Scott Ensign, Ph.D.

Assistant Director

Administration and Finance Department

Research Scientist

Contact

ensign@stroudcenter.org
tel. 610-268-2153, ext. 223
970 Spencer Road, Avondale, PA 19311

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1490-4751

Interests and Expertise

I’m an ecosystem ecologist working to discover how plants, animals, and microbes interact within rivers and how the results of those processes influence how people and society interact with rivers. In collaboration with my colleagues, I make biogeochemical measurements, perform experiments, and interpret results using statistical models and analysis. I’m particularly interested in developing new measurement technologies for aquatic environments, exploring how sea level rise affects rivers, and implementing conservation techniques that improve both ecological conditions and the utility people derive from freshwater ecosystems.

Google Scholar | ResearchGate | CV

Education

• Ph.D., Ecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• M.S., Ecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• B.A., Environmental Science, University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Professional Experience

• Assistant Director, Stroud Water Research Center, 2018–present.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor, Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Science Department, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 2013–2018.
• Founder/CEO, Planktos Instruments, LLC, Morehead City, North Carolina, 2013–2018.
• Founder/Managing Partner, Aquatic Analysis and Consulting, LLC, Wilmington, North Carolina, 2004–2017.
• Research Ecologist, National Research Program, United States Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia, 2010–2011.
• Research Technician III, Institute of Marine Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Morehead City, North Carolina, 2004–2005.
• Research Technician II, Institute of Marine Science, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina, 1997–2002.

Publications

The role of the upper tidal estuary in wetland blue carbon storage and flux

Krauss K.W., G.B. Noe, J.A. Duberstein, W.H. Conner, C.L. Stagg, N. Cormier, M.C. Jones, C.E. Bernhardt, B.G. Lockaby, A.S. From, T.W. Doyle, R.H. Day, S.H. Ensign, K.N. Pierfelice, C.R. Hupp, A.T. Chow, and J.L. Whitbeck. 2018. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 32:817–839.

Tidal extension and sea level rise: recommendations for a research agenda to guide ecosystem management

Ensign, S.H., and G. Noe. 2018. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 16(1):37–43.

Carbon budget of a shallow, lagoonal estuary: transformations and source-sink dynamics along the river-estuary-ocean continuum

Croswell, J., I. Anderson, J.W. Stanhope, B. Van Dam, M.J. Brush, S.H. Ensign, M.F. Piehler, B. McKee, M. Bost, and H.W. Paerl. 2017. Limnology and Oceanography 62(S1):S29–S45.

New strategies for measuring rates of environmental processes in rivers, lakes, and estuaries

Ensign, S.H., J. Gardner, and M.W. Doyle. 2017. Freshwater Science 36(3):453–465.

Geomorphic implications of particle movement by water surface tension in a salt marsh

Ensign, S.H., and C. Currin. 2017. Wetlands 37(2):245–256.