Bio

I developed a love for the ocean at an early age. As a kid, though, I didn’t know you could be a marine scientist, so as an undergraduate I trained to be a medical doctor and majored in biology and chemistry. In the last semester of my senior year, I had one biology elective to take, and I decided that a course called Ecology seemed interesting. I had no idea this decision would change my life. Somewhere in the middle of that semester, I abandoned my plan to become a medical doctor and decided I wanted to be an ecologist. But not just any kind of an ecologist, I wanted to be a marine ecologist.

A few months later, I found myself in the Bering Sea and north Pacific Ocean as a marine fisheries observer working on boats out of Dutch Harbor, AK. After you spend some time at sea peering into the water day and night, you start to see new things. I began to take note of these tiny little specks in the water that sparkled in the sunlight and sometimes even in the moonlight. This generated some interesting questions. What were the sparkles (phytoplankton reflecting sunlight and bioluminescence during night), What controls their abundance? (growth and mortality), In turn, what controls their growth and mortality? (nutrients, sunlight, temperature, grazers), What happens when phytoplankton are provided high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus? (blooms, eutrophication, hypoxia, and coastal acidification)? After several years at sea pondering these things, I decided I needed go to graduate school to learn how to find the answers.

This led me to the University of Alabama and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab where my PhD research focused on biogeochemical processes affecting nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations and eutrophication responses in estuaries and the coastal ocean. After graduating, I joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a post-doc and eventually was hired into a permanent position where I worked for thirteen years as research ecologist on water quality issues related to nutrient pollution and eutrophication. During this period, I learned new research methods in numerical ecosystem modeling and satellite ocean color applications to better understand drivers of estuarine and coastal water quality. In 2016, I was offered a position at the University of South Alabama and Dauphin Island Sea Lab. Having many fond memories of the Sea Lab from my graduate school days and with the lure of having a lab located at the tip of a barrier island where one may stand in one spot and look north to Mobile Bay and turn around and look south into the vast, blue Gulf of Mexico, I jumped at this opportunity. I am now a Professor and the Associate Director of the new School of Marine and Environmental Sciences at the University of South Alabama and a Senior Marine Scientist at the Sea Lab.

I feel very lucky to be here. I get to work on interesting research questions that are important to society alongside motivated and productive colleagues, students, technicians, and post-docs. My lab is located at the Sea Lab, a thriving marine station with easy access to river, delta, estuarine, and coastal ocean environments. And the University is located about 50 minutes away in Mobile, AL on a beautiful 1200-acre campus where we are growing our new School of Marine and Environmental Sciences. It’s a pretty sweet spot to be as a scientist, educator, and ocean lover.

Research Interests

Our lab seeks to understand and quantify the processes controlling eutrophication, hypoxia, and the biogeochemical cycling of carbon, oxygen, and nutrients in coastal ecosystems and how these processes are related to anthropogenic drivers occurring at local, regional, and global scales.

A full list of publications are available on Google Scholar.

Coastal Biogeochemistry and Modeling

Our field and lab studies are directed at understanding the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus in coastal systems and how these cycles are impacted by anthropogenic change such as watershed land-use change, increasing nutrient pollution, and climate change. Often, though, it is not possible to isolate how individual or cumulative environmental pressures affects an ecosystem through observation alone.  In such cases, we build and employ numerical ecosystem models to tease apart multiple mechanisms that cannot be observed independently in large marine ecosystems. Ecosystem models are also useful for data synthesis and identification of knowledge gaps in our understanding of specific processes, which can lead to new hypotheses about how marine systems are organized and operate. We have developed and applied models ranging from coastal watershed hydrologic and nutrient exports models to coastal three-dimensional hydrodynamic, biogeochemical, and lower trophic level food web models to understand and predict how local and global anthropogenic perturbations impact expressions of coastal eutrophication such as phytoplankton blooms, hypoxia, coastal acidification, and declining water clarity.

Satellite Ocean Color Remote Sensing

Ocean color satellites provide global, spatially synoptic, coastal data on a daily frequency for many water quality variables such as phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll a), dissolved and particulate organic carbon, suspended sediments, and water clarity. Some satellites such as MODIS have been collecting data for nearly 20 years and provide excellent time-series of data that may be analyzed in relation to environmental trends and variability to better understand the drivers of changing water quality.

