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Contact Information:

Photo of Pamela Nagler
Name:
Nagler, Pamela
Title:
Physical Scientist
Discipline(s):
Physical Geography
Research Station:
SDRS
Work Address:
125 Biological Sciences East, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
Telephone Number:
(520) 621-1472; FAX: (520) 670-5001
Email Address:
pnagler@usgs.gov

Biographical Sketch:

Dr. Pamela Nagler grew up in Atlanta, where her parents cultivated an early enthusiasm for adventure and an intense intrigue for people and places by traveling. Pamela's interest in topography and, more specifically, geomorphology developed naturally through her direct experiences with a variety of lands and cultures throughout her early school years. Her first experiences with USGS was as a hydrology technician while she was in high school, working for the Water Resources Division. Early in her undergraduate career, she was interested in Geology until a professor encouraged her to study Geography, as way to study the relationship between humans and the physical sciences. After obtaining a B.S. in Geography, Pamela interned with the late Barry Bishop at the National Geographic Society, where she was greatly influenced to pursue her passion for geography as a career. She then worked for the Solid Waste Division of the EPA, but wanted to pursue her interests in remote sensing skills to identify Superfund Cleanup Sites. She then took a position with the Defense Mapping Agency to apply remote sensing technology for environmental applications, but realized quickly she was better off going to graduate school. While obtaining a M.S. in Geography, Remote Sensing Science, Pamela gained experience and skills needed to address environmental applications, and took an assistantship with the USDA, Agriculture Research Service. Here, she helped develop techniques using hyperspectral data to distinguish soil from litter in the landscape. Pamela continued this research in Japan with a fellowship with NSF and took some time to travel throughout Asia before starting her Ph.D. research with Dr. Alfredo Huete at the UofA. Pamela's dissertation research was on the Colorado River delta in Mexico and her post-doctoral work with Dr. Ed Glenn, also from the UofA, was funded through a grant from NASA.

After her Ph.D. coursework, Pamela was engaged in additional research on seaweeds in Molokai, HI and phytoremediation with the Navajo Nation near Monument Valley, as well as participating in international collaboration on border issues (estuary, wetland, riparian habitat conservation and water policy) and working with the border regions in collaboration with tribes, local, state, federal government, and non-profits agencies. During this time, Pamela also ran the Colorado River Delta information exchange and participated as a member of the NSF-sponsored Research Coordination Network for CRD. While she was synthesizing her work with the Delta Riparian Corridor research and starting to collaborate with other agencies on finding information on evapotranspiration rates of riparian and upland plants, Steve Gloss, SDRS Ecologist, contacted Dr. Nagler to work on a restoration project at Cibola National Wildlife Refuge to acquire information on evapotranspiration rates for cottonwood trees, and she gladly became a member of USGS again. Currently, Dr. Nagler balances her research and commitment to SDRS with adjunct faculty positions in two departments, including SNR and SWES at the University of Arizona. Pamela continues to feed her carefree and creative cravings by traveling, photography, camping, making pottery, watching live bands, and reading voraciously.

  • Expertise
    • Applications in Ecology
    • Evapotranspiration
    • Plant Physiology
    • Spatial Information Systems
  • Education
    • Ph.D. 2001, Soil, Water, and Environmental Science, University of Arizona. Tucson, AZ
    • M.A. 1997, Geography, University of Maryland. College Park, MD
    • B.S. 1989, Geography, University of Florida. Gainesville, FL

Project List

  • (Not yet specified.)

