J. DENIS NEWBOLD

Research Scientist, Stroud Water Research Center

Stroud Water Research Center
970 Spencer Road
Avondale, PA 19311
Phone: 610-268-2153, ext. 227
Fax: 610-268-0490
Email

Research Focus

The flow of nutrients (primarily nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon) to streams and rivers and how those nutrients are processed, transformed and transported by the stream and river ecosystem.

Current Projects

The importance of streamside reforestation for reducing non-point-source pollution in small streams. This is a USEPA National Monitoring Program project to track water quality improvements from implementation of a Riparian Forest Buffer System on an agricultural watershed in the Stroud Preserve, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Results indicate that ten years after planting, the forest buffer reduces the nitrate export from the watershed by approximately 30% and the suspended sediment export by approximately 55%.

Dynamics of organic particles in stream ecosystems. (NSF and EPA). This research identifies physical and biological factors that control the deposition and resuspension of fine (<100 um) organic particles in stream and river ecosystems. Injections of natural particles to streams, rivers, and experimental flumes are analyzed using a one-dimensional advection-dispersion model.  Special educational resources are being developed under NSF's Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program.

The application of scaling rules to energy flow in stream ecosystems. National Science Foundation. This research is designed to estimate the contribution of upstream sources of dissolved organic matter (DOM) the support of downstream ecosystem metabolism The experimental component of this research has been designed around a novel use of stable isotopes to reveal phenomena that cannot be measured directly without tracers, namely the uptake of polymeric DOM including humic substances. As tracers, we use releases of complex 13C DOM to the stream and generate polymeric DOM uptake rates from longitudinal loss rate curves that are approximated as the sum of a few first-order loss rates (i.e., biolability classes). Access to the White Clay Creek and streamwater-fed microcosms facilitates our ability to test the following working hypotheses: Polymeric DOM in transport contributes significantly to stream ecosystem metabolism.

Water quality monitoring in the source water areas for New York City: an integrative watershed approach. NY State DEC and U.S. EPA. Perform measurements of ecosystem-level parameters such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling and determination of concentrations of biodegradable dissolved organic carbon to assess the condition of watersheds that supply drinking water to reservoirs serving New York City.

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Grants and Awards

Principal investigator: "Stroud Preserve National Monitoring Project: Mitigation of nonpoint pollution by a riparian forest buffer in an agricultural watershed of the Mid-Atlantic Piedmont". Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Co-Principal Investigator: "LTREB: Stream ecosystem structure and function within a maturing deciduous forest". 1999-present.

Co-Principal Investigator: "The application of scaling rules to energy flow in stream ecosystems". 2001-2003. NSF.

Co-Principal Investigator: "Molecular tracers of contaminant sources to surface water drinking supplies". USEPA-STAR 2000-2002.

Co-Principal Investigator. "Streamside reforestation: An analysis of ecological benefits and societal perceptions". 1996-1999. NSF and U.S. EPA.

Co-Principal Investigator: NSF DEB-9306365 Dynamics of FPOM transport in stream ecosystems. 1993-1997.

Co-Principal Investigator: Sources and biological lability of terrestrial dissolved organic carbon entering streams: Implications for stream ecosystem metabolism. 1993-1996.

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Education

Ph.D., 1977, University of California, Berkeley, Aquatic Ecology.
M.S., 1973, Cornell University, Hydrology.
B.S., 1971, Swarthmore College, Engineering.

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Previous Positions Held 

Assistant Curator, Stroud Water Research Center of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Avondale, PA 19311. 1985-1992.

Ruth Patrick Scholar, Stroud Water Research Center, Division of Environmental Research, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 1983-1985.

Research Staff Member, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. 1982-1983

Research Associate, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. 1977-1982

Eugene P. Wigner Postdoctoral Fellow, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. 1977-1979

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Recent Lectures and Presentations

Stroud Preserve Riparian Reforestation National Monitoring Project: Removal of nitrate from subsurface flow and sediment from overland flow. Coauthored by B. W. Sweeney, S. A. Watts, and S. J. Alberts. Paper presented at the Eleventh National NonPoint Source Monitoring Workshop, Dearborn, MI, September 2003.

