fitzgerald, Sharon A.; Sherrell, Roy D.; Harned, Douglas A.; Staub, Erik L.; Pointer, Brian H.; Wehmeyer, Loren L.
Nutrient, trace-element, and ecological history of Musky Bay, Lac Courte Oreilles, Wisconsin, as inferred from sediment cores
Sediment cores were collected from Musky Bay, Lac Courte Oreilles, and from surrounding areas in 1999 and 2001 to determine whether the water quality of Musky Bay has declined during the last 100 years or more as a result of human activity, specifically cottage development and cranberry farming. Selected cores were analyzed for sedimentation rates...
Fitzpatrick, Faith A.; Garrison, Paul J.; Fitzgerald, Sharon A.; Elder, John F. Emerging scientific tools for studies of water quality, coral reef health, and watershed management in the tropics/Caribbean
No abstract available.
Sylva, Walter F.; Fitzgerald, Sharon A.
Distribution and transport of polychlorinated biphenyls and associated particulates in the Milwaukee River System, Wisconsin, 1993-95
The distribution and transport of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners were determined at various sites on Cedar Creek and its receiving stream, the Milwaukee River. PCB congener distributions were determined in the operationally defined dissolved phase, suspended-particle phase, and surficial bed sediments (0?2 centimeters depth). At most...
Steuer, Jeffrey S.; Fitzgerald, Sharon A.; Hall, David W.