Multiple Stressor Impacts to Coastal Ecosystems

Estuaries and coastal ecosystems are located at the land-sea interface and are among the most highly productive systems on Earth. Due to their proximity to land and high human population centers, these ecosystems are also among the most susceptible to human activities. We focus on the impacts of land-use change, nutrient pollution, eutrophication, and hypoxia as multiple stressors impacting living resources. A central question is: How do these stressors along with a myriad of other stressors such as, ocean acidification, increasing sea surface temperatures, alterations in watershed hydrology, and harvesting of natural resources combine to impact water and habitat quality and the supported flora and fauna. Our research aims to disentangle and quantify how these stressors manifest both individually and cumulatively in coastal systems, and to predict how the systems may change following management or restoration activities. We use lab, field, and models to do this. Notably, the Dauphin Island Sea Lab just built a state-of-the-art multiple stressor laboratory that allows for simultaneous manipulation of temperature, salinity, oxygen, and pH to examine multiple stressors impacts on fauna and flora in independent experimental tanks. We use our field and ecosystem modeling studies to inform the combinations, levels, and frequencies of stressors that may be encountered in different parts of the coastal seascape and are now applying these stressor levels to oysters, blue crab, and spotted seatrout in the new laboratory. Our goal is to identify and understand water quality thresholds needed to sustain coastal shellfish and finfish populations.

Who We Are

Principal Investigator

John Lehrter, Ph.D., 2002, University of Alabama
Professor of Marine Sciences, University of South Alabama
Associate Director, School of Marine and Environmental Science, University of South Alabama
Senior Marine Scientist III at Dauphin Island Sea Lab

Current Lab Members

• Mai Fung
• Chris Mikolaitis
• Alyssa Bourne
• Zhilong Liu
• Allison Fletcher
• Nick LaBon

Name	Dates	Lehrter Role
Giacomo DeLuca (MS Student)	2023 - present	Committee Member
Lindsay Schambeau (SoMES Analytical Facilities Manager)	2022 - present	Supervisor
Nick LaBon (Research Technician)	2022 - present	Supervisor
Allison Fletcher (Laboratory Manager)	2022 - present	Supervisor
Jonathan Chapman (Research Technician)	2022 - present	Supervisor
Alyssa Bourne (MS Student)	2022 - present	Advisor
Randi Cannon (PhD Student)	2022 - present	Committee Member
Dylan Kiene (PhD Student)	2022 - present	Committee Member
Clayton Bennet (PhD Student)	2021 - present	Committee Member
Rebekah Farmer (MS Student)	2021 - present	Advisor
Hannah Ehrmann (PhD Student)	2021 - present	Committee Member
Debbrota Mallick (PhD Student)	2021 - present	Committee Member
Ryan Roseburrough (PhD Student)	2021 - present	Committee Member
Alexandra Smith (PhD Student)	2020 - present	Committee Member
Dr. Zhilong Liu (Postdoctoral Researcher)	2020 - present	Postdoctoral Advisor
Chris Mikolaitis (MS Student)	2020 - present	Advisor
Alex Leynse (PhD Student)	2019 - present	Committee Member
Anika Knight (MS Student)	2017 - present	Committee Member
Mai Fung (PhD Student)	2017 - present	Advisor
Jonathan Chapman (Research Technician)	2022 - 2023	Supervisor
Carter Lin (MS Student)	2021 - 2022	Committee Member
Ashley Hild (MS Student)	2021 - 2022	Advisor
Kara Gadeken (PhD Student)	2017 - 2022	Committee Member
Greg Feister (MS Student)	2020 - 2022	Advisor
Allison Fletcher (PhD student)	2020 - 2022	Advisor
Alexis Parrish (Research Technician)	2021	Supervisor
Hannah Wood (Research Technician)	2020 - 2021	Supervisor
Alexis Hagemeyer (Parrish) (MS Student)	2018 - 2021	Advisor
Emmett Carstens (MS Student)	2019 - 2020	Advisor
Dr. Jeff Coogan (Postdoctoral Researcher)	2019 - 2020	Postdoctoral Advisor
Aaron Macy (PhD Student)	2019 - 2020	Advisor
Dr. Rebecca Pickering (PhD Student)	2019 - 2020	Committee Member
Cassandra Bates (MS Student)	2018 - 2020	Advisor
Aubrey Bianco (MS Student)	2018 - 2020	Advisor
Charlotte Falls (MS Student)	2018 - 2020	Advisor
Cassandra Eldredge (MS Student)	2018 - 2020	Advisor
Allison Fletcher (MS Student)	2019 - 2020	Advisor
Grace Forster (MS Student)	2018 - 2020	Advisor
Kiara Knight (MS Student)	2018 - 2020	Advisor
Katelyn Woddail (MS Student)	2018 - 2020	Advisor
Ashley Frith (MS Student)	2018 - 2020	Committee Member
Liesl Cole (MS Student)	2017 - 2019	Committee Member
Jeff Coogan (PhD Student)	2017 - 2019	Committee Member
Dr. Marcus Beck (Postdoctoral Researcher)	2015 - 2016	Postdoctoral Advisor
Dr. Brad Blackwell (Postdoctoral Researcher)	2015	Postdoctoral Advisor
Dr. Chengfeng Le (Postdoctoral Researcher)	2013 - 2015	Postdoctoral Advisor
Dr. Bart Christiaen (PhD Student)	2010 - 2013	Committee Member
Dr. Robyn Conmy (Postdoctoral Researcher)	2009 - 2011	Postdoctoral co-Advisor
Dr. Blake Schaeffer (Postdoctoral Researcher)	2007 - 2009	Postdoctoral co-Advisor
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH INTERNSHIPS ADVISED
Elexuzz Davis, Alabama State (NSF REU)	2021	Advisor
Marco Pastrano, University of Michigan (NSF REU)	2020	Advisor
Lauren Alvaro, Florida Gulf Coast U. (NSF REU)	2019	Advisor
Hannah Wood, Sewanee, University of the South	2018 - 2021	Advisor
Alexis Hagemeyer, Central Methodist University	2017	Advisor
Megan Hare, Central Methodist University	2017	Advisor

