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Thomas G Huntington, Ph.D.

Thomas Huntington is a Scientist Emeritus in the New England Water Science Center.

Dr. Huntington has served as a principal investigator or co-principal investigator on various projects focusing on process-oriented, applied and basic research concerning carbon cycling, climate change and watershed biogeochemistry.

Professional Experience

  • 2021 - present, U.S. Geological Survey - Scientist Emeritus

  • 1990 - 2021, U.S. Geological Survey - Research Hydrologist

  • 1986 - 1990, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA - Research Assistant Professor

  • 1984 - 1986, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH - Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D. Soil Chemistry, Fertility, & Microbiology, University of Kentucky, 1984

  • B.A. Biology - Ecology, Cornell University, 1974

Science and Products

Filter Total Items: 91

Assessment of water quality and discharge in the Herring River, Wellfleet, Massachusetts, November 2015 to September 2017

The U.S. Geological Survey, Cape Cod National Seashore of the National Park Service, and Friends of Herring River cooperated from 2015 to 2017 to assess nutrient concentrations and fluxes across the ocean-estuary boundary at a dike on the Herring River in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. The purpose of this assessment was to characterize environmental conditions prior to a future removal of the dike, whi
Authors
Thomas G. Huntington, Alana B. Spaetzel, John A. Colman, Kevin D. Kroeger, Robert T. Bradley
By
Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

The evolving perceptual model of streamflow generation at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed

The Panola Mountain Research Watershed (PMRW) is a 41‐hectare forested catchment within the Piedmont Province of the Southeastern United States. Observations, experimentation, and numerical modelling have been conducted at Panola over the past 35 years. But to date, these studies have not been fully incorporated into a more comprehensive synthesis. Here we describe the evolving perceptual understa
Authors
Brent T. Aulenbach, Richard P Hooper, H. J. van Meerveld, Douglas A. Burns, James E. Freer, James B. Shanley, Thomas Huntington, Jeffery J. McDonnell, Norman E. Peters
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Water Resources Mission Area, Climate Research and Development Program, Land Change Science Program, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Wildland Fire Science

Simulation of dissolved organic carbon flux in the Penobscot Watershed, Maine

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is an important component of the carbon cycle as a measure of the hydrological transport of carbon between terrestrial carbon pools into soil pools and eventually into streams. As a result, changes in DOC in rivers and streams may indicate alterations in the storage of terrestrial carbon. Exploring the complex interactions between biogeochemical cycling and hydrologi
Authors
Shabnam Rouhani, Crystal B. Schaaf, Thomas Huntington, Janet Choate
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Water Resources Mission Area, Climate Research and Development Program, Land Change Science Program, New England Water Science Center

An increase in the slope of the concentration-discharge relation for total organic carbon in major rivers in New England, 1973 to 2019

The mobilization and transport of organic carbon (OC) in rivers and delivery to the near-coastal ocean are important processes in the carbon cycle that are affected by both climate and anthropogenic activities. Riverine OC transport can affect carbon sequestration, contaminant transport, ocean acidification, the formation of toxic disinfection by-products, ocean temperature and phytoplankton produ
Authors
Thomas Huntington, Michael Wieczorek
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Water Resources Mission Area, Climate Research and Development Program, Land Change Science Program, New England Water Science Center

Northern forest winters have lost cold, snowy conditions that are important for ecosystems and human communities

Winter is an understudied but key period for the socio-ecological systems of northeastern North American forests. A growing awareness of the importance of the winter season to forest ecosystems and surrounding communities has inspired several decades of research, both across the northern forest and at other mid- and high-latitude ecosystems around the globe. Despite these efforts, we lack a synthe
Authors
Alexandra R Contosta, Nora J. Casson, Sarah Garlick, Sarah J. Nelson, Matthew P Ayers, Elizabet A Buralkowski, John Campbell, Irean Creed, Catharine Eimers, Celia Evans, Ivan Fernandez, Collin Fuss, Thomas Huntington, Kaizad Pate, Rebecca Sanders-DeMott, Kyongo Son, Pamela H. Templer, Darren Thornbrugh
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Climate Research and Development Program, Land Change Science Program, New England Water Science Center

Assessment of the presence of sewage in the Mill River under low-flow conditions, Springfield, Massachusetts, 2010–11

