Ecosystems Research Division

Biographical Information

Name: Robert B. Ambrose, Jr.
Title: Environmental Engineer

Contact Info:
Ecosystems Research Division
National Exposure Research Laboratory
Office of Research and Development
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
960 College Station Road
Athens, Georgianbsp; 30605

Telephone: 706-355-8334
e-mail: ambrose.robert@epa.gov

Education:
S.M. 1974 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Civil Engineering
B.S. 1972 North Carolina State University, Chemical Engineering
B.S. 1972 Davidson College, Physics

Expertise/Research Interests:
Fate of organic and inorganic chemicals in the environment, particularly mercury; human and ecological risk assessment; linkage of hydrodynamic, sediment transport, chemical exposure, and water quality models.

Professional Activities:
Member: American Society of Civil Engineers, Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry; Registered Professional Engineer, State of Georgia, No. 14056.

Publications:

Journal Articles:

Knightes, C.D. and Ambrose, R.B., 2007. Evaluating Regional Predictive Capacity of a Process-Based Mercury Exposure Model, Regional-Mercury Cycling Model (R-MCM), Applied to 91 Vermont and New Hampshire Lakes and Ponds, USA. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 26(4):807-815.

Ambrose, R.B., Tsiros, I.X., and Wool, T.A., 2005. Modeling Mercury Fluxes and Concentrations in a Georgia Watershed Receiving Atmospheric Deposition Load from Direct and Indirect Sources. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 55:547-558.

Li, X., Ambrose, R.B., and Araujo, R., 2004. Modeling Mineral Nitrogen Export from a Forest Terrestrial Ecosystem to Streams. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, 47(3):727-739.

Ambrose, R.B., and Wool, T.A., Modeling Tools Used for Mercury TMDLs in Georgia Rivers, Georgia Water Resources Conference, Athens, GA, March 2001.

Tsiros, I.X. and Ambrose, R.B., 1999. An Environmental Simulation Model for Transport and Fate of Mercury in Small Rural Catchments. Chemosphere, 39(3):477-492.

Tsiros, I.X. and Ambrose, R.B., 1998. Environmental Screening Modeling of Mercury in the Upper Everglades of South Florida. Journal of Environmental Science and Health, A33(4), 497-525.

Hernandez, P., Ambrose, R.B., Prats, D., Ferrandis, E., and Asensi, J.C., 1997. Modeling Eutrophication Kinetics in Reservoir Microcosms. Water Research, 31(10):2511-2519.

Lyon, B.F., Ambrose, R.B., Rice G. and Maxwell, C.J., 1997. Calculation of Soil-Water and Benthic Sediment Partition Coefficients for Mercury. Chemosphere, 35(4):791-808.

Ambrose, R.B. and Barnwell, T.O., 1989. Environmental Software at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Center for Exposure Assessment Modeling. Environmental Software, 4(2):76-93.

Ambrose , R.B., et al., 1988. Simulation Models for Waste Load Allocation of Toxic Chemicals--A State of the Art Review. Journal Water Pollution Control Federation, 60(9):1646-1655.

Ambrose, R.B., 1987. Modeling Volatile Organics in the Delaware Estuary. Journal of Environmental Engineering Division, ASCE, 113(4):703-721.

Ambrose, R.B. and Roesch, S.R., 1982. Dynamic Estuary Model Performance. Journal of Environmental Engineering Division, ASCE, 108(EE1):51-71.

Books and Chapters:

Gonenc, E.I., Koutitonsky, V.G., Rashleigh, B., Ambrose, R.B., and Wolflin, J.P., Editors, 2007. Assessment of the Fate and Effects of Toxic Agents on Water Resources, Springer, Dordrecht , The Netherlands.

Erturk, A., Ambrose, R.B., and Rashleigh, B., 2007. Chapter 17, Case Study: Dieldrin Attack in Dalyan Lagoon. In Assessment of the Fate and Effects of Toxic Agents on Water Resources, Gonenc, E.I. et al., Editors, Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.

Ambrose, R.B., Barnwell, T.O., McCutcheon , S.C., and Williams, J.R., 1996. Chapter 14, Computer Models for Water Quality Analysis, in Handbook of Water Resources, McGraw-Hill , New York, L.W. Mays, editor.

Donigian, A.S., Imhoff, J.C., and Ambrose, R.B., 1995. Modeling Watershed Water Quality, in Environmental Hydrology, Kluwer Academic Publishers, V.P. Singh, editor.

