Research Staff

Rebecca Murphy

Water Quality Analyst
Research Staff
Rebecca Murphy
Water Quality Analyst
Integration and Application Network

Bio

I am an Associate Research Scientist at the Chesapeake Bay Program where I am the technical lead for analyzing trends and patterns in Chesapeake Bay water quality data. I work closely with CBP colleagues, state agency partners, and researchers throughout the region on implementing statistical tools and applying them across both the large-scale and small-scale in various projects.  We are currently applying Generalized Additive Models, but my work also has included spatial interpolation, other linear and non-linear regression techniques, and data mining. Projects include linking trends in estuarine water quality to nutrient loads from the watershed, implementing flow or salinity-adjustment in GAMs to explain water quality trends, developing a spatial and temporal interpolation tool for water quality in Chesapeake Bay, and analyzing long-term chlorophyll-a patterns in the mainstem.

Areas of Expertise

  • Statistical Modeling
  • Estuarine Ecology
  • Water Quality Data Analysis
  • Environmental Engineering

Education

  • Ph.D from Johns Hopkins University in Geography and Environmental Engineering, 2012
  • M.Eng. from Cornell University in Biological and Environmental Engineering, 2002
  • B.S. from Cornell University in Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 2001