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Erin M Murray

Erin Murray is a hydrologist with the Idaho Water Science Center in Boise. 

Erin is interested in water availability—including how much water there is, how it is used by people, and how our water resources change through time. Erin also studies nutrients and metals in Idaho's rivers and their resulting impact on aquatic life.

Professional Experience

  • Hydrologist, USGS Idaho Water Science Center, May 2022 - Present

  • Research Hydrologist, Boise State University, December 2021 - April 2022

  • Hydrologist, USDA Agricultural Research Service, February 2018 - December 2021

  • Hydrologist, USGS Idaho Water Science Center, October 2015 - February 2018

  • Hydrologic Technician, USGS Idaho Water Science Center, June 2014 - October 2015

Education and Certifications

  • M.S., Hydrologic Sciences, 2015, Boise State University (Graduate certificate in college teaching)

  • B.S., Biology, 2012, Missouri State University

Science and Products

link
Kootenai River near Leonia, Idaho

Monitoring Mining Effects in the Kootenai River Watershed

The Kootenai River (Kootenay in Canada) rises from the Canadian Rockies and flows south in an arc through Montana and Idaho before swinging back into British Columbia and the Columbia River. The uplifted sedimentary rocks forming the southern Canadian Rockies have rich coal deposits that have been mined for many decades. The coal beds and associated rock layers are enriched with other minerals as...
By
Idaho Water Science Center
link

Monitoring Mining Effects in the Kootenai River Watershed

The Kootenai River (Kootenay in Canada) rises from the Canadian Rockies and flows south in an arc through Montana and Idaho before swinging back into British Columbia and the Columbia River. The uplifted sedimentary rocks forming the southern Canadian Rockies have rich coal deposits that have been mined for many decades. The coal beds and associated rock layers are enriched with other minerals as...
Learn More
link
Image: Blackfoot River, Southeastern Idaho

Selenium in the Blackfoot River Watershed

The upper Blackfoot River receives runoff from 12 large phosphate mines. Shale waste rock that is a byproduct of mining is highly enriched in naturally occurring selenium. At optimal concentrations, selenium can be a positive nutrient and antioxidant in mammals and fish. At elevated concentrations, however, it can damage fish and animal immune systems. As early as 1996, livestock deaths attributed...
By
Idaho Water Science Center
link

Selenium in the Blackfoot River Watershed

The upper Blackfoot River receives runoff from 12 large phosphate mines. Shale waste rock that is a byproduct of mining is highly enriched in naturally occurring selenium. At optimal concentrations, selenium can be a positive nutrient and antioxidant in mammals and fish. At elevated concentrations, however, it can damage fish and animal immune systems. As early as 1996, livestock deaths attributed...
Learn More

Water use by source and category in Idaho counties, 2015

Water Use by Source and Category in Idaho Counties are compiled as part of the "Estimated Use of Water in the United States" series of U.S. Geological Survey Circular reports that have been published every 5 years since 1950 (Maupin and others, 2014). Idaho withdrawals in 2015 are being published as a separate dataset in support of the U.S. Geological Survey fact sheet 2018-3036. Maupin, M.A., Ke
By
Idaho Water Science Center

Trace metal and phosphorus loading from groundwater seepage into South Fork Coeur d’Alene River after remediation at the Bunker Hill Superfund Site, northern Idaho, 2022

Widely dispersed waste products from historical mining in northern Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene mining district have long been a concern in the Coeur d’Alene River Basin in northern Idaho. The Central Impoundment Area (CIA), an unlined mining waste repository that is part of the Bunker Hill Superfund Site designated in 1983, is adjacent to the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River between Kellogg and Smeltervil
Authors
Erin M. Murray, Lauren M. Zinsser
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Idaho Water Science Center

Idaho water use, 2015

The ability to quantify water resources hinges on the understanding of water use by the population. The demand humans place on the water cycle varies across the United States, driven by both need and availability. The U.S. Geological Survey quantifies water use nationally, at the county scale, with estimates of water withdrawals and deliveries, by category of use (for example, irrigation, thermoel
Authors
Erin M. Murray
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Idaho Water Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Schlegel, M. E., Souza, J., Warix, S. R., MacNeille, R., Murray, E., Radke, A., Godsey, S. E., Seyfried, M. S., Finney, B., Flerchinger, G., & Lohse, K. A., 2023, Seasonality and evaporation of water resources in Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed and Critical Zone Observatory, Southwestern Idaho, USA. Vadose Zone Journal. https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20278.
Glossner, K. L., Lohse, K. A., Appling, A. P., Cram, Z. K., Murray, E., Godsey, S. E., Van Vactor, S., McCorkle, E. P., Seyfried, M. S., & Pierson, F. B. (2022). Long-term suspended sediment and particulate organic carbon yields from the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed and Critical Zone Observatory. Hydrological Processes, 36( 2), e14484. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14484
Glossner, Kayla A.; Lohse, Kathleen A.; Appling, Alison P.; Cram, Zane K.; Murray, Erin; Godsey, Sarah; Van Vactor, Steven; Seyfried, Mark S.; and Pierson, Fred B.. (2021). Dataset of Observed Suspended Sediment and Particulate Organic Carbon Concentrations and Modeled Long-Term Suspended Sediment and Particulate Organic Carbon Yields (1994-2017) from the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed and Critical Zone Observatory in Southwestern Idaho, USA [Data set]. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.18122/reynoldscreek.25.boisestate
Erin M. Murray, Sarah K. Bolton, Torsten Berg, Ralph A. Saporito, Arthropod predation in a dendrobatid poison frog: does frog life stage matter?, Zoology, Volume 119, Issue 3, 2016, Pages 169-174, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.zool.2016.01.002.
Murray, Erin, "Impacts of Changing Snowmelt Timing on Non-Irrigated Crop Yield" (2015). Boise State University Theses and Dissertations. 998. https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/td/998