Publications

2022

• Liu, Z., Lehrter, J., Dzwonkowski, B., Lowe, L., and Coogan, J. (2022), Using Dissolved Oxygen Variance to Investigate the Influence of Nonextreme Wind Events on Hypoxia in Mobile Bay, a Shallow Stratified Estuary. Frontiers in Marine Science, p. 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.989017
• Fung, M., Phipps, S., Lehrter, J., (2022), Abrupt chlorophyll shift driven by a phosphorus threshold in a small subtropical estuary. Frontiers in Marine Science, p. 1949. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.990404
• Jarvis, B., Pauer, J., Melendez, W., Wan, Y., Lehrter, J., Lowe, L., and Simmons, C. (2022). Inter-model comparison of simulated Gulf of Mexico hypoxia in response to reduced nutrient loads: effects of phytoplankton and organic matter parameterization. Environmental Modelling and Software 151:104365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2022.105365

2021

• Le, C., Chen, Y., Lehrter, J., Hu, C., Bouman, H., Cai, W.J. and Qi, L., (2021). Greenland blocking promotes subtropical North Atlantic spring blooms. Geophysical Research Letters, 48(13), p.e2020GL092252. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL092252
• Coogan, J., Dzwonkowski, B., Lehrter, J., Park, K. and Collini, R.C., (2021). Observations of dissolved oxygen variability and physical drivers in a shallow highly stratified estuary. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 259, p.107482. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2021.107482
• Wang, F., D. Tian, L. Lowe, L. Kalin, J. Lehrter (2021). Deep learning for daily precipitation and temperature downscaling. Water Resources Research 57, e2020WR029308 https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR029308.
• Jarvis, B., R. Greene, Y. Wan, J. Lehrter, L. Lowe, D.S. Ko (2021), Contiguous formation of low oxygen waters between the continental shelf hypoxic zone and nearshore coastal waters of Louisiana, USA. Environmental Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c05973.
• Coogan*, J., B. Dzwonkowski, J. Lehrter, K. Park and R. Collini. Observations of dissolved oxygen and physical drivers in a shallow highly stratified estuary, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2021.107482

