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Kevin A Ryan

Kevin Ryan is a Hydrologist in the Integrated Ecosystems Studies Section in the New York Water Science Center.

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NY WSC

Kevin Ryan conducts research on current issues in environmental science with a specific focus on biogeochemical cycling at the intersection of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Kevin utilizes long-term monitoring records, real-time environmental sensor data, and advanced chemical analysis techniques to quantify changes in environmental processes and water quality. Collaboration with the New York Water Science Center Laboratory in Troy, NY, supports soil and water analyses. Kevin leads studies that span across New York State and the nation, providing information and understanding that support informed natural resource management decisions.

Professional Experience

  • 2022 - Present, Hydrologist, New York Water Science Center, USGS

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D. Marine and Environmental Science, Northeastern University, 2022

  • B.S. Winthrop University, 2011

  • Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification, Project Management Institute, 2015 - Present

Science and Products

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USGS gage 01135150, Pope Brook near North Danville, Vermont

Sleepers River Research Watershed

The Sleepers River Research Watershed in Danville, Vermont has been the site of active hydrologic research since 1959, when the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) established a research program in the watershed. The Sleepers River site is now operated by the USGS, in cooperation with several other Federal agencies and universities.
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New England Water Science Center
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Sleepers River Research Watershed

The Sleepers River Research Watershed in Danville, Vermont has been the site of active hydrologic research since 1959, when the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) established a research program in the watershed. The Sleepers River site is now operated by the USGS, in cooperation with several other Federal agencies and universities.
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Weighing soils into crucibles for the determination of percent dry and loss-on-ignition

Soil and Low-Ionic-Strength Water Quality Laboratory

The New York Water Science Center of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Troy, N.Y., operates a state-of-the-science laboratory for the chemical analysis of soil and water.
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New York Water Science Center
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Soil and Low-Ionic-Strength Water Quality Laboratory

The New York Water Science Center of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Troy, N.Y., operates a state-of-the-science laboratory for the chemical analysis of soil and water.
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wooden boards with V cutout and monitoring equipment in a stream

Adirondack Long-Term Stream and Soil Monitoring

The current Adirondack Long-Term Monitoring Program combines monitoring of streams and soils based on a watershed design. Not only are headwater streams an important component of Adirondack ecosystems, they are closely tied to the terrestrial environment through runoff that is strongly influenced by soil and vegetation processes. This linkage makes headwater streams a useful tool for...
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New York Water Science Center
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Adirondack Long-Term Stream and Soil Monitoring

The current Adirondack Long-Term Monitoring Program combines monitoring of streams and soils based on a watershed design. Not only are headwater streams an important component of Adirondack ecosystems, they are closely tied to the terrestrial environment through runoff that is strongly influenced by soil and vegetation processes. This linkage makes headwater streams a useful tool for monitoring
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Bibliography of U.S. Geological Survey Contributions to Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Science

This data release contains a bibliography of U.S. Geological Survey publications on carbon and greenhouse gas research. Publications between 2014 and 2024 were identified using search terms such as: carbon, greenhouse gas, methane, nitrous oxide, emission, sequestration, and primary productivity. Publications were primarily sourced from the USGS Publications Warehouse (https://pubs.usgs...
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Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Measurements of Acid-Neutralizing Capacity, Conductance, and Calcium Concentrations in Adirondack Headwater Streams of New York, 1988 to 2022

This data release contains measurements of acid-neutralizing capacity, conductance at 25 degrees Celsius, and Ca concentrations for headwater stream samples collected from 1988 to 2022 in the Adirondack region of New York. Sample analyses were performed by the Adirondack Lake Survey Corporation (ALSC) laboratory and are adjusted here to be consistent with measurements made in the USGS...
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New York Water Science Center

Streamflow, Dissolved Organic Carbon, and Nitrate Input Datasets and Model Results Using the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) Model for Buck Creek Watersheds, Adirondack Park, New York, 2001 to 2021

This data release supports an analysis of changes in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrate concentrations in Buck Creek watershed near Inlet, New York 2001 to 2021. The Buck Creek watershed is a 310-hectare forested watershed that is recovering from acidic deposition within the Adirondack region. The data release includes pre-processed model inputs and model outputs for the Weighted...
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New York Water Science Center

Mercury, methylmercury, cations, dissolved organic carbon, and dissolved organic matter optical properties in small forest streams during five synoptic sampling campaigns at Sleepers River, Vermont, 2017-2018

The dataset describes mercury and dissolved organic matter concentration and quality over five synoptic sampling campaigns at 12 stream sites within the 41-hectare (ha) forested W-9 catchment at Sleepers River, Vermont, with an additional site at the downstream W-3 gage (837 ha). The five campaigns included a large (79 millimeter (mm)) fall storm, spring snowmelt, and spring, summer, and...
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New England Water Science Center

Aqueous chemistry database, Sleepers River Research Watershed, Danville, Vermont, 1991-2018