Suspended organic matter in stream and river networks: passenger or driver? Coauthored by S. A. Thomas, and A. I. Pakman.  Paper presented at the 51^st Annual Meeting of the North American Benthological Society, Athens, GA, May 2003.

Geomorphic scaling and dissolved organic carbon spiraling in channel networks. Coauthored by L. A. Kaplan and P Claggett. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the American Water Resources Association in Philadelphia PA November 2002.

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Publications

Copyright Notice: This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. In most cases, these works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.

Bott, T. L., J. D. Newbold and D. Arscott. 2006. Ecosystem metabolism in Piedmont streams: Reach geomorphology modulates the influence of riparian vegetation. Ecosystems 9: 398-401. [View PDF; 1.5MB]

Newbold, J.D., S. A. Thomas, G. W. Minshall, C. E. Cushing, and T. Georgian. 2005. Deposition, benthic residence, and resuspension of fine organic particles in a mountain stream. Limnology and Oceanography 50:1571-1580.[View PDF]

Wiegner, T. N., L. A. Kaplan, J. D. Newbold, and P. H. Ostrom. 2005. Contribution of dissolved organic C to stream metabolism: a mesocosm study using ¹³C-enriched tree-tissue leachate. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 24:48-67.

Wiegner, T. N., L. A. Kaplan, J. D. Newbold, and P. H. Ostrom. 2005. Synthesis of a ¹³C-labeled tracer for stream DOC: Labeling Tulip Poplar carbon with 13CO2. Ecosystems 8:501-511.

Sweeney, B. W., T. L. Bott, J. K. Jackson, L. A. Kaplan, J. D. Newbold, L. J. Standley, W. C. Hession, and R. J. Horwitz. 2004. Riparian deforestation, stream narrowing, and loss of stream ecosystem services. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America 101:14132-14137.

Battin, T. J., L. A. Kaplan, J. D. Newbold, C. Hansen. 2003. Contributions of microbial biofilms to ecosystem processes in stream mesocosms. Nature 426: 439-442. [View PDF of paper; 382KB]

Battin, T. J., L. A. Kaplan, J. D. Newbold, and S. P. Hendricks. 2003. A mixing model analysis of stream solute dynamics and the contribution of a hyporheic zone to ecosystem function. Freshwater Biology 48:1-20.

Battin, T. J., L. A. Kaplan, J. D. Newbold, X. Cheng, and C. Hansen. 2003. Effects of current velocity on the nascent architecture of stream microbial biofilms. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 63:5443-5452.

Packman, A. I., T. J. Battin, and J. D. Newbold. 2003. Coupling of hydrodynamical, biological, and geochemical processes in streambeds. Archives of Hydro-Engineering and Environmental Mechanics (AHEM) 50:107-123.

Georgian, T., J. D. Newbold, S. A. Thomas, M. T. Monaghan, G. W. Minshall, and C. E. Cushing. 2003. Comparison of corn pollen and natural fine particulate matter transport in streams: can pollen be used as a seston surrogate? Journal of the North American Benthological Society 22:2-15.

Meyer, J. L., L. A. Kaplan, D. Newbold, S. L. Strayer, C. J. Woltemade, J. B. Zedler, R. Beilfuss, Q. Carpenter, R. Semlistsch, M. C. Watzin, and P. H. Zedler. 2003. Where rivers are born: The scientific imperative for defending small streams and wetlands. Sierra Club and American Rivers.

Thomas, S. A., J. D. Newbold, M. T. Monaghan, G. W. Minshall, T. Georgian, and C. E. Cushing. 2001. The influence of particle size on the deposition of seston in streams. Limnology and Oceanography 46:1425-1424.

McNair, J. N., and J. D. Newbold. 2001. Turbulent transport of suspended particles and suspended benthic organisms: the hitting-distance problem for the local exchange model. Journal of Theoretical Biology 209:351-369.

Monaghan, M. T., S. A. Thomas, G. W. Minshall, J. D. Newbold, and C. E. Cushing. 2001. The Influence of filter-feeding benthic macroinvertebrates on the transport and deposition of particulate organic matter and diatoms In two streams. Limnology and Oceanography 46:1091-1099.

Kaplan, L. A., and J. D. Newbold. 2001. The role of monomers in stream ecosystem metabolism.pp. 97-119 in S. Findlay and R. L. Sinsabaugh, eds., Aquatic Ecosystems: interactivity of dissolved organic matter. Academic Press.