2020

• Greer, A.T., J. Lehrter, B. Binder, A. Nayak, R. Barua, A. Rice, J. Cohen, M. McFarland, A. Hagemeyer, N. Stockley, and K. Boswell (2020). High-resolution sampling of a broad marine life size spectrum in relation to shelf biophysical characteristics. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, p.1125. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.542701
• Wang, H., J. Lehrter, K. Maiti, K. Fennel, A. Laurent, N. Rabalais, N. Hussain, Q. Li, and WJ Cai (2020). Benthic respiration in hypoxic waters enhances bottom water acidification in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JC016152.
• Jarvis, B., J. Lehrter, L. Lowe, J. Hagy, Y. Wan, M. Murrell, D. Ko, B. Penta, and R. Gould (2020), Modeling spatiotemporal patterns of ecosystem metabolism and organic carbon dynamics affecting hypoxia on the Louisiana continental shelf. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 125, e2019JC015630. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JC015630
• Pauer, J. W. Melendez, T. Feist, J. Lehrter, B. Rashleigh, L. Lowe, and R. Greene (2020), The Impact of alternative nutrient kinetics and computational grid size on model predicted primary production and hypoxic area in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Environmental Modelling and Software. 126, 104661, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2020.104661
• Pauer, J.J., W. Melendez, T.J. Feist, J.C. Lehrter, B. Rashleigh, L.L. Lowe, and R.M. Greene. The impact of alternative nutrient kinetics and computational grid size on model predicted primary production and hypoxic area in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Environmental Modelling & Software. 126(104661. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2020.104661
• Jarvis, B.M., J.C. Lehrter, L. Lowe, J.D. Hagy, Y. Wan, M.C. Murrell, D.S. Ko, B. Penta, and R.W. Gould. Modeling Spatiotemporal Patterns of Ecosystem Metabolism and Organic Carbon Dynamics Affecting Hypoxia on the Louisiana Continental Shelf. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans. 125(e2019JC015630). https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JC015630

2019

• Devereux, R., J. Lehrter, G. Cicchetti, D. L. B. Beddick Jr, D. F. Yates, B.M. Jarvis, J. Aukamp, and M. Hoglund. Spatially variable bioturbation and physical mixing drive the sedimentary biogeochemical seascape in the Louisiana continental shelf hypoxic zone. Biogeochemistry, 143, 151-169. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-019-00539-8
• Le, C., Y. Gao, W-J. Cai, J. Lehrter, Y. Bai, and Z-P. Jiang. Estimating summer sea surface pCO₂ on a river-dominated continental shelf using a satellite-based semi-mechanistic model. Remote Sensing of Environment, 225, 115-126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2019.02.023
• Alvaro, L., J. Lehrter, and M. Fung. Spatial patterns of particulate organic carbon concentrations and isotopic signatures across a salinity gradient in a river dominated estuary. Gulf and Caribbean Research. Vol 30, SC47-SC51
• Jiang, Z-P., W-J. Cai, J. Lehrter, B. Chen, Z. Ouyang, C. Le, B. Roberts, N. Hussain, M. Scaboo, J. Zhang, and Y. Xu. Spring net community production and its coupling with the CO₂ dynamics in the surface water of the northern Gulf of Mexico. Biogeosciences. 16, 3507-3525. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2019-88
• Coogan, J., B. Dzwonkowski, and J. Lehrter. Effects of coastal upwelling and downwelling on hydrographic variability and dissolved oxygen in Mobile Bay. Journal of Geophysical Research, 124(2), 791-806. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JC014592

2018

• Laurent, A., K. Fennel, D.S. Ko, and J. Lehrter. Climate Change Projected to Exacerbate Impacts of Coastal Eutrophication in the Northern Gulf of Mexico Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 123 (5), 3408 -3426. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JC013583

2017

• Conmy, R.N., B. A. Schaeffer, J. Schubauer-Berigan, J. Aukamp, A. Duffy, J. C. Lehrter, and R.M. Greene. Characterizing light attenuation within Northwest Florida Estuaries: implications for RESTORE Act water quality monitoring. Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 114, Issue 2, Pages 995-1006. https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.marpolbul.2016.11.030
• Lehrter, J.C., D. S. Ko, L. L. Lowe, and B. Penta. Predicted Effects of Climate Change on Northern Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia. Modeling Coastal Hypoxia, Pages 173-214. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54571-4_8
• Le, C., J. C. Lehrter, C. Hu, H. MacIntyre, and M. W. Beck. Satellite observation of particulate organic carbon dynamics on the Louisiana continental shelf. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, Volume 122, Issue 1, Pages 555-569. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JC012275
• Chen, Y., J. Cebrian, J.Lehrter, B. Christiaen, J. Stutes, and J. Goff. Storms do not alter long-term watershed development influences on coastal water quality Marine Pollution Bulletin 122: 207-216