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Senator William X. Wall Experiment Station, assessed the presence of 14 commonly used human-health pharmaceutical compounds, fecal indicator bacteria, and other man-made compounds indicative of the presence of
Authors
Andrew J. Massey, Marcus C. Waldron, R. Jean Tang, Thomas G. Huntington
By
Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

It’s about time: A synthesis of changing phenology in the Gulf of Maine ecosystem

The timing of recurring biological and seasonal environmental events is changing on a global scale relative to temperature and other climate drivers. This study considers the Gulf of Maine ecosystem, a region of high social and ecological importance in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean and synthesizes current knowledge of 1) key seasonal processes, patterns, and events; 2) direct evidence for shifts in
Authors
Michelle Staudinger, Katherine E. Mills, Karen Stamieszkin, Nicholas R. Record, Christine A. Hudak, Andrew Allyn, Antony Diamond, Kevin Friedland, Walt Golet, Elisabeth Henderson, Christina M. Hernandez, Thomas G. Huntington, Rubao Ji, Catherine L. Johnson, David Samuel Johnson, Adrian Jordaan, John Kocik, Yun Li, Matthew Liebman, Owen C. Nichols, Daniel Pendleton, R. Anne Richards, Thomas Robben, Andrew C. Thomas, Harvey J. Walsh, Keenan Yakola
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers, Climate Research and Development Program, Land Change Science Program

Evidence for conservative transport of dissolved organic carbon in major river basins in the Gulf of Maine Watershed

Transport and fate of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in rivers are important aspects of the carbon cycle and the critical linkage between terrestrial, aquatic, and marine systems. Recent studies have quantified fluvial export to the marine environment in many systems, but in-stream losses of DOC are poorly constrained. This study compares DOC yields (kg C/ha) between the area-weighted averages of
Authors
Thomas G. Huntington, Collin S. Roesler, George R. Aiken
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Climate Research and Development Program, Land Change Science Program, New England Water Science Center

A new indicator framework for quantifying the intensity of the terrestrialwater cycle

A quantitative framework for characterizing the intensity of the water cycle over land is presented, and illustrated using a spatially distributed water-balance model of the conterminous United States (CONUS). We approach water cycle intensity (WCI) from a landscape perspective; WCI is defined as the sum of precipitation (P) and actual evapotranspiration (AET) over a spatially explicit landscape u
Authors
Thomas G. Huntington, Peter Weiskel, David M. Wolock, Gregory J. McCabe
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Climate Research and Development Program, Land Change Science Program, New England Water Science Center

Evidence for major input of riverine organic matter into the ocean

The changes in the structure of XAD-8 isolated dissolved organic matter (DOM) samples along a river (Penobscot River) to estuary (Penobscot Bay) to ocean (across the Gulf of Maine) transect and from the Pacific Ocean were investigated using selective and two dimensional (2D) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy coupled with elemental and carbon isotope analysis. The results provide import
Authors
Xiaoyan Cao, George R. Aiken, Kenna D. Butler, Thomas G. Huntington, William M. Balch, Jingdong Mao, Klaus Schmidt-Rohr

Grand challenges in understanding the interplay of climate and land changes

Half of Earth’s land surface has been altered by human activities, creating various consequences on the climate and weather systems at local to global scales, which in turn affect a myriad of land surface processes and the adaptation behaviors. This study reviews the status and major knowledge gaps in the interactions of land and atmospheric changes and present 11 grand challenge areas for the sci
Authors
Shuguang Liu, Ben Bond-Lamberty, Lena R. Boysen, James D. Ford, Andrew Fox, Kevin Gallo, Jerry L. Hatfield, Geoffrey M. Henebry, Thomas G. Huntington, Zhihua Liu, Thomas R. Loveland, Richard J. Norby, Terry L. Sohl, Allison L. Steiner, Wenping Yuan, Zhao Zhang, Shuqing Zhao
By
Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center , Land Use Land Cover Modeling

Climate change and dissolved organic carbon export to the Gulf of Maine

Ongoing climate change is affecting the concentration, export (flux), and timing of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) exported to the Gulf of Maine (GoM) through changes in hydrologic regime. DOC export was calculated for water years 1950 through 2013 for 20 rivers and for water years 1930 through 2013 for 14 rivers draining to the GoM. DOC export was also estimated for the 21st century based on clim
Authors
Thomas G. Huntington, William M. Balch, George R. Aiken, Justin Sheffield, Lifeng Luo, Collin S. Roesler, Philip Camill
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Climate Research and Development Program, Land Change Science Program, New England Water Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