**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.

Science and Products

link
Kootenai River near Leonia, Idaho

Monitoring Mining Effects in the Kootenai River Watershed

The Kootenai River (Kootenay in Canada) rises from the Canadian Rockies and flows south in an arc through Montana and Idaho before swinging back into British Columbia and the Columbia River. The uplifted sedimentary rocks forming the southern Canadian Rockies have rich coal deposits that have been mined for many decades. The coal beds and associated rock layers are enriched with other minerals as...
By
Idaho Water Science Center
link

Monitoring Mining Effects in the Kootenai River Watershed

The Kootenai River (Kootenay in Canada) rises from the Canadian Rockies and flows south in an arc through Montana and Idaho before swinging back into British Columbia and the Columbia River. The uplifted sedimentary rocks forming the southern Canadian Rockies have rich coal deposits that have been mined for many decades. The coal beds and associated rock layers are enriched with other minerals as...
Learn More
link
Image: Blackfoot River, Southeastern Idaho

Selenium in the Blackfoot River Watershed

The upper Blackfoot River receives runoff from 12 large phosphate mines. Shale waste rock that is a byproduct of mining is highly enriched in naturally occurring selenium. At optimal concentrations, selenium can be a positive nutrient and antioxidant in mammals and fish. At elevated concentrations, however, it can damage fish and animal immune systems. As early as 1996, livestock deaths attributed...
By
Idaho Water Science Center
link

Selenium in the Blackfoot River Watershed

The upper Blackfoot River receives runoff from 12 large phosphate mines. Shale waste rock that is a byproduct of mining is highly enriched in naturally occurring selenium. At optimal concentrations, selenium can be a positive nutrient and antioxidant in mammals and fish. At elevated concentrations, however, it can damage fish and animal immune systems. As early as 1996, livestock deaths attributed...
Learn More

Water use by source and category in Idaho counties, 2015

Water Use by Source and Category in Idaho Counties are compiled as part of the "Estimated Use of Water in the United States" series of U.S. Geological Survey Circular reports that have been published every 5 years since 1950 (Maupin and others, 2014). Idaho withdrawals in 2015 are being published as a separate dataset in support of the U.S. Geological Survey fact sheet 2018-3036. Maupin, M.A., Ke
By
Idaho Water Science Center

Trace metal and phosphorus loading from groundwater seepage into South Fork Coeur d’Alene River after remediation at the Bunker Hill Superfund Site, northern Idaho, 2022

Widely dispersed waste products from historical mining in northern Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene mining district have long been a concern in the Coeur d’Alene River Basin in northern Idaho. The Central Impoundment Area (CIA), an unlined mining waste repository that is part of the Bunker Hill Superfund Site designated in 1983, is adjacent to the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River between Kellogg and Smeltervil
Authors
Erin M. Murray, Lauren M. Zinsser
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Idaho Water Science Center

Idaho water use, 2015

The ability to quantify water resources hinges on the understanding of water use by the population. The demand humans place on the water cycle varies across the United States, driven by both need and availability. The U.S. Geological Survey quantifies water use nationally, at the county scale, with estimates of water withdrawals and deliveries, by category of use (for example, irrigation, thermoel
Authors
Erin M. Murray
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Idaho Water Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Schlegel, M. E., Souza, J., Warix, S. R., MacNeille, R., Murray, E., Radke, A., Godsey, S. E., Seyfried, M. S., Finney, B., Flerchinger, G., & Lohse, K. A., 2023, Seasonality and evaporation of water resources in Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed and Critical Zone Observatory, Southwestern Idaho, USA. Vadose Zone Journal. https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20278.
Glossner, K. L., Lohse, K. A., Appling, A. P., Cram, Z. K., Murray, E., Godsey, S. E., Van Vactor, S., McCorkle, E. P., Seyfried, M. S., & Pierson, F. B. (2022). Long-term suspended sediment and particulate organic carbon yields from the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed and Critical Zone Observatory. Hydrological Processes, 36( 2), e14484. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14484
Glossner, Kayla A.; Lohse, Kathleen A.; Appling, Alison P.; Cram, Zane K.; Murray, Erin; Godsey, Sarah; Van Vactor, Steven; Seyfried, Mark S.; and Pierson, Fred B.. (2021). Dataset of Observed Suspended Sediment and Particulate Organic Carbon Concentrations and Modeled Long-Term Suspended Sediment and Particulate Organic Carbon Yields (1994-2017) from the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed and Critical Zone Observatory in Southwestern Idaho, USA [Data set]. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.18122/reynoldscreek.25.boisestate
Erin M. Murray, Sarah K. Bolton, Torsten Berg, Ralph A. Saporito, Arthropod predation in a dendrobatid poison frog: does frog life stage matter?, Zoology, Volume 119, Issue 3, 2016, Pages 169-174, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.zool.2016.01.002.
Murray, Erin, "Impacts of Changing Snowmelt Timing on Non-Irrigated Crop Yield" (2015). Boise State University Theses and Dissertations. 998. https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/td/998

**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.