2016

• Feist, T. J., J. J. Pauer, W. Melendez, J. C. Lehrter, P. A. DePetro, K. R. Rygwelski, D. S. Ko, and R. G. Kreis, Jr. Modeling the relative importance of nutrient and carbon loads, boundary fluxes, and sediment fluxes on Gulf of Mexico hypoxia. Environmental science & technology. Volume 50, Issue 16. Pages 8713-8721. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b01684
• Le, C., J. C. Lehrter, C. Hu, and D. R. Obenour. Satellite-based empirical models linking river plume dynamics with hypoxic area and volume. Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 43, Issue 6, Pages 2693-2699. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL067521
• Pauer, J.J., T. J. Feist, A. M. Anstead, P. A. DePetro, W. Melendez, J. C. Lehrter, M. C. Murrell, X. Zhang, and D. S. Ko. A modeling study examining the impact of nutrient boundaries on primary production on the Louisiana continental shelf. Ecological Modelling, Volume 328, Pages 136-147.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2016.02.007
• Laurent, A., K. Fennel, R. Wilson, J.C. Lehrter, and R. Devereux. Parameterization of biogeochemical sediment-water fluxes using in situ measurements and a diagenetic model. Biogeosciences. Volume 13, Issue 1, Pages 77. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-77-2016
• Ko, D.S., R. W. Gould, B. Penta, J. C. Lehrter. Impact of satellite remote sensing data on simulations of coastal circulation and hypoxia on the Louisiana Continental Shelf. Remote Sensing, Volume 8, Issue 5, Pages 435. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs8050435
• Fennel, K., A. Laurent, R. Hetland, D. Justić, D. D. Ko, J. C. Lehrter, M. Murrell, L. Wang, L. Yu, and W. Zhang. Effects of model physics on hypoxia simulations for the northern Gulf of Mexico: A model intercomparison. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, Volume 121, Issue 8, Pages 5731-5750. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JC011577
• Le, C., J. C. Lehrter, B. A. Schaeffer, C. Hu, M. C. Murrell, J. D. Hagy, R. M. Greene, and M. Beck. Bio-optical water quality dynamics observed from MERIS in Pensacola Bay, Florida. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Volume 173, Pages 26-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2016.02.003
• Christiaen, B., J. Lehrter, J. Goff, J. Cebrian. Functional implications of changes in seagrass species composition in two shallow coastal lagoons. Mar Ecol Prog Ser Vol. 557: 111-121. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11847

2015

• Yu, L., K. Fennel, A. Laurent, M. C. Murrell, and J. C. Lehrter. Numerical analysis of the primary processes controlling oxygen dynamics on the Louisiana shelf. Biogeosciences, 12, 2063-2076. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2063-2015
• Le, C., J. C. Lehrter, C. Hu, B. Schaeffer, H. MacIntyre, J. D. Hagy, and D. L. Beddick. Relation between inherent optical properties and land use and land cover across Gulf Coast estuaries. Limnology and Oceanography, Volume 60, Issue 3, Pages 920-933. https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10065
• Fry, B., D. Justić, P. Riekenberg, E. M. Swenson, R. E. Turner, L. Wang, L. Pride, N. N. Rabalais, J. C. Kurtz, J. C. Lehrter, M. C. Murrell, E. H. Shadwick, and B. Boyd. Carbon dynamics on the Louisiana continental shelf and cross-shelf feeding of hypoxia. Estuaries and coasts, Volume 38, Issue 3, Pages 703-721. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-014-9863-9
• Devereux, R., J. C. Lehrter, D. L. Beddick, D. F. Yates, and B. M. Jarvis. Manganese, iron, and sulfur cycling in Louisiana continental shelf sediments. Continental Shelf Research, Volume 99, Pages 46-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2015.03.008
• Grigas, D., J. Lehrter, J. Cebrian, Y. Chen, B. Ehmen & M. Woodrey. Effects of Stormwater Pipe Size and Rainfall on Sediment and Nutrients Delivered to a Coastal Bayou. Water Environment Research 87: 796-804. https://doi.org/10.2175/106143015X14362865226275