Minshall, G. W., S. A. Thomas, J. D. Newbold, M. T. Monaghan, and C. E. Cushing. 2000. Physical factors influencing fine organic particle transport and deposition in streams. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 18:1-16.

Kaplan, L. A. and J. D. Newbold. 2000. Surface and subsurface dissolved organic carbon. pp. 237-258 In: Streams and Ground Waters, J. B. Jones and P. J. Mulholland, eds. Academic Press.

McNair, J. N., J. D. Newbold, and D. D. Hart. 1997. Turbulent transport of suspended particles and dispersing benthic organisms: How long to hit bottom? Journal of Theoretical Biology 188:29-52.

Newbold, J. D., T. L. Bott, L. A. Kaplan, B. W. Sweeney, and R. L. Vannote. 1997. Organic matter dynamics in White Clay Creek, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.. Pages 46 - 50 in J. R. Webster and J. L. Meyers (editors). Stream organic matter budgets. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 16:3-161.

Lowrance, R., L. S. Altier, J. D. Newbold, R. R. Schnabel, P. M. Groffman, J. M. Denver, D. L. Correll, J. W. Gilliam, J. L. Robinson, R. B. Brinsfield, K. W. Staver, W. Lucas, and A. H. Todd 1997. Water quality functions of riparian forest buffer systems in the Chesapeake Bay Watersheds. Environmental Management 21:687-712.

Lowrance, R., L. S. Altier, J. D. Newbold, R. R. Schnabel, P. M. Groffman, J. M. Denver, D. L. Correll, J. W. Gilliam, J. L. Robinson, R. B. Brinsfield, K. W. Staver, W. Lucas, and A. H. Todd 1995. Water quality functions of riparian forest buffer systems in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Chesapeake Bay Program Technology Transfer Report EPA 903-R-95-004. [View PDF of paper; 5385KB]

Kaplan, L. A. and J. D. Newbold. 1995. Measurement of streamwater biodegradable dissolved organic carbon with a plug-flow bioreactor. Water Research 29:2696-2706.

Newbold, J. D., B. W. Sweeney, J. K. Jackson, and L. A. Kaplan. 1995. Concentrations and export of solutes from six mountain streams in northwestern Costa Rica. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 14:21-37. [View PDF of paper (2.34MB)]

Kaplan, L. A., L. J. Standley, and J. D. Newbold. 1995. Impact on water quality of high and low density applications of spent mushroom substrate to agricultural lands. Compost Science & Utilization 3:00-00 (in press).

Jackson, J. K., B. W. Sweeney, T. L. Bott, J. D. Newbold, and L. A. Kaplan. 1994. Transport of Bacillus thuringiensis var. and its effect on drift and benthic densities of nontarget macroinvertebrates in the Susquehanna River, Northern Pennsylvania. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 51:295-314.

Newbold, J. D., B. W. Sweeney, and R. L. Vannote. 1994. A model for seasonal synchrony in stream mayflies. Journal of the North American Benthological Society. 13:3-18.

Cushing, C. E., G. W. Minshall, and J. D. Newbold. 1993. Transport dynamics of fine particulate organic matter in two Idaho streams. Limnology and Oceanography. 38:1101-1115.

Kaplan, L. A., and J. D. Newbold. 1993. Sources and biogeochemistry of terrestrial dissolved organic carbon entering streams. pp. 139 - 165 in T. E. Ford, ed. Aquatic microbiology: an ecological approach. Blackwell Scientific

Newbold, J. D. 1992. Cycles and spirals of nutrients. pp. 379-408 in P. Calow and G. E. Petts (eds.). The rivers handbook. Blackwell Scientific, Oxford.

Sweeney, B. W., J. K. Jackson, J. D. Newbold, and D. H. Funk. 1992. Climate change and the life histories and biogeography of univoltine aquatic insects in eastern North America. pp. 143-176 in P. Firth and S. Fisher (eds.) Global warming and freshwater ecosystems.Springer-Verlag, New York.

