Bridget Deemer

Ph.D student

B.A. in Environmental Studies, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY

M.S. in Environmental Science, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA

Research Interests:

Broadly, I am interested in how human activities are affecting the way that energy and nutrients cycle through ecosystems. My graduate work has aimed to better characterize how reservoirs can affect the transport and transformation of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). Reservoirs are particularly active sites for biogeochemical reactions and can dramatically reduce the downstream transport of nutrients but can also be a significant source of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. My research examines these tradeoffs using a combination of experimental and well-established field-based techniques. Using several regional reservoirs as model systems, I am working collaboratively to characterize how background nitrogen loading and water level management regimes influence the biogeochemical cycling of C and N. I am also interested in how my research can effectively inform policy decisions. To that end, I am involved in the National Science Foundation IGERT program, Nitrogen Systems: Policy-oriented Integrated Research and Education, and am working to establish collaborations with relevant policy-making communities. Bridging the science-policy gap will be critical to effective water resource management over the coming decades.

Publications

Deemer, B.R., K.E. Goodwin, T.A. Lee, M.K. Birchfield, K. Dallavis, J. Emerson, D. Freeman, E. Henry, L. Wynn, and J.A. Harrison. 2012. Elevated nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in urbanizing southwest Washington streams. Northwest Science 86: 237-247. (pdf)
Henderson, S.M., and B.R. Deemer. 2012. Vertical propagation of lakewide internal waves. Geophysical Research Letters 39, doi:10.1029/2011GL050534. (pdf)
Deemer, B.R., J.A. Harrison, and E.W. Whitling. 2011. Microbial dinitrogen and nitrous oxide produciton in a small euthrophic reservoir: an in situ approach to quantifying hypolimnetic process rates. Limnology and Oceanography 56: 1189-1199. (pdf)

Presentations

Deemer, B.R., J.A. Harrison, and M.T. Glavin. 2012. Water level drawdown boosts greenhouse gas production in a small eutrophic reservoir. Poster at the Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Portland, OR.
Deemer B.R., J.A. Harrison, S.M. Henderson, and M.T. Glavin. 2012. Water level drawdown affects methane and nitrous oxide production in a small eutrophic reservoir: Lacamas Lake, Washington. Poster at the Society for Freshwater Science Annual Meeting, Louisville, KY.
Deemer, B.R., K.E. Goodwin, T.A. Lee, M.K. Birchfield, K. Dallavis, J. Emerson, D. Freeman, E. Henry, L. Wynn, and J.A. Harrison. 2012. Elevated nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in urbanizing southwest Washington streams. Talk at the Urban Ecology and Conservation Symposium at Portland State University, Portland, OR.
Deemer, B.R., J.A. Harrison, and J.R. Arnold. 2011. Managing reservoirs for water quality: the intersection of science and policy. Poster presentation at the Washington Water Research Center Conference, Stevenson, WA.
Deemer, B.R., J.A. Harrison, and S.M. Henderson. 2011. Dam spill is a hot moment for microbial nitrogen removal in a eutrophic reservoir. Poster at the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography Annual Meeting, San Juan, PR.
Deemer, B.R., and J.A. Harrison. 2010. Patterns of microbial nitrogen removal in a eutrophic reservoir: insights from a new in-situ approach. Talk at the joint meeting of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography and the North American Benthological Society, Santa Fe, NM.
Deemer, B.R., and J.A. Harrison. 2009. Nitrogen removal and greenhouse gas production during stratification in a eutrophic reservoir. Talk at the Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM.
Deemer, B.R., and J.A. Harrison. 2008. Seasonal variation in denitrification in a small eutrophic reservoir, Lacamas Lake, Camas Washington. Poster presentation at the Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, WI.
Deemer, B.R., and J.A. Harrison. 2008. Seasonal variation in denitrification in a small eutrophic reservoir, Lacamas Lake, Camas Washington. Poster presentation at the American Fisheries Society Western Division Annual Meeting, Portland, OR.
Deemer, B.R., L. Merriam, and C.M. O'Reilly. 2004. The Influence of Land Use Change on Nutrient Concentrations and Tropical Stream Community Structure During the Wet Season: A study of small tributaries of Lake Tanganyika, East Africa. Poster presentation at the North American Benthological Society Conference, Vancouver, B.C.