Sheila Murphy
Sheila Murphy is a Research Hydrologist for the USGS Water Resources Mission Area.
Sheila Murphy is a hydrologist who works on assessing and predicting how disturbances (such as wildfire and floods) affect water availability. In 2023 Sheila received a Superior Service Award from the Department of the Interior for making fundamental advancements in understanding the effects that wildfire can have on water supplies.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 61
Fates and fingerprints of sulfur and carbon following wildfire in economically important croplands of California, U.S. Fates and fingerprints of sulfur and carbon following wildfire in economically important croplands of California, U.S.
Sulfur (S) is widely used in agriculture, yet little is known about its fates within upland watersheds, particularly in combination with disturbances like wildfire. Our study examined the effects of land use and wildfire on the biogeochemical “fingerprints,” or the quantity and chemical composition, of S and carbon (C). We conducted our research within the Napa River Watershed...
Authors
Anna L. Hermes, Brian A. Ebel, Sheila F. Murphy, Eve-Lyn S. Hinckley
Wildfire-driven changes in hydrology mobilize arsenic and metals from legacy mine waste Wildfire-driven changes in hydrology mobilize arsenic and metals from legacy mine waste
Wildfires burning in watersheds that have been mined and since revegetated pose unique risks to downstream water supplies. A wildfire near Boulder, Colorado that burned a forested watershed recovering from mining disturbance that occurred 80-160 years ago allowed us to 1) assess arsenic and metal contamination in streams draining the burned area for a five-year period after the wildfire...
Authors
Sheila F. Murphy, R. Blaine McCleskey, Deborah A. Martin, JoAnn M. Holloway, Jeffrey H. Writer
Changes in climate and land cover affect seasonal streamflow forecasts in the Rio Grande headwaters Changes in climate and land cover affect seasonal streamflow forecasts in the Rio Grande headwaters
Seasonal streamflow forecast bias, changes in climate, snowpack, and land cover, and the effects of these changes on relations between basin‐wide snowpack, SNOw TELemetry (SNOTEL) station snowpack, and seasonal streamflow were evaluated in the headwaters of the Rio Grande, Colorado. Results indicate that shifts in the seasonality of precipitation and changing climatology are consistent...
Authors
Colin A. Penn, David W. Clow, Graham A. Sexstone, Sheila F. Murphy
Atmospheric dust deposition varies by season and elevation in the Colorado Front Range, USA Atmospheric dust deposition varies by season and elevation in the Colorado Front Range, USA
As atmospheric dust deposition continues to increase across the southwestern United States, it has the potential to alter ecosystem productivity and structure by delivering nutrients, base cations, and pollutants to remote mountain sites. Due to the sparse distribution of dust monitoring sites, open questions remain about the spatial and temporal variability of dust fluxes and...
Authors
Ruth C. Heindel, Annie L. Putman, Sheila F. Murphy, Deborah A. Repert, Eve-Lyn S. Hinckley
Inorganic nitrogen wet deposition gradients in the Denver-Boulder metropolitan area and Colorado Front Range – Preliminary implications for Rocky Mountain National Park and interpolated deposition maps Inorganic nitrogen wet deposition gradients in the Denver-Boulder metropolitan area and Colorado Front Range – Preliminary implications for Rocky Mountain National Park and interpolated deposition maps
For the first time in the 40-year history of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program / National Trends Network (NADP/NTN), a unique urban-to-rural transect of wet deposition monitoring stations were operated as part of the NTN in 2017 to quantify reactive inorganic nitrogen wet deposition for adjacent urban and rural, montane regions. The transect of NADP stations (sites) was used to...
Authors
Gregory A. Wetherbee, Katherine Benedict, Sheila F. Murphy, Emily Elliott
Fire, flood, and drought: Extreme climate events alter flow paths and stream chemistry Fire, flood, and drought: Extreme climate events alter flow paths and stream chemistry
Extreme climate events—such as hurricanes, droughts, extreme precipitation, and wildfires—have the potential to alter watershed processes and stream response. Yet due to the destructive and hazardous nature and unpredictability of such events, capturing their hydrochemical signal is challenging. A 5‐year postwildfire study of stream chemistry in the Fourmile Creek watershed, Colorado...