Newbold, J. D., C. E. Cushing, and G. W. Minshall. 1991. Use of ¹⁴C label to study fine particulate organic matter dynamics in flowing water. pp. 493-501 in R. A. Baker, ed. Organic substances and sediments in water. Volume 2. Processes and analytical. Lewis Publishers, Chelsea, Michigan.

Stream Solute Workshop. 1990. Concepts and methods for asssessing solute dynamics in stream ecosystems. J. N. Amer. Benthol. Soc. 9:95-119.

Newbold, J.D. 1987. Phosphorus spiralling in rivers and river-reservoir systems: Implications of a model. pp. 303-327. In: J.F. Craig and J.B. Kemper (eds.). Regulated streams; Advances in ecology. Plenum Press

Mulholland, P.J., J.W. Elwood, J.D. Newbold, and L.A. Ferren. 1985. Effect of a leaf shredding invertebrate on organic matter dynamics and phosphorus spiralling in heterotrophic laboratory streams. Oecologia 66:199-206.

Mulholland, P.J., J.D. Newbold, J.W. Elwood, L.A. Ferren, and J.R. Webster. 1985. Phosphorus spiralling in a woodland stream: seasonal variations. Ecology 66:1012-1023.

Mulholland, P.J., J.D. Newbold, J.W. Elwood, and C.L. Hom. 1983. The effect of grazing intensity on phosphorus spiralling in autotrophic streams. Oecologia 58:358-366.

Newbold, J.D., J.W. Elwood, R.V. O'Neill, and A.L. Sheldon. l983. Phosphorus dynamics in a woodland stream ecosystem: a study of nutrient spiralling. Ecology 64:l249-l265.

Newbold, J.D., J.W. Elwood, M.S. Schultz, R.W. Stark and J.C. Barmeier. l983. Continuous ammonium enrichment of a woodland stream: Uptake kinetics, leaf decomposition, and nitrification. Freshwater Biology l3:l93-204.

Elwood, J.W., J.D. Newbold, R.V. O'Neill, and W. Van Winkle. l983. Resource spiralling: An operational paradigm for analyzing lotic ecosystems. pp. 3-27. In T.D. Fontaine, III., and S.M. Bartell (eds.). Dynamics of lotic ecosystems. Ann Arbor Science, Ann Arbor, Michigan.Newbold, J.D., P.J. Mulholland, J.W. Elwood, and R.V. O'Neill. l982. Organic carbon spiralling in stream ecosystems. Oikos 38:266-272.

Newbold, J.D., R.V. O'Neill, J.W. Elwood, and W. Van Winkle. l982. Nutrient spiralling in streams: Implications for nutrient limitation and invertebrate activity. American Naturalist. l20:628-652.

Elwood, J.W., J.D. Newbold, A.F. Trimble, and R.W. Stark. l98l. The limiting role of phosphorus in a woodland stream ecosystem: Effects of P enrichment on leaf decomposition and primary producers. Ecology 62:l46-l58.

Newbold, J.D., J.W. Elwood, and R.V. O'Neill. l98l. Measuring nutrient spiralling in streams. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 38:860-863.

Newbold, J.D., D.C.Erman, and K. B. Roby. 1980. Effects of logging on macroinvertebrates in streams with and without buffer strips. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 37:1076-1085.

Erman, D.C., J.D. Newbold, and K.B. Roby. 1977. Evaluation of streamside bufferstrips for protecting aquatic organisms. California Water Resources Center, Univ. of Calif., Davis. Contribution No. l65, September l977. 48 pp.

Roby, K.B., J.D. Newbold, and D.C. Erman. l978. Effectiveness of an artificial substrate for sampling macroinvertebrates in small streams. Freshwater Bioloby 8:l-8.

Roby, K.B., D.C. Erman, and J.D. Newbold. l977. Biological assessment of timber management activity impacts and buffer strip effectiveness on National Forest Streams of Northern California. Earth Resources Monograph No. l, USDA Forest Service, California Region. l70 pp.

Horne, A.J., J.D. Newbold, and M.M. Tilzer. 1975. The productivity mixing modes, and management of the world's lakes. Limnology and Oceanography 20:663-666.

Newbold, J. D., and J. A. Liggett. 1974. Oxygen depletion model for Cayuga Lake. J. Environ. Eng. Div. ASCE 100:41-59.

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Professional Affiliations