Publications, Maps, and other Products

  1. Glenn, Edward and Pamela Nagler. 2007. New Life for the Colorado River Delta. In Dry Borders: Great Natural Reserves of the Sonoran Desert. Eds. William Broyles and Richard Felger, University of Utah Press, 357-363. [Book Chapter]
  2. Nagler, P., E. Glenn, K. Didan, J. Osterberg, J. Cunningham. 2007. Wide area estimates of stand structure and water use of saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima) on the Lower Colorado River: Implications for restoration and water management projects. Restoration Ecology. [Journal Article]
  3. Glenn, E., C. McKeon, V. Gerhart, P. Nagler, F. Jordan. 2007. Deficit irrigation of a landscape halophyte for reuse of saline waste water in a desert city. Landscape and Urban Planning. [Journal Article]
  4. Nagler, P. E. Glenn, H. Kim, W. Emmerich, R. Scott, T. Huxman, A. Huete. 2007. Relationship between evapotranspiration and precipitation pulses in a semiarid rangeland estimated by moisture flux towers and MODIS vegetation indices. Journal of Arid Environments. [Journal Article]
  5. Glenn, E., A. Huete, P. Nagler, P. Brown. 2007. Review: Integrating remote sensing and ground methods to estimate evapotranspiration. Critical Reviews in Plant Science. [Journal Article]
  6. Nagler, P., E. Glenn, O. Hinojosa-Huerta, F. Zamora-Arroyo, K. Howard. 2007. Riparian vegetation dynamics and evapotranspiration for the Riparian Corridor in the delta of the Colorado River, Mexico: Implications for conservation and management. Environmental Management. [Journal Article]
  7. Scott. R.L., W.L. Cable, T.E. Huxman, P.L. Nagler, D.C. Goodrich. 2007. Multiyear riparian evapotranspiration and groundwater use for a semiarid watershed. Water Resources Research. [Journal Article]
  8. Nagler, P., A. Jetton, J. Fleming, K. Didan, E. Glenn, J. Erker, K. Morino, J. Milliken, S. Gloss. 2007. Evapotranspiration in a cottonwood (Populus fremontii) restoration plantation estimated by sap flow and remote sensing methods. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. [Journal Article]
  9. Franklin, K.A., K. Lyons, P.L. Nagler, D. Lampkin, E. Glenn, F. Molina-Freaner, T. Markow, A. Huete. 2006. Estimating buffel grass land conversion and productivity in the plains of Sonora, Mexico using satellite imagery. Biological Conservation 127: 62-71. [Journal Article]
  10. Nagler, P. 2006. Presentation of pre-results to the Ohio Alliance Universities and the USBR: Estimation of evapotranspiration by tamarisk from three sites at Cibola NWR on the Lower Colorado River. Sponsored by Central State University. Dayton, OH. April 6-7. [Presentation]
  11. Nagler, P. 2006. Ecological relationships and water use by native vegetation and exotic saltcedar: Results from studies on Western U.S. rivers. The 6th Conference on Research and Resource Management in the Southwest Desert: Borders, Boundaries and Time Scales. Tucson, AZ. May 2-5. [Poster]
  12. Nagler, P. 2006. Ecological relationships and water use by native vegetation and exotic saltcedar on Western U.S. rivers. The 6th Conference on Research and Resource Management in the Southwest Deserts: Borders, Boundaries and Time Scales. Tucson, AZ. May 2-5. [Presentation]
  13. Nagler, P. 2006. Measuring and scaling evapotranspiration of a cottonwood restoration plot on the Lower Colorado River. American Geophysical Union Joint Assembly Meeting, Special Session H07: Monitoring the Terrestrial Water Cycle Through the Merger of Land Surface Models and Remote Sensing Observations. NBaltimore, MD. May 23-26. [Poster]
  14. Nagler, P. 2006. Seasonal and interannual variation of evapotranspiration for a semiarid watershed estimated by moisture flux towers and MODIS vegetation indices. American Geophysical Union Joint Assembly Meeting, Special Session H07: Monitoring the Terrestrial Water Cycle Through the Merger of Land Surface Models and Remote Sensing Observations. Baltimore, MD. May 23-26. [Presentation]
  15. Nagler, P. 2006. Water-use by tamarisk using MODIS EVI and neutron probe soil moisture data from three sites at Cibola NWR on the lower Colorado River. MODIS Specialty Group Meeting and Proceedings from the Global Vegetation Workshop III. Missoula, Montana. August 7-10. [Poster]
  16. Nagler, P. 2006. Foliage density and estimated evapotranspiration of large area saltcedar stands on the Lower Colorado River. Tamarisk Research Symposium. Fort Collins, CO. October 3-4. [Presentation]
  17. Nagler, P. 2006. Careers in environmental science. University of Arizona undergraduate class for environmental science majors. Tucson, AZ, Oct. 24. [Presentation]
  18. Nagler, P. 2006. Estimated evapotranspiration of large-area saltcedar stands on the Lower Colorado River, USA. Meeting on Earth observation, ecosystem and human activities, a project sponsored by The Chinese Academy of Sciences through the Institute for Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Beijing, China, Dec. 21-23. [Presentation]
  19. Glenn, E., P. Nagler, R.C. Brusca, O. Hinojosa-Huerta. 2006. Coastal wetlands of the northern Gulf of California: Inventory and conservation status. Aguatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 16: 5-28. [Journal Article]