Authors
Sheila F. Murphy, R. Blaine McCleskey, Deborah A. Martin, Jeffrey H. Writer, Brian A. Ebel
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 61
Fates and fingerprints of sulfur and carbon following wildfire in economically important croplands of California, U.S. Fates and fingerprints of sulfur and carbon following wildfire in economically important croplands of California, U.S.
Sulfur (S) is widely used in agriculture, yet little is known about its fates within upland watersheds, particularly in combination with disturbances like wildfire. Our study examined the effects of land use and wildfire on the biogeochemical “fingerprints,” or the quantity and chemical composition, of S and carbon (C). We conducted our research within the Napa River Watershed...
Authors
Anna L. Hermes, Brian A. Ebel, Sheila F. Murphy, Eve-Lyn S. Hinckley
Wildfire-driven changes in hydrology mobilize arsenic and metals from legacy mine waste Wildfire-driven changes in hydrology mobilize arsenic and metals from legacy mine waste
Wildfires burning in watersheds that have been mined and since revegetated pose unique risks to downstream water supplies. A wildfire near Boulder, Colorado that burned a forested watershed recovering from mining disturbance that occurred 80-160 years ago allowed us to 1) assess arsenic and metal contamination in streams draining the burned area for a five-year period after the wildfire...
Authors
Sheila F. Murphy, R. Blaine McCleskey, Deborah A. Martin, JoAnn M. Holloway, Jeffrey H. Writer
Changes in climate and land cover affect seasonal streamflow forecasts in the Rio Grande headwaters Changes in climate and land cover affect seasonal streamflow forecasts in the Rio Grande headwaters
Seasonal streamflow forecast bias, changes in climate, snowpack, and land cover, and the effects of these changes on relations between basin‐wide snowpack, SNOw TELemetry (SNOTEL) station snowpack, and seasonal streamflow were evaluated in the headwaters of the Rio Grande, Colorado. Results indicate that shifts in the seasonality of precipitation and changing climatology are consistent...
Authors
Colin A. Penn, David W. Clow, Graham A. Sexstone, Sheila F. Murphy
Atmospheric dust deposition varies by season and elevation in the Colorado Front Range, USA Atmospheric dust deposition varies by season and elevation in the Colorado Front Range, USA
As atmospheric dust deposition continues to increase across the southwestern United States, it has the potential to alter ecosystem productivity and structure by delivering nutrients, base cations, and pollutants to remote mountain sites. Due to the sparse distribution of dust monitoring sites, open questions remain about the spatial and temporal variability of dust fluxes and...
Authors
Ruth C. Heindel, Annie L. Putman, Sheila F. Murphy, Deborah A. Repert, Eve-Lyn S. Hinckley
Inorganic nitrogen wet deposition gradients in the Denver-Boulder metropolitan area and Colorado Front Range – Preliminary implications for Rocky Mountain National Park and interpolated deposition maps Inorganic nitrogen wet deposition gradients in the Denver-Boulder metropolitan area and Colorado Front Range – Preliminary implications for Rocky Mountain National Park and interpolated deposition maps
For the first time in the 40-year history of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program / National Trends Network (NADP/NTN), a unique urban-to-rural transect of wet deposition monitoring stations were operated as part of the NTN in 2017 to quantify reactive inorganic nitrogen wet deposition for adjacent urban and rural, montane regions. The transect of NADP stations (sites) was used to...
Authors
Gregory A. Wetherbee, Katherine Benedict, Sheila F. Murphy, Emily Elliott
Fire, flood, and drought: Extreme climate events alter flow paths and stream chemistry Fire, flood, and drought: Extreme climate events alter flow paths and stream chemistry
Extreme climate events—such as hurricanes, droughts, extreme precipitation, and wildfires—have the potential to alter watershed processes and stream response. Yet due to the destructive and hazardous nature and unpredictability of such events, capturing their hydrochemical signal is challenging. A 5‐year postwildfire study of stream chemistry in the Fourmile Creek watershed, Colorado...
Authors
Sheila F. Murphy, R. Blaine McCleskey, Deborah A. Martin, Jeffrey H. Writer, Brian A. Ebel