2014

• Le, C., J. C. Lehrter, C. Hu, M. C. Murrell, and L. Qi. Spatiotemporal chlorophyll-a dynamics on the Louisiana continental shelf derived from a dual satellite imagery algorithm. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, Volume 119, Issue 11, Pages 7449-7462. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010084
• Lehrter, J.C., B. Fry, and M. C. Murrell. Microphytobenthos production potential and contribution to bottom layer oxygen dynamics on the inner Louisiana continental shelf. Bulletin of Marine Science, Volume 90, Issue 3, Pages 765-780. https://doi.org/10.5343/bms.2013.1050
• Hill, B.H., C. M. Elonen, L. E. Anderson, and J. C. Lehrter. Microbial respiration and ecoenzyme activity in sediments from the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone. Aquatic Microbial Ecology, Volume 72, Issue 2, Pages 105-116. https://doi.org/10.3354/ame01689
• Barnes, B. B., C. Hu, J. P. Cannizzaro, S. E. Craig, P. Hallock, D. L. Jones, J. C. Lehrter, N. Melo, B. A. Schaeffer, and R. Zepp. Estimation of diffuse attenuation of ultraviolet light in optically shallow Florida Keys waters from MODIS measurements. Remote Sensing of Environment, Volume 140, Pages 519-532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2013.09.024
• Pauer, J.J., P. A. DePetro, A. M. Anstead, and J.C. Lehrter. Application of a one-dimensional model to explore the drivers and lability of carbon in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Ecological Modelling, Volume 294, Pages 59-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2014.09.007

2013

• Pauer, J.J., T.J. Feist, W. Melendez, X. Zhang, and J.C. Lehrter. Stormwater Runoff Loadings To Coastal Bayous Under A Gradient Of Watershed Urbanization, North Central Gulf of Mexico. World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2013: Showcasing the Future, Pages 350-366
• Barnes, B.B., C. Hu, B.A. Schaeffer, Z. Lee, D.A. Palandro, and J.C. Lehrter. MODIS-derived spatiotemporal water clarity patterns in optically shallow Florida Keys waters: A new approach to remove bottom contamination. Remote Sensing of Environment, Volume 134, Pages 377-391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2013.03.016
• Murrell, M.C., R. S. Stanley, J. C. Lehrter, and J. D. Hagy. Plankton community respiration, net ecosystem metabolism, and oxygen dynamics on the Louisiana continental shelf: Implications for hypoxia. Continental Shelf Research, Volume 52, Pages 27-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2012.10.010
• Genthner, F.J., D.T. Marcovich, and J. C. Lehrter. Estimating Rates of Denitrification Enzyme Activity in Wetland Soils with Direct Simultaneous Quantification of Nitrogen and Nitrous Oxide by Membrane Inlet Mass Spectrometry. Microbial & Biochemical Technology, Volume 5, Issue 4, Pages 95-101
• Lehrter, J. C., D. S. Ko, M. C. Murrell, J. D. Hagy, B. A. Schaeffer, R. M. Greene, R. W. Gould, and B. Penta. Nutrient distributions, transports, and budgets on the inner margin of a river-dominated continental shelf. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, Volume 118, Issue 10, Pages 4822–4838. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrc.20362
• Grigas, D., J. Cebrian, B. Ehmen, M. Woodrey, T. Strange, W. Underwood, J. Lehrter and Y. Chen. Stormwater runoff loadings to coastal bayous under a gradient of watershed urbanization, North Central Gulf of Mexico. Proceedings of the World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2013: 350 -366

2012

• Lehrter, J.C., D.L. Beddick, R. Devereux, D. F. Yates, and M.C. Murrell. Sediment-water fluxes of dissolved inorganic carbon, O₂, nutrients, and N₂ from the hypoxic region of the Louisiana continental shelf. Biogeochemistry, Volume 109, Issue 1–3, pp 233–252. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41490556
• Schaeffer, B.A., J. D. Hagy, R.N. Conmy, J.C. Lehrter, and R.P. Stumpf. An approach to developing numeric water quality criteria for coastal waters using the SeaWiFS satellite data record. Environmental Science & Technology, 46 (2), pp 916–922. https://doi.org/10.1021/es2014105