  20. Nagler, P. 2006. Lower Colorado River ecological restoration project at Cibola National Wildlife Refuge: Studies of soil moisture, salinity and cottonwood tree evapotranspiration. Meeting sponsored by the USBR to discuss DOI landscape funds funds for studies on the Lower Colorado River. Boulder City, NV. March 9th. [Presentation]
  21. Glenn, E.P., P.L. Nagler, R.C. Brusca, O. Hinojosa-Huerta. 2006. Coastal wetlands of the northern Gulf of California: inventory and conservation status. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 16: 5-28. [Journal Article]
  22. Nagler, P.L., O. Hinojosa-Huerta, E.Glenn, J. Garcia-Hernandez, R.Romo, C.Curtis, A.Huete, S.Nelson. 2006. Regeneration of Native Trees in the Presence of Saltcedar: Results of an Inadvertent, 20 Year Pulse-Flood Experiment in the Colorado River Delta, Mexico. Conservation Biology 19(6): 1842-1852. [Journal Article]
  23. Mesta, R., M.L. Scott, J.F. Villaseñor, P. Nagler, E. Gomez, E.W. Reynolds, C.L. Jones, J. Duberstein. 2006. Western North American Land Bird Project: Wintering Habitats in Sonora, Mexico. A Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act Funded Project, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Office, Tucson, Arizona. 146 pp. [Technical Report]
  24. Nagler, P., R.L. Scott, C. Westenburg, J. Cleverly, E. Glenn, A. Huete. 2005. Evapotranspiration on western U.S. rivers estimated by the Enhanced Vegetation Index from MODIS and data from eddy covariance and Bowen ratio flux towers. Remote Sensing of Environment 97(3): 337-351. [Journal Article]
  25. Nagler, P., J. Cleverly, E. Glenn, D. Lampkin, A. Huete, Z. Wan. 2005. Predicting riparian evapotranspiration from MODIS vegetation indices and meteorological data. Remote Sensing of Environment 94(1): 17-30. [Journal Article]
  26. Nagler, P.L., Glenn, E.P., K.Hursh, C.Curtis, and A.Huete. 2005. Vegetation Mapping for Change Detection on an Arid Zone River. Environmental Monitoring & Assessment 109(1-3): 255-274. [Journal Article]
  27. Glenn, E., P. Nagler. 2005. Comparative ecophysiology of saltcedar and native trees in western U.S. riparian zones. Journal of Arid Environments 61: 419-446. [Journal Article]
  28. Nagler, P., E. Glenn, A. Huete. 2004. Characteristics and light interception by riparian species on the lower Colorado River. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 125(1-2): 1-17. [Journal Article]
  29. Nagler, P., E. Glenn, T. Lew Thompson. 2003. Comparison of transpiration rates among saltcedar cottonwood and willow trees using sap flow and leaf temperature methods. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 110: 1-17. [Journal Article]
  30. Pamela L. Nagler, Yoshio Inoue, Edward P. Glenna, Andrew L. Russ, and Craig S. T. Daughtry. 2003. Cellulose absorption index (CAI) to quantify mixed soil–plant litter scenes. Remote Sensing of Environment 87:310-325. [Journal Article]
  31. Nagler, P., E. Glenn, S. Nelson, S. Napolean. 2003. Effects of fertilization treatment and stocking density on the growth and production of the economic seaweed Gracilaria parvispora (Rhodophyta) in cage culture at Molokai, Hawaii. Aquaculture 219 (1-4): 379-391. [Journal Article]
  32. Hinojosa-Huerta, O., P. Nagler, Y. Carrillo-Guerrero, E. Zamora-Hernandez, J. Garcia-Hernandez, F. Zamora-Arroyo, E. Glenn. 2002. Andrade Mesa Wetlands of the All-American Canal. Natural Resources Journal 42 (4): 899-914. [Journal Article]
  33. Zamora-Arroyo, F., P. Nagler, M. Briggs, D. Radtke, H. Rodriquez, J. Garcia, A. Huete, C. Valdez, E. Glenn. 2001. Regeneration of native trees in response to flood releases from the United States into the delta of the Colorado River, Mexico. Journal of Arid Environments 49: 49-64. [Journal Article]
  34. Zamora-Arroyo, Francisco, Pamela Nagler, Mark Briggs, Dean Radtke, Hugo Rodriquez, Jacqueline Garcia, Alfredo Huete, Carlos Valdez, Edward Glenn. 2001. Regeneration of native trees in response to flood releases from the United States into the delta of the Colorado River, Mexico. Journal of Arid Environments 49: 49-64. [Journal Article]
  35. Glenn, E.P., F. Zamora-Arroyo, P.L. Nagler, M.Briggs, W. Shaw, K.Flessa. 2001. Ecology and conservation biology of the Colorado River Delta, Mexico. Journal of Arid Environments 49(1):5-16. [Journal Article]
  36. Nagler, P., E. Glenna, A. Huete. 2001. Assessment of spectral vegetation indices for riparian vegetation in the Colorado River delta, Mexico. Journal of Arid Environments 49(1): 91-110. [Journal Article]
  37. Pamela L. Nagler, Craig S. T. Daughtry, and Samuel N. Goward. 2000. Plant Litter and Soil Reflectance. Remote Sensing of Environment 71(2) 207-215. [Journal Article]
  38. Nagler, P., G. Kara, J. Pitt, B. Snape, E. Glenn. . 2000. Application of the U.S. Endangered Species Act across international borders: the case of the Colorado River delta, Mexico. Environmental Science and Policy 67-72. [Journal Article]
  39. Daughtry, C.S.T., P.L. Nagler, M.S. Kim, J.E. McMurtrey III, and E.W. Chappelle. 1996. Spectral Reflectance of Soils and Crop Residues. . In A.M.C. Davies and Phil Williams (Eds.) Near Infrared Spectroscopy: The Future Waves. NIR Publications, Chichester, UK. pp.505-511. [Book Chapter]