The Sleepers River Research Watershed, near Danville, Vermont, is a 111-square-kilometer watershed established in 1958 by the Agricultural Research Service.The research watershed has since been operated by three other federal agencies: National Weather Service, U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). USGS started at the site...
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New England Water Science Center

Storm Event Dissolved Organic Carbon and Total Dissolved Nitrogen Concentrations and Yields for Precipitation, Throughfall, Stemflow, and Stream Water and Hourly Streamflow and Precipitation Record for the W-9 Catchment, Sleepers River Research Watershed,

This dataset describes water yields for precipitation, throughfall, and stemflow for 22 rain events within the 40.5-hectare (ha) forested W-9 catchment at Sleepers River, Vermont. Sampling occurred during the summer and fall of 2018. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) concentrations are reported for each sampled event. The dataset also includes 5-minute...
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New England Water Science Center
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Riverine dissolved organic matter transformations increase with watershed area, water residence time, and Damköhler numbers in nested watersheds

Quantifying the relative influence of factors and processes controlling riverine ecosystem function is essential to predicting future conditions under global change. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a fundamental component of riverine ecosystems that fuels microbial food webs, influences nutrient and light availability, and represents a significant carbon flux globally. The...
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Kevin Alexander Ryan, Vanessa Garayburu-Caruso, Byron C. Crump, Ted Bambakidis, Peter A. Raymond, Shaoda Liu, James C. Stegen
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Water Resources Mission Area, New York Water Science Center

Underwater flashlights: What light can tell us about water quality

Water is essential for life. The particles and dissolved chemicals found in rivers, lakes, and oceans are constantly changing with weather, seasons, and human activities. The substances found in water can be helpful or harmful to humans and other organisms. New technologies allow scientists to use waterproof computers (called sensors) to record the quality of water as it changes...
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Kevin Alexander Ryan, Douglas A. Burns
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Water Resources Mission Area, New York Water Science Center

Widespread chemical dilution of streams continues as long-term effects of acidic deposition slowly reverse

Studies of recovery from acidic deposition have focused on reversal of acidification and its associated effects, but as recovery proceeds slowly, chemical dilution of surface waters is emerging as a key factor in the recovery process that has significant chemical and biological implications. This investigation uses long-term chemical records from 130 streams in the Adirondack region of...
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Gregory Lawrence, Kevin Alexander Ryan
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Water Resources Mission Area, New York Water Science Center

Recent, widespread nitrate decreases may be linked to persistent dissolved organic carbon increases in headwater streams recovering from past acidic deposition

Long-term monitoring of water quality responses to natural and anthropogenic perturbation of watersheds informs policies for managing natural resources. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrate (NO3−) in streams draining forested landscapes provide valuable information on ecosystem function due to their biogeochemical reactivity and solubility in water. Here we evaluate a 20-year...
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Kevin Alexander Ryan, Gregory Lawrence
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Water Resources Mission Area, New York Water Science Center

Optical properties of dissolved organic matter in throughfall and stemflow vary across tree species and season in a temperate headwater forest

Tree-derived dissolved organic matter (DOM) comprises a significant carbon flux within forested watersheds. Few studies have assessed the optical properties of tree-derived DOM. To increase understanding of the factors controlling tree-derived DOM quality, we measured DOM optical properties, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and calcium concentrations in throughfall and stemflow for 17...
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Kevin Alexander Ryan, Thomas Adler, Ann T. Chalmers, Julia N. Perdrial, Stephen D. Sebestyen, James B. Shanley, Aron Stubbins
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Water Resources Mission Area, Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, New England Water Science Center

Using dissolved organic matter fluorescence to predict total mercury and methylmercury in forested headwater streams, Sleepers River, Vermont USA

Aqueous transport of mercury (Hg) across the landscape is closely linked to dissolved organic matter (DOM). Both quantity and quality of DOM affect Hg mobility, as well as the formation and transport of toxic methylmercury (MeHg), but only a limited number of field studies have investigated Hg and MeHg with respect to specific DOM components. We investigated these interactions at the 41...
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James B. Shanley, Vivien F. Taylor, Kevin Alexander Ryan, Ann T. Chalmers, Julia N. Perdrial, Aron Stubbins
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

Evaluating streamwater dissolved organic carbon dynamics in context of variable flowpath contributions with a tracer-based mixing model

This study focuses on characterizing the contributions of key terrestrial pathways that deliver dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to streams during hydrological events and on elucidating factors governing variation in water and DOC fluxes from these pathways. We made high-frequency measurements of discharge, specific conductance (SC), and fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM) during...
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James E. Saiers, Jennifer Burlingame Hoyle Fair, James B. Shanley, Jacob D. Hosen, Serena Matt, Kevin Alexander Ryan, P.A. Raymond
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Water Resources Mission Area, Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, New England Water Science Center

Event scale relationships of DOC and TDN fluxes in throughfall and stemflow diverge from stream exports in a forested catchment