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USGS Station 011058798 Herring River at Chequessett Neck Road gage house

Herring River Water Quality

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) New England Water Science Center installed, operated, and maintained surface water-quality sites at the Chequessett Neck Road dike on the Herring River from November 2015 through September 2018.
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New England Water Science Center
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Herring River Water Quality

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) New England Water Science Center installed, operated, and maintained surface water-quality sites at the Chequessett Neck Road dike on the Herring River from November 2015 through September 2018.
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Map of continental U.S. depicting changes in water cycle intensity

Climate Change, Hydrologic Responses and Impacts on Carbon Cycling as Inferred by Changes in Fluvial Dissolved Organic Carbon Fluxes

This project investigates the links between terrestrial and marine carbon cycling and fluvial transport of freshwater and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to the near-coastal ocean. The project analyzes DOC export that integrates complex interacting processes in natural and human-impacted terrestrial and aquatic environments. Changes in DOC export may indicate changes in terrestrial ecosystem carbon...
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Climate Research and Development Program
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Climate Change, Hydrologic Responses and Impacts on Carbon Cycling as Inferred by Changes in Fluvial Dissolved Organic Carbon Fluxes

This project investigates the links between terrestrial and marine carbon cycling and fluvial transport of freshwater and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to the near-coastal ocean. The project analyzes DOC export that integrates complex interacting processes in natural and human-impacted terrestrial and aquatic environments. Changes in DOC export may indicate changes in terrestrial ecosystem carbon...
Learn More

Geochemical data supporting analysis of fate and transport of nitrogen in the near shore groundwater and subterranean estuary near East Falmouth, Massachusetts, 2015

Geochemical data were obtained to investigate the fate and transport of nitrogen in a subterranean estuary near East Falmouth, Massachusetts. The goal of this investigation was to assess nitrogen attenuation in the aquifer under the Eel River Estuary and the adjacent peninsula that was densely populated with residences having septic systems and legacy cesspool inputs of inorganic nitrogen. This es
By
New England Water Science Center

Streamflow and Dissolved Organic Carbon Input Datasets and Model Results Using the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) Model for Sleepers River W9 in Vermont, 1991 to 2018 (version 2.0, August 2022): U.S. Geological Survey Data Rel

This data release supports an analysis of changes in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and in the slope of the concentration-discharge relation in the Sleepers River Research Watershed W9 near North Danville, Vermont 1991 to 2018. The data release includes pre-processed model inputs and model outputs. W9 is a 40.5 hectares forested sub-watershed of the Sleepers River Research Watershed
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New England Water Science Center

Streamflow input datasets and model results using the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) Models to estimate total organic carbon and other constituent concentrations in eight rivers in Connecticut, water years 1973 to 2019

This data release provides data in support of an assessment of changes in slope of the concentration-discharge relation for total organic carbon in eight major rivers at gaging stations in Connecticut from October 1972 to September 2019 (U.S. Geological Survey water years 1973 to 2019). The rivers include the Connecticut at Thompsonville (01184000), Housatonic at Stevenson (01205500), Quinebaug at
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New England Water Science Center

Discrete water quality data supporting Herring River restoration project, Cape Cod National Seashore, 1984-2017

Staff from the Cape Cod National Seashore, National Park Service (CACO NPS) began limited water-quality data collection in the Herring River Estuary as early as 1984. In 2006 a monthly sampling program was established for 14 sites to monitor nutrient concentrations, dissolved oxygen, and other constituents. This monitoring program is ongoing and has been supplemented with data from other CACO NPS
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New England Water Science Center

Geochemical data supporting analysis of geochemical conditions and nitrogen transport in nearshore groundwater and the subterranean estuary at a Cape Cod embayment, East Falmouth, Massachusetts

This data release provides analytical and other data in support of an analysis of nitrogen transport and transformation in groundwater and in a subterranean estuary in the Eel River and onshore locations on the Seacoast Shores peninsula, Falmouth, Massachusetts. The analysis is described in U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5095 by Colman and others (2018). This data rel
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New England Water Science Center

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