Hi, my name is Kaitlyn Bednar but everyone calls me Kati. I am currently a Student Trainee Hydrologist with the California Water Science Center (CAWSC) in Sacramento. I am also a full-time geology and geography student at California State University of Sacramento, and a part-time student at American River College within their G.I.S. certificate program. It may seem like a lot, but I enjoy keeping busy and learning new things.

How did you start working for the USGS?

I first heard about the Student Temporary Employment Program (STEP) with the USGS during my sophomore year of high school from my chemistry teacher. She knew how interested and excited I was about science and highly recommended that I look into the position and apply. Before I knew it, I was being offered the position and started my student employment with the USGS while finishing up high school.

Once I graduated, I immediately knew I wanted to continue to pursue a career with the USGS and declared my major as geology. Over the next few years, because of my student employment and involvement in geology, I was also exposed to the fields of geography and G.I.S., and converted into the Student Career Experience Program (SCEP). That played a huge role with my decision to also pursue an additional degree and certificate to contribute to the skills I use every day at work when trying to locate field sites and querying their corresponding data.

What is a day in your life like?

Right now I work in Data Management where I mainly establish new sites and also work with historical data and other unique data sets that require special attention. For example, I have looked at descriptions of sites that were recorded as far back as the 1900s and used G.I.S. data to locate them. That process helps us to pinpoint and monitor exact sites overtime. I also help people enter their censored data into the National Water Information System (NWIS), making sure their metadata is not only correct, but that it also fully describes their dataset and matches exactly in both places.

During spring, summer, and winter breaks from school, I try and get out in the field as much as possible with any group that needs an extra set of hands. So far, I have had the opportunity to work with projects studying groundwater, surface water, soils, gases, and some biological samples that have allowed me to gain a wide range of experience by completing tasks above my level. In the near future, I hope to transition into a position that has more responsibility, as a technician or hydrologist, and to be in charge of my own field runs.

What is your most memorable experience with the USGS so far?

I have had so many memorable experiences working with the USGS that this is a hard decision to make. If I had to choose just one, I would have to say I will never forget the summer of 2010 when I had the opportunity to collect groundwater samples for water level measurements and water quality analysis. The field crew and I were collecting samples along the west coast all the way up from Sacramento to Crescent City and back. Never have I seen as much of California as I did that summer collecting samples. There is nothing more exciting than being pushed out of the “usual” and into an unfamiliar place that is filled with natural beauty, talking to people I would never have met, and doing the job I continue to love that always has had some unexpected twist waiting for me to solve.

What do you see as the most valuable part of your work?

The most valuable part of my work has been having the opportunity to gain experience in all areas by collecting, processing, and analyzing samples to establish them in our database. In my opinion, everyone should have at least one opportunity to see how each step is performed so that they too can have a general understanding of how what they do affects the bigger picture.

What are your future plans?

While finishing up with my degrees, I plan to continue working with the USGS and get out in the field as much as possible traveling throughout California and wherever else the USGS takes me. With the USGS I hope to fully gain an understanding of the hydrological issues that we are going to face in the near future, particularly those dealing with climate change and water availability.

Why is the USGS a good place for students to work?

I would have to say that the USGS is a great place to work because they taught me many life values that any teenager could benefit from. I am most thankful to have such amazing coworkers who have not only taught me essential work related skills but have also shared valuable life experiences that have inspired me to be the person I am today. They have been supportive of not only my career related goals, but also have been understanding of my personal goals and have put my education first. Many of my coworkers are now even close friends with whom I can see myself remaining in contact many years down the road.

If you would like to know more about me or what I do, please don’t hesitate to contact me at kbednar@usgs.gov and introduce yourself. I love meeting new people and sharing stories.

My career with the USGS began when I landed an internship as a hydrologic technician under a Student Career Experience Program (SCEP) appointment with the Utah Water Science Center in Salt Lake City in the summer of 2010. I quickly knew that this was the career that I wanted to pursue. As a SCEP I worked with a lot of really great people in both the Utah Water Science Center and later at the Tempe, Ariz. Field Office.

During my summer in Utah I helped with lots of field work. During a period of very warm days the snowpack melted and ranoff quickly causing some very high flows in some of the rivers. As a result I assisted with some pretty exciting high flow measurements.  I also traveled to many parts of Utah that I may not have seen otherwise.

I also really enjoyed working at the Tempe Field Office while completing my AAS degree. The highlight of that experience was visiting streamgages along the Verde River in a helicopter. I loved getting paid to ride in a helicopter and wade in streams in beautiful locations!

I completed my degree in May 2011, and accepted a full time position as a hydrologic technician at the Utah Water Science Center, and relocated to Salt Lake City.

No Typical Days

Travis Gibson standing next to a helicopter used in scientific research of streamflows along the Verde River.

In addition to working with some very fine people, one of the things that I love about my job is that there’s not really any such thing as ‘a typical day’. Some of my primary responsibilities include performing maintenance such as updating and upgrading streamgaging equipment, making repairs as soon as possible when a gage stops working to ensure that minimal data is lost, and making periodic measurements at several streamgages in the Cache Valley area of Utah that are part of our continuous data collection program as well as several streamgages within a wildlife refuge that are part of a study that the state of Utah is conducting. I am responsible for keeping my sites the data from my streamgages updated in the data base with occasional data corrections or data flags when data has been affected by unusual circumstances or extreme conditions such as ice so that accurate data is displayed on our public website. I also write analyses of the data that the streamgages I monitor collect before the data is reviewed and published.

In addition to my primary duties there is always a new project to work on such as learning about and installing new streamgage and measurement equipment, or helping with water quality sampling. Last month I even gave a streamgage and stream measurement demonstration for a University of Utah hydrology class.