Aquatic fluxes of carbon and nutrients link terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Within forests, storm events drive both the delivery of carbon and nitrogen to the forest floor and the export of these solutes from the land via streams. To increase understanding of the relationships between hydrologic event character and the relative fluxes of carbon and nitrogen in throughfall, stemflow...
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Kevin Alexander Ryan, Thomas Adler, Ann T. Chalmers, Julia N. Perdrial, James B. Shanley, Aron Stubbins
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

The Fire and Tree Mortality Database, for empirical modeling of individual tree mortality after fire

Wildland fires have a multitude of ecological effects in forests, woodlands, and savannas across the globe. A major focus of past research has been on tree mortality from fire, as trees provide a vast range of biological services. We assembled a database of individual-tree records from prescribed fires and wildfires in the United States. The Fire and Tree Mortality (FTM) database...
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C. Alina Cansler, Sharon M. Hood, J. Morgan Varner, Phillip van Mantgem, Michelle C. Agne, Robert A. Andrus, Matthew P. Ayres, Bruce D. Ayres, Jonathan D. Bakker, Michael A. Battaglia, Barbara J. Bentz, Carolyn R. Breece, James K. Brown, Daniel R. Cluck, Tom W. Coleman, R. Gregory Corace, W. Wallace Covington, Douglas S. Cram, James B. Cronan, Joseph E. Crouse, Adrian Das, Ryan S. Davis, Darci M. Dickinson, Stephen A Fitzgerald, Peter Z. Fulé, Lisa M. Ganio, Lindsay M. Grayson, Charles B. Halpern, Jim L. Hanula, Brian J. Harvey, J. Kevin Hiers, David W. Huffman, MaryBeth Keifer, Tara L. Keyser, Leda N. Kobziar, Thomas E. Kolb, Crystal A. Kolden, Karen E. Kopper, Jason R. Kreitler, Jesse K. Kreye, Andrew M. Latimer, Andrew P. Lerch, Maria J. Lombardero, Virginia L. McDaniel, Charles W. McHugh, Joel D. McMillin, Jason J. Moghaddas, Joseph J. O'Brien, Daniel D. B. Perrakis, David A. Peterson, Susan J. Pritchard, Robert A. Progar, Kenneth F. Raffa, Elizabeth D. Reinhardt, Joseph C. Restaino, John P. Roccaforte, Brendan M. Rogers, Kevin Alexander Ryan, Hugh D. Safford, Alyson E. Santoro, Timothy M. Shearman, Alice M. Shumate, Carolyn Hull Sieg, Sheri L. Smith, Rebecca A. Smith, Nathan L. Stephenson, Mary Stuever, Jens Stevens, Michael T. Stoddard, Walter G. Thies, Nicole S. Vaillant, Shelby A. Weiss, Douglas J. Westlind, Travis J. Woolley, Micah C. Wright
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Wildland Fire Science

Monitoring Eastern Spadefoot (Scaphiopus holbrookii) response to weather with the use of a passive integrated transponder (PIT) system

Eastern Spadefoots (Scaphiopus holbrookii) are probably one of the least-understood amphibian species in the United States. In New England, populations are localized and it is likely that some populations go undocumented because of the species' cryptic habits. We used passive integrated transponders (PIT tags) to monitor burrow emergence with the aid of continuously running, stationary...
Authors
Kevin Alexander Ryan, Aram J.K. Calhoun, Brad C. Timm, Joseph D. Zydlewski
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Cooperative Research Units

Using passive integrated transponder (PIT) systems for terrestrial detection of blue-spotted salamanders (Ambystoma laterale) in situ

Pure-diploid Blue-spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma laterale) are the smallest members of the family Ambystomatidae which makes tracking with radio-transmitters difficult because of small battery capacity. Passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags provide another tracking approach for small fossorial animals such as salamanders. We evaluated the use of portable PIT tag readers (PIT packs)...
Authors
Kevin Alexander Ryan, Joseph D. Zydlewski, Aram J.K. Calhoun
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Cooperative Research Units

Fuzzy logic merger of spectral and ecological information for improved montane forest mapping.

Environmental data are often utilized to guide interpretation of spectral information based on context, however, these are also important in deriving vegetation maps themselves, especially where ecological information can be mapped spatially. A vegetation classification procedure is presented which combines a classification of spectral data from Landsat‐5 Thematic Mapper (TM) and...
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Joseph D. White, Steven W. Running, Kevin Alexander Ryan, Carl H. Key
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Ryan, K.A., Chaverra Palacios, L., Encina, F., Graeber, D., Osorio, S., Stubbins, A., Woelfl, S., Nimptsch, J. (2022), Assessing inputs of aquaculture-derived nutrients to streams using dissolved organic matter fluorescence, Science of The Total Environment, Volume 807, Part 2, 150785, ISSN 0048-9697, doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150785.

Stubbins A, Ryan K and Van Stan J. (2022), How Trees Make Tea. Front. Young Minds, 10:703704, doi: 10.3389/frym.2022.703704.

**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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