Paul D. Capel

Paul Capel

Paul D. Capel

Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering

Contact

612-625-3082
capel001@umn.edu
Civil Engineering Building
Room 145
500 Pillsbury Drive Se
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Education
  • Ph.D.,1986, University of Minnesota, Civil (Environmental) Engineering
  • M.S.C.E., 1983, University of Minnesota, Civil (Environmental) Engineering
  • B.A., 1979, Evangel College, Chemistry/Science Education
Professional Background
  • Adjunct Associate Professor, Water Resources Sciences Graduate Program, University of Minnesota, 2001-2019.
  • Research Team Leader, Integrated Watershed Studies, U.S. Geological Survey, National Water Quality Project, 2012-2019.
  • Research Team Leader, Agricultural Chemicals, U.S. Geological Survey, National Water Quality Assessment Program, 2002-2012.
  • Research Chemist, U.S. Geological Survey, Office of Water Quality, National Water Quality Assessment Program, 1989-2002.
  • Visiting Researcher, Swiss Federal Institute for Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), Department of Chemistry, 1986-1987.
Research Interests

My major research interests focus on the behavior, transport, and fate of chemicals in the environment, particularly pesticides and nitrogen, and the importance of hydrologic flowpaths on chemical transport. Currently, the research is focused on methods to quantify the inputs of nitrogen from groundwater to streams and the use of high-frequency water quality data to better understand environmental processes and the design of sample collection in field studies. I am also interested in the design and implementation of monitoring programs for the quality of drinking water in developing countries.

Selected Publications

Burns, D.A., Pellerin, B.A., Miller, M.P., Capel, P.D., Tesoriero, A.J, and Duncan, J.M., 2019, Monitoring the riverine pulse: Applying high‐frequency nitrate data to advance integrative understanding of biogeochemical and hydrological processes, WIREs Water, 16 April 2019, https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1348

Capel, P.D., McCarthy, K.A., Coupe, R.H., Grey, K.M., Amenumey, S.E., Baker, N.T., and Johnson, R.L., 2018, Agriculture—A river runs through it—The connections between agriculture and water quality: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1433, 201 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/cir1433

Capel, P.D., Wolock, D.M., Coupe, R.H., and Roth, J.L., 2018, A conceptual framework for effectively anticipating water-quality changes resulting from changes in agricultural activities: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2017–5095, 35 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20175095

Smith, E. A. and Capel, P.D., 2018, Specific Conductance as a Tracer of Preferential Flow in a Subsurface-Drained Field. Vadose Zone J. 17:170206. doi: 10.2136/vzj2017.11.0206

Rose, C.E., Coupe, R.C., Capel, P.D., and Webb, R.M.T., 2018, Holistic assessment of occurrence and fate of metolachlor within environmental compartments of agricultural watersheds, Science of the Total Environment, 612: 708-719. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.08.154

Terziotti, Silvia, Capel, P.D., Tesoriero, A.J., Hopple, J.A., and Kronholm, S.C., 2017, Estimates of nitrate loads and yields from groundwater to streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed based on land use and geology: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2017–5160, 20 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20175160

Burns, D.A., Miller, M.A., Pellerin, B.A., and Capel, P.D., 2016, Patterns of diel variation in nitrate concentrations in the Potomac River, Freshwater Science, 35(4): 1117-1132. doi: 10.1086/688777

Kronholm, S.C., Capel, P.D., and Terziotti, S., 2016, Statistically extracted fundamental watershed variables for estimating the loads of total nitrogen in small streams, Environmental Modeling and Assessment, doi: 10.1007/s10666-016-9525-3

Miller, M.P., Tesoriero, A.J., Capel, P.D., Pellerin, B.A., Hyer, K.E., and Burns, D.A., 2016, Quantifying watershed-scale groundwater loading and in-stream fate of nitrate using high-frequency water quality data, Water Resource Research, 15(1): 330–347. doi: 10.1002/2015WR017753

Coupe, R. H. and Capel, P. D., 2015. Trends in pesticide use on soybean, corn and cotton since the introduction of major genetically modified crops in the United States, Pesticide Management Science. doi: 10.1002/ps.4082