Travis Gibson being presented with a certificate from the USGS for his work.

There is a lot of variety in my day-to-day activities. I am looking forward to advancing my skills as a hydrologic technician, and I know that there will be many new opportunities and challenges that will arise in the coming years of my career that will keep me engaged and keep my job interesting and fun.

Working as a student for the USGS is an excellent way for anybody interested in working in a science field to ‘get their foot in the door’ and personally experience the benefits of working within a well-respected federal science agency with some excellent scientists and technicians. and for one of the finest science agencies there is.

I’m Robert Leeper, a senior Bachelor of Science student majoring in geology at California State University, Fullerton. While attending Cerritos College in 2007, I applied for an internship at the Southern California Earthquake Center. During my internship, I was assigned to work with the USGS Multi-Hazards Demonstration Project, on the Great Southern California “ShakeOut” earthquake scenario. Following my internship, I was offered the opportunity to work for the USGS as a student employee under a Student Temporary Employment Program appointment, and I happily accepted. I am now a member of the USGS’s Science Application for Risk Reduction (SAFRR) team. SAFRR will aid in applying natural hazard science to improving the safety, security and economic well-being of the nation.

A Day in the Life

When I am not conducting field research, I am analyzing data recorded in a trench along the San Andreas Fault. I investigate spatial reference points using a computer program in order to identify stratigraphy that has been exposed by the trench. When an earthquake occurs, stratigraphy along the fault can be offset, and measuring the offset helps provide a better understanding of earthquake magnitude. When the stratigraphic layers are dated and those data are combined with earthquake magnitude data from the stratigraphy measurements, the magnitude and frequency of earthquakes on that fault become better understood. I am also working on creating photo-mosaics from a San Andreas Fault trench and preparing them for analysis. In addition, I’m writing a paleotsunami deposit fact sheet — a paleotsunami is a tsunami that occurred before the historical record, or a tsunami for which there is no written record.

This picture was taken while I was conducting post-storm debris-flow reconnaissance. The fault was covered by vegetation and sediment prior to the storms that hit the area after the Station Fire. To me, the small fault segment and the entire mountain range I was working in symbolized yet another, more well-known geologic hazard that residents of southern California face: earthquakes. While working in the field, I try to decipher and understand as much geology as I can.

I work with a team of scientists on a study that aims to identify a chronology of paleotsunami events along the California coast. At present, we are in the reconnaissance phase of the study, probing the subsurface in salt marshes and estuaries for anomalous and laterally continuous “beach” sand layers that could mean a paleotsunami occurred there. Once we identify sites of interest, we will conduct more in-depth studies and laboratory analyses.  The result of all this is that a better understanding of how often tsunamis have hit the California coast in the past will emerge. And of course, past events are an indication of what could happen in the present and the future. Consequently, the final results of the study will be used by the state of California to better assess its tsunami hazard; this research will also be incorporated by the SAFRR into our next hazard scenario.

Contributing to Science

The largest wildfire in Los Angeles County history, The Station Fire, burned in the mountains north of Los Angeles in late 2009. This wildfire greatly increased the danger of debris flows in subsequent storm seasons. After the fire and through 2011, I contributed to the development of a method that provided data on the timing of post-fire debris flows relative to rainfall.  Debris flows are fast-moving landslides that occur in a wide variety of environments throughout the world. They are particularly dangerous to life and property because they move quickly, destroy objects in their paths, and often strike without warning. After the fire, I installed, maintained and monitored real-time debris flow data-acquisition stations within the fire perimeter. As storms passed over the burned area, I was a point of contact that provided status reports from the field so other USGS personnel could forward the data to emergency management officials. Also, I am proud to say that I am coauthor of a peer-reviewed paper that presents the debris-flow timing data our team collected. The paper has been approved and scheduled for publication soon.

This photo was taken on the morning of February 6, 2010, shortly after the Mullally debris basin was filled to capacity and breached by debris flows. The photo shows a house that was destroyed by debris flows. The water heater and tan wall on top of the car are from the house that is to the left of the field of view (not in the photo). Debris, such as boulders, mud and tree stumps, are shown inside the house, which had a good portion of its walls and windows blown out.

My favorite experience with the USGS so far was responding to the debris-flow events of February 6, 2010; these events occurred in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles. I was called to the scene after debris flows breached containment basins and inundated the communities situated below them. When I saw the destruction and unimaginable power of the debris flows, my respect for the diversity and severity of geo-hazards was taken to a new level. Other memorable moments with the USGS include conducting media interviews while in the field conducting emergency debris-flow response during storms. I actively helped piece together and solve real-world geologic-hazard problems alongside professional scientists. Deciphering the complicated processes behind geologic hazards makes our world a safer place.

The Greater Good

I find great satisfaction in knowing that the work I am doing helps humanity understand geologic hazards better, which in turn makes all of our lives safer. I hope to continue working for the USGS once I start graduate school in the spring of 2013. After I complete graduate school, I would like to have a career with the USGS. Working for the USGS has provided me with invaluable field and laboratory research experience.

Every day, I gain an understating of what it takes to manage a successful long-term research project and to see it through to fruition. I would like people to know that the USGS is an organization that conducts research for the betterment of humanity. Whether it is research on groundwater quality or on earthquake early warning systems, the scientists at the USGS are conducting research that benefits us all.    

Robert Leeper being interviewed by the media during a storm. Residents of the affected communities and the media wanted to know how the mountains were holding up and if any debris flows had occurred during the current storm. It turned out that no debris flows were recorded during this particular storm because the intense rainfall did not pass over the burned area as had been forecasted earlier that day.