Jennifer Murphy
Jenny is a hydrologist with the USGS, Central Midwest Water Science Center. Much of her work focuses on characterizing and understanding water-quality trends in the Nation's streams and rivers. Jenny also leads a team of scientists working to develop a proxy for harmful algal blooms in rivers.
Jenny has played an important role in characterizing water-quality trends with the Weighted Regressions on Time, Season and Discharge (WRTDS) model at >1,000 sites across the country using an extensive multi-agency dataset. Jenny's additional trends work includes looking at nitrate in the Mississippi River Basin, sediment in the lowermost Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers, and water quality in streams and rivers in the Delaware River Basin. Additionally, she has worked on projects ranging from the evaluation of best management practices in small agricultural drainages, to characterizing and understanding ecological flows, estimating water use at thermoelectric powerplants, and harmonizing multisource data. Her current interests are in trend studies, causal attribution of these trends, and exploring the influence of streamflow on water quality.
CURRENT & PAST PROJECTS
- Co-lead of multisource surface water-quality trends task as part of the IWAAs Delaware River Basin Regional Pilot
- NAWQA Surface Water Status and Trends team (Causal Analysis team lead)
- Evaluating agricultural best management practices in northwestern MS
- Ecological flows in the Cumberland and Tennessee River Basins
- Water-quality trends in the Mississippi River Basin
- Water use at thermoelectric powerplants
- Water quality in the lowermost Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers
Professional Experience
2020-Present, Hydrologist, USGS, Central Midwest Water Science Center, DeKalb, Illinois
2010-2020, Hydrologist, USGS, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center, Nashville, TN
2007-2009, Project Geologist, ECS Limited, Nashville, TN
Summer 2007, Field Geologist, US Forest Service, Lewis and Clark National Forest, Great Falls, MT
2006-2007, Research Assistant, USGS, Eastern Mineral Resources, Reston, VA
Education and Certifications
M.S., Earth and Environmental Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, 2011
B.A., Geology, Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin, 2006
Science and Products
Water-quality trends and trend component estimates for the Nation's rivers and streams using Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) models and generalized flow normalization, 1972-2012
Annual estimates of suspended-sediment concentration and load to support trend analysis on the Mississippi River and Atchafalaya River, 1980-2015
Daily streamflow datasets used to analyze trends in streamflow at sites also analyzed for trends in water quality and ecological condition in the Nation's rivers and streams
Water-quality and streamflow datasets used in the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) models to determine trends in the Nations rivers and streams, 1972-2012
Water-quality and streamflow datasets used in Seasonal Kendall trend tests for the Nations rivers and streams, 1972-2012
Pesticide concentration and streamflow datasets used to evaluate pesticide trends in the Nations rivers and streams, 1992-2012
Water-quality datasets and E. coli predictions for selected streams in the Upper Duck River Watershed, central Tennessee, 2007-2010
A historical look at changing water quality in the Delaware River basin
Pooling resources across organizations — Multisource water-quality data for the Delaware River Basin
Changing suspended sediment in United States rivers and streams: Linking sediment trends to changes in land use/cover, hydrology and climate
Assessing water-quality changes in agricultural drainages: Examples from oxbow lake tributaries in Mississippi, USA and simulation-based power analyses
Regional patterns of anthropogenic influences on streams and rivers in the conterminous United States, from the early 1970s to 2012
Tracking changes in nutrient delivery to western Lake Erie: Approaches to compensate for variability and trends in streamflow
Water-quality trends in US rivers: Exploring effects from streamflow trends and changes in watershed management
Water-quality trends in U.S. rivers, 2002 to 2012: Relations to levels of concern
Suspended-sediment concentrations and loads in the lower Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers decreased by half between 1980 and 2015
Nutrient and sediment concentrations and loads in the Steele Bayou Basin, northwestern Mississippi, 2010–14
Water-quality trends in the nation’s rivers and streams, 1972–2012—Data preparation, statistical methods, and trend results
Methods for computing water-quality loads at sites in the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Network
Non-USGS Publications**
DOI: 10.1021/es103230n.
**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
Water-quality trends and trend component estimates for the Nation's rivers and streams using Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) models and generalized flow normalization, 1972-2012
Annual estimates of suspended-sediment concentration and load to support trend analysis on the Mississippi River and Atchafalaya River, 1980-2015
Daily streamflow datasets used to analyze trends in streamflow at sites also analyzed for trends in water quality and ecological condition in the Nation's rivers and streams
Water-quality and streamflow datasets used in the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) models to determine trends in the Nations rivers and streams, 1972-2012
Water-quality and streamflow datasets used in Seasonal Kendall trend tests for the Nations rivers and streams, 1972-2012
Pesticide concentration and streamflow datasets used to evaluate pesticide trends in the Nations rivers and streams, 1992-2012
Water-quality datasets and E. coli predictions for selected streams in the Upper Duck River Watershed, central Tennessee, 2007-2010
A historical look at changing water quality in the Delaware River basin
Pooling resources across organizations — Multisource water-quality data for the Delaware River Basin
Changing suspended sediment in United States rivers and streams: Linking sediment trends to changes in land use/cover, hydrology and climate
Assessing water-quality changes in agricultural drainages: Examples from oxbow lake tributaries in Mississippi, USA and simulation-based power analyses
Regional patterns of anthropogenic influences on streams and rivers in the conterminous United States, from the early 1970s to 2012
Tracking changes in nutrient delivery to western Lake Erie: Approaches to compensate for variability and trends in streamflow
Water-quality trends in US rivers: Exploring effects from streamflow trends and changes in watershed management
Water-quality trends in U.S. rivers, 2002 to 2012: Relations to levels of concern
Suspended-sediment concentrations and loads in the lower Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers decreased by half between 1980 and 2015
Nutrient and sediment concentrations and loads in the Steele Bayou Basin, northwestern Mississippi, 2010–14
Water-quality trends in the nation’s rivers and streams, 1972–2012—Data preparation, statistical methods, and trend results
Methods for computing water-quality loads at sites in the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Network
Non-USGS Publications**
DOI: 10.1021/es103230n.
**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.