Bouchard , D.C. , Ambrose, R.B., Barnwell, T.O., and Disney, D.W., 1994. Environmental Modeling Software at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Center for Exposure Assessment Modeling, in Computer Supported Risk Management, Kluwer Academic Publishers, G.E.G. Beroggi and W.A. Wallace, editors.

Selected Technical Manuals and Reports:

Knightes, C.D. and Ambrose, R.B., 2006.Development of An Ecological Risk Assessment Methodology for Assessing Wildlife Exposure Risk Associated With Mercury-Contaminated Sediments in Lake and River Systems, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Athens , GA. EPA/600/R-06/073.

Ambrose, R.B., J. L. Martin, and T. A. Wool. WASP7 Benthic Algae - Model theory and User's Guide. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency , Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-06/106 (NTIS PB2007-100139), 2006.

U.S. EPA (Ambrose, R.B., Johnston, J.M., Knightes, C.D. and Sunderland, E.). 2005. Chapter 3: Ecosystem Scale Modeling for Mercury Benefits Analysis and Appendix A in: Regulatory Impact Analysis for the Clean Air Mercury Rule. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards. EPA-452-/R-05-003.

U.S. EPA (several authors), 1997. Mercury Study Report to Congress. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards and Office of Research and Development, Washington , , EPA-452/R-97-004.

Ambrose, R.B., 1993. "9. Calculating Water Concentration," in Addendum to the Methodology for Assessing Health Risks Associated with Indirect Exposure to Combustor Emissions -- Review Draft. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC, EPA/600/AP-93/003.

Ambrose, R.B. and Martin, J.L., 1990. Technical Guidance Manual for Performing Waste Load Allocations, Book III: Estuaries, Part 1: Estuaries and Waste Load Allocation Models.U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Washington , D.C. EPA/823/R-92/002.

Martin, J.L., Ambrose, R.B., and McCutcheon , S.C., Editors, 1990. Technical Guidance Manual for Performing Waste Load Allocations, Book III: Estuaries, Part 2: Application of Estuarine Waste Load Allocation Models. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Washington DC, EPA/823/R-92/003.

Ambrose , R.B., et al., 1988. WASP4, A Hydrodynamic and Water Quality Model-Model Theory, Users Manual, and Programmers Guide. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Athens , GA, EPA/600/3-87/039.

Ambrose, R.B., Mulkey, L.A. and Huyakorn, P.S., 1985. A Methodology for Assessing Surface Water Contamination Due to Land Disposal. Background Document for the Surface Water Screening Procedure to Support 40 CFR part 268, Land Disposal Restrictions, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, OSW, Washington DC,

Ambrose, R.B., 1984. Section 2.6 - Complex Models Having Multi-Dimensional, Dynamic, or Speciation Capabilities, in Technical Guidance Manual for Performing Waste Load Allocations -Book II Streams and River, Chapter 3, Toxic Substances, Delos, C. editor. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Washington, DC EPA 440/4-84/022.

Ambrose, R.B., Hill, S.I., Mulkey, L.A. , 1983. User's Manual for Toxic Chemical Transport and Fate Model (TOXIWASP). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Athens , GA, EPA 600/3-83/005.

Clark, L.C., Ambrose, R.B., and Crain, R.C., 1978. A Mathematical Modeling Study of the Delaware Estuary," U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Annapolis , MD, EPA 903/9-78/001.

Proceedings and Invited Presentations:

Ambrose, R.B., Rashleigh, B., and Knightes, C.D., Toxics in Our Rivers, Georgia River Network Conference 2007 "Ensuring a Clean Water Legacy," Milledgeville, Georgia, February 17, 2007.

Ambrose, R. B., Tsiros, I.X., Wool, T. A., and Dai, T., Modeling Processes Controlling Mercury Fate in Watersheds Receiving Atmospheric Deposition - Comparison of Field Scale Gleams and Watershed Scale WCS-GBMM, Eighth International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, Madison , WI, August 06 - 11, 2006.

Ambrose, R. B. Modeling Mercury in Stream Ecosystems. Fifth National Monitoring Conference, San Jose , CA, May 07 - 11, 2006.

Ambrose, R.B., Wool, T. A., and Knightes, C. D., WASP Transport Modeling and WASP Ecological Modeling, NATO Programme Security Through Science, Dalyan, TURKEY, December 04 - 16, 2005.

Ambrose, R.B., Modeling Mercury Fate and Transport in Watersheds and Streams, for the CREM seminar on "Metals Fate and Transport Modeling for Contaminated Sites and Mercury TMDLs" April 5, 2005.

