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Scott Ensign, Ph.D.

500 500 Stroud Water Research Center
Scott Ensign, Ph.D.

Adjunct Research Scientist

Contact

ensign@stroudcenter.org

ORCID | Google Scholar | ResearchGate | CV

Interests and Expertise

Scott Ensign is 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 his colleagues, he makes biogeochemical measurements, performs experiments, and interprets results using statistical models and analysis. Ensign is particularly interested in developing new measurement technologies for aquatic environments, exploring how sea level rise affects rivers, and implementing conservation techniques that improve ecological conditions and the utility people derive from freshwater ecosystems.

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

  • Adjunct research scientist, Stroud Water Research Center, 2026–present.
  • Vice president, assistant director, research scientist, Stroud Water Research Center, 2020–2026.
  • Assistant director, Stroud Water Research Center, 2018–2020.
  • 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

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.

A method for using shoreline morphology to predict suspended sediment concentration in tidal creeks

Ensign, S.H., C. Currin, M. Piehler, and C. Tobias. 2016. Geomorphology 276:280–288.

Spatio-temporal patterns in the export of dissolved organic carbon and chromophoric dissolved organic matter from a coastal, blackwater river

Leech D.M., S.H. Ensign, and M. Piehler. 2016. Aquatic Sciences 78(4):823–836.

Sediment Sleuthing: Microbe DNA May Be Key to Restoring an Estuary Near You

Stroud Center science teams are collecting river DNA samples to understand where sediment pollution comes from and the best ways to fight it.

Peering at the Future of Stream Water Quality Through a (Very Hazy) Crystal Ball

The crystal ball we're using is a web app that models how water, sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus move across and underneath the earth’s surface.

To Fish or Not to Fish: Using Real-Time Data to Protect Trout Populations

Fishing guides in Michigan are using real-time data from an EnviroDIY monitoring station to remotely make appropriate decisions on where and when to fish.

Don’t Stop Me Now! Studying the Effects of Milldam Removal

Stroud Water Research Center scientists are investigating how milldam removal might affect groundwater and surface water quality.

Clean, Healthy Water and Air in Chester County

Learn about the quality of our local streams, the water we drink, and the impact of climate change on our health.

Stroud Center Takes Mayfly to Michigan

Stroud Center staff took a road trip to Michigan to train citizens and volunteers to use lower-cost, do-it-yourself technologies to monitor water quality.
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