usgs_staff_profile:
meta: url: https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/heather-heckathorn timestamp: '2024-01-30T12:18:54.070851' status_code: 200 profile: name: Heather Heckathorn name_qualifier: null titles: - Hydrologist / Water Quality Specialist organizations: - !!python/tuple - New Jersey Water Science Center - https://www.usgs.gov/centers/new-jersey-water-science-center email: haheck@usgs.gov orcid: 0000-0002-7195-5889 intro_statements: - Heather is the Water Quality Specialist for the USGS NJ Water Science Center. Heather's career with the U.S. Geological Survey New Jersey Water Science Center began in 2000 after studying at the University of Pittsburgh and Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. expertise_terms: - Surface Water Quality - Groundwater Quality - Trace Element Contamination - Sediment Oxygen Demand - Aquatic Ecosystems - Contamination and Pollution - Environmental Assessment - Streamflow - Surface Water (Non-Marine) professional_experience: - Water-Quality Specialist, New Jersey Water Science Center, 2018-present - Water-Quality Specialist, Acting, New Jersey Water Science Center, 2016-2018 - Supervisory Hydrologist, New Jersey Water Science Center, 2013-2018 - Hydrologist, Team Lead, New Jersey Water Science Center, 2008-2013 - Hydrologist, Project Chief, Antibiotic Resistance, 2010-2012 - Hydrologist, Project Chief, Nutrient Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) and Sediment Oxygen Demand (SOD) in the Saddle and Salem River Watersheds, 2007-2009 - Hydrologist, Hydrologic Data Assessment Program, 2000-2013 education: - "BS Environmental Science \u2013 Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, Slippery\ \ Rock, PA" affiliations: - USGS North Atlantic and Appalachian Region Capability Team Lead, Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) - NJ Water Monitoring Council co-chair - NJ Section of American Water Resources Association - USGS Water Mission Area (WMA) Scientific and Technical Employee Development (STED) Committee - USGS WMA Urban Landscapes Capability Team - USGS WMA PFAS Capability Team - Scientific and Technical Advisory Council for Delaware River Basin Commission honors: [] abstracts: [] personal_statement: "Her career with the USGS has focused on the water quality\ \ of groundwater and surface water. In support of New Jersey\u2019s extensive\ \ water-quality networks, Heather has worked to ensure these networks of long-term\ \ discrete data and long-term continuous water-quality monitors are maintained\ \ with a high standard of efficiency, quality, and impartiality producing unbiased,\ \ high-quality data for water-quality investigations.Recent investigations include\ \ determining variations of concentrations of water-quality constituents throughout\ \ New Jersey, Sediment Oxygen Demand, antibiotic resistance, assessments of\ \ nutrient loads, and monitoring harmful algal blooms in lakes and reservoirs.\ \ She helps guide the focus of several hydrographers and advises on best practices\ \ for superior data collection, review, and publication of water-quality data.Her\ \ current interests include monitoring and assessing contaminants of emerging\ \ concern including, but not limited, to microplastics, PFAS, and harmful algal\ \ blooms and using novel approaches to monitor a variety of water-quality characteristics."