Ambrose, R.B., Complex Dynamic Models to Predict Contaminant Fate in Water Bodies, Workshop on Environmental Stability of Chemicals in Sediments, San Diego, CA, April 2003.

Ambrose, R.B., and Wool, T.A., Modeling Mercury Fate in Seven Georgia Watersheds, Workshop on the Fate, Transport, and Transformation of Mercury in Aquatic and Terrestrial Environments, West Palm Beach, FL, May 2001.

Ambrose, R.B., and Wool, T.A., Modeling Tools Used for Mercury TMDLs in Georgia Rivers, Georgia Water Resources Conference, Athens, GA, March 2001.

User Manuals / Model Usability, EPA Workshop on Development of General Modeling Evaluation Strategy and Peer Review Guidance for Regulatory Environmental Models, Arlington, VA, 2000.

Ambrose, R.B. and Burns, L.A. ,Application of Exams as the Surface Water Module in the HWIR Multimedia Risk Assessment System, SETAC Annual Conference, Philadelphia , PA, November 1999.

Ambrose, R.B., Definition and Classification of Models B working definitions and general classification of the most common models used by EPA, EPA Models 2000 Workshop, Athens , GA, 1997.

Ambrose, R.B., Modeling Mercury in Aquatic Systems, Mercury TMDL Seminar, hosted by the Georgia Power Company, Atlanta, GA, September 1999.

Ambrose, R.B., Overview of Important Mercury Transport Mechanisms, Mercury Speciation Workshop, Denver CO, September 1996.

Ambrose, R.B., Shell, K.J., and Tsiros, I.X.,An Environmental Screening Model Analysis of Mercury in the Florida Everglades, Fourth International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, Hamburg, Germany, August 1996.

Ambrose, R.B.,Water Models -- Case Histories in Software Development Life Cycle Management, National Technical Workshop on Quality Assurance and Information Management, Chapel Hill, N.C., August 1996.

Rice, G., Keating, M., and Ambrose, R.B. An Assessment of Exposure from Anthropogenic Mercury Emissions in the U.S. International Congress on Hazardous Waste: Impact on Human and Ecological Health, Atlanta, Georgia, June 1995.

Ambrose, R.B., Saturated/Unsaturated Transport - Implications of RUSTIC at Superfund Sites,@ Superfund Technical Support Project, Army Corps of Engineers Joint Meeting, Kansas City, MO, February, 1990.

Ambrose, R.B., Wool, T.A., and Wool, J., Fate and Transport Modeling of Wood Preserving Contaminants in Surface Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Forum on Remediation of Wood Preserving Sites, San Francisco , CA, October 1988.

Ambrose, R.B., and McCutcheon, S.C., Risk Assessment: A Framework for Making Environmental Decisions, Research Needs in the Areas of Fine and Cohesive Sediment Transport and Linking Hydrodynamics and Water Quality Models, and A Conceptual Approach to Bed Exchange of Organic Chemicals and Sorption Kinetics, at the Second National Water Environment Capacity Workshop, Quanzhou, China, June 1987.

Mulkey, L.A. , Ambrose, R.B., and Barnwell, T.O., Aquatic Fate and Transport Modeling Techniques for Predicting Environmental Exposure to Organic Pesticides and Other Toxicants--A Comparative Study, Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Urban Runoff Pollution, Montpellier , France , August 1985.

Eutrophication Modeling in Estuaries, presented at the National Technical University Athens, Athens, Greece, May 21, 1984.

Toxic Chemical Fate Modeling, presented at the National Technical University Athens, Athens, Greece, May 22, 1984.

Estuary Studies, six lectures for training course Orientation to Wastewater and Water Quality Studies,@ for Nigerian Federal and State staff, Lagos, Nigeria, February 14 25, 1983.

Ambrose, R.B. and Barnwell, T.O., Trace Contaminant Modeling, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Toronto , Ontario, Canada , November 1982.

Ambrose, R.B. and Dallas, D.W., Comparison of Simple Methods for Predicting the Fate of Chemical in the Chester Estuary, Proceedings of Symposium on the Development, Use and Value of Water Quality Criteria and Standards, George Washington University, Washington, DC, June 1980.

Ambrose, R.B., Application of the Dynamic Estuary Model to the Delaware Estuary, Virginia Institute of Marine Science Graduate Seminar, Gloucester , VA, November 1978.

Ambrose, R.B., Analysis of Estuarine Pollution: Methods of Analysis and Case Study, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Estuary Studies (161.3), July 1978.

Current Projects:
Multimedia Ecological Exposure Research Team. Nutrients and mercury in watersheds and water bodies.