2011

• Oliver, L.M., J. C. Lehrter, and W.S. Fisher. Relating landscape development intensity to coral reef condition in the watersheds of St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. Marine Ecology Progress Series, Vol. 427, pp. 293-302. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24874694
• Murrell, M.C. and J.C. Lehrter. Sediment and lower water column oxygen consumption in the seasonally hypoxic region of the Louisiana continental shelf. Estuaries and Coasts, Volume 34, Issue 5, pp 912–924. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-010-9351-9
• Schaeffer, B.A., G. A. Sinclair, J. C. Lehrter, M. C. Murrell, J. C. Kurtz, R. W. Gould, and D. F. Yates. An analysis of diffuse light attenuation in the northern Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone using the SeaWiFS satellite data record. Remote Sensing of Environment, Volume 115, Issue 12, Pages 3748-3757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2011.09.013
• Cai, W.J., X. Hu, W. J. Huang, M. C. Murrell, J. C. Lehrter, S. E. Lohrenz, W. C. Chou, W. Zhai, J. T. Hollibaugh, Y. Wang, P. Zhao, X. Guo, K. Gundersen, M. Dai, and G. C. Gong. Acidification of subsurface coastal waters enhanced by eutrophication. Nature Geoscience 4, 766-770. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1297

2010

• Lehrter, J. C. and J. Cebrian. Uncertainty propagation in an ecosystem nutrient budget. Ecological Applications 20: 508 -524. https://doi.org/10.1890/08-2222.1

2009

• Lehrter, J.C., M.C. Murrell, and J.C. Kurtz. Interactions between freshwater input, light, and phytoplankton dynamics on the Louisiana continental shelf. Continental Shelf Research, Volume 29, Issue 15, Pages 1861-1872. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2009.07.001
• Greene, R.M., J. C. Lehrter, and D. H. James III. Multiple regression models for hindcasting and forecasting midsummer hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Ecological Applications, Vol. 19 Issue 5, Pages 1079–1375. https://doi.org/10.1890/08-0035.1
• Lehrter, J.C., M. C. Murrell, and J.C. Kurtz. Interactions between Mississippi River inputs, light, and phytoplankton biomass and phytoplankton production on the Louisiana continental shelf. Continental Shelf Research, Volume 29, Pages 1861-1872
• Penta B., D. Ko, R. Gould, R. Arnone, R. Greene, J. C. Lehrter, J. Hagy, B. Schaeffer, M. Murrell, J. Kurtz, B. Herchenroder, R. Green, and P. Eldridge. Using coupled models to study the effects of river discharge on biogeochemical cycling and hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico. OCEANS 2009, MTS/IEEE Biloxi-Marine Technology for Our Future: Global and Local Challenges, Pages 1-7.https://doi.org/10.23919/OCEANS.2009.5422347

2008

• Lehrter, J.C. Regulation of eutrophication susceptibility in oligohaline regions of a northern Gulf of Mexico estuary, Mobile Bay, Alabama. Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 56, Issue 8, Pages 1446-1460. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2008.04.047

2006

• Lehrter, J.C. Effects of land use and land cover, stream discharge, and interannual climate on the magnitude and timing of nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic carbon concentrations in three coastal plain watersheds. Water Environment Research, Volume 78, Number 12, pp. 2356-2368(13). https://www.jstor.org/stable/25053642
• Hagy, J.D., J.C. Lehrter, and M.C. Murrell. Effects of hurricane Ivan on water quality in Pensacola Bay, Florida. Estuaries and Coasts, Volume 29, Issue 6, pp 919–925. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02798651

2005

• Glibert, P. M., C. J. Madden, E. Dettmann, W. Boynton, C. Heil, W. Nelson, J. C. Lehrter, J. Latimer, D. Flemer, M. Kennish, C. Brown, and S. Bricker. A framework for developing nutrient criteria. Nutrients in Estuaries, Page 43.

2001

• Carey, A.E., W. B. Lyons, J. C. Bonzongo, and J. C. Lehrter. Nitrogen budget in the Upper Mississippi River watershed. Environmental & Engineering Geoscience, Volume 7, Issue 3, Pages 251-265. https://doi.org/10.2113/gseegeosci.7.3.251

1999

• Lehrter, J.C., J.R. Pennock, and G.B. McManus. Microzooplankton grazing and nitrogen excretion across a surface estuarine-coastal interface. Estuaries and Coasts, Volume 22, Issue 1, pp 113–125. https://doi.org/10.2307/1352932
• Carey, A.E., J. R. Pennock, J. C. Lehrter, W. B. Lyons, W. W. Schroeder, and J. C. Bonzongo. The role of the Mississippi River in Gulf of Mexico hypoxia. Environmental Institute Publication, 70, 35487-0207