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Amanda R Whaling

Amanda Whaling's experience encompasses a wide range of studies of geomorphologic change, statistical hydrology, and bathymetric and topographic mapping, with a focus on remote sensing as a tool to analyze, map, and visualize earth processes.

I am a hydrologist for the United States Geological Survey with a passion for studying the earth through the lens of remote sensing. The way remotely sensed data reveals otherwise hidden information about earth fuels my quest to investigate and understand earth systems and processes. From scrutinizing thousands of satellite images of river deltas to measuring the deepest depths of a lake with a multibeam echosounder— I’ve collected, processed, and or analyzed many types of remotely sensed datasets throughout my academic and professional geoscience career. When I am not in the office or out in the field collecting data, I enjoy spending time outdoors either hiking, kayaking, or biking.

Professional Experience

  • Multibeam echosounder surveys of reservoirs and lakes

  • Single beam echosounder surveys of shallow bedrock rivers

  • Motion-compensated light detection and ranging (lidar) streambank surveys

Education and Certifications

  • M.S, Geosciences, University of Arkansas, 2018

     

  • B.S., Geological Sciences, Indiana University, 2016

Science and Products

link
Water Sampling French Broad River below I-26

Monitoring water-quality and geomorphology in the French Broad River during I-26 construction

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to assess the water-quality and geomorphologic impacts resulting from the I-26 construction projects in western North Carolina. Streamflow, precipitation, and water-quality monitoring data, coupled with periodic assessments of geomorphology, will support the NCDOT construction-site...
By
South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)
link

Monitoring water-quality and geomorphology in the French Broad River during I-26 construction

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to assess the water-quality and geomorphologic impacts resulting from the I-26 construction projects in western North Carolina. Streamflow, precipitation, and water-quality monitoring data, coupled with periodic assessments of geomorphology, will support the NCDOT construction-site...
Learn More
Filter Total Items: 13

Streambank topographic lidar survey of the French Broad River near the Interstate 26 bridge located south of Asheville, NC – December 2021, Mid-construction #2

In January 2020, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) began work on the Interstate 26 (I 26) highway widening project that involves a bridge crossing over the French Broad River (FBR) near Asheville, North Carolina. The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the NCDOT conducted a pre-construction light detection and ranging (lidar) survey of the streambanks within a on
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Streambank topographic lidar survey of the French Broad River near the Interstate 26 bridge located south of Asheville, NC – December 2020, Mid-Construction #1

In January 2020, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) began work on the Interstate 26 (I 26) highway widening project that involves a bridge crossing over the French Broad River (FBR) near Asheville, North Carolina. The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the NCDOT conducted a pre-construction light detection and ranging (lidar) survey of the streambanks within a on
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Streambank topographic lidar survey of the French Broad River near the Interstate 26 bridge located south of Asheville, NC – November 2019, Pre-construction

In January 2020, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) began work on the Interstate 26 (I 26) highway widening project that involves a bridge crossing over the French Broad River (FBR) near Asheville, North Carolina. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the NCDOT, conducted a streambank light detection and ranging (lidar) survey of the streambanks of the French B
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Single-beam bathymetric survey of the French Broad River near the Interstate 26 bridge located south of Asheville, NC – December 2021, Mid-Construction #3

In January 2020, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) began work on the Interstate 26 (I 26) highway widening project that involves a bridge crossing over the French Broad River (FBR) near Asheville, North Carolina. The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the NCDOT conducted a pre-construction bathymetric survey of the streambed in June 2019 (Whaling and Wagner, 202
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Single-beam bathymetric survey of the French Broad River near the Interstate 26 bridge located south of Asheville, NC – June 2021, Mid-Construction #2

In January 2020, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) began work on the Interstate 26 (I 26) highway widening project that involves a bridge crossing over the French Broad River (FBR) near Asheville, North Carolina. The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the NCDOT conducted a pre-construction bathymetric survey of the streambed in June 2019 (Whaling and Wagner, 202
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Single-beam bathymetric survey of the French Broad River near the Interstate 26 bridge located south of Asheville, NC – June 2022, Mid-Construction #4

In January 2020, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) began work on the Interstate 26 (I 26) highway widening project that involves a bridge crossing over the French Broad River (FBR) near Asheville, North Carolina. The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the NCDOT conducted a pre-construction bathymetric survey of the streambed in June 2019 (Whaling and Wagner, 202
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Single-beam bathymetric survey of the French Broad River near the Interstate 26 bridge south of Asheville, NC – December 2020, Mid-Construction #1

In January 2020, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) began work on the Interstate 26 (I 26) highway widening project that involves a bridge crossing over the French Broad River (FBR) near Asheville, North Carolina. The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the NCDOT conducted a pre-construction bathymetric survey of the streambed in June 2019 (Whaling and Wagner, 202
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Bathymetric and supporting data for estimation of reservoir storage capacity and geomorphic change detection analysis from a multibeam bathymetric survey of Randy Poynter Lake, Rockdale County, Georgia

Rockdale County Department of Water Resources (RCDWR) has a mission to update estimates of the reservoir storage capacity of Randy Poynter Lake in northern Georgia and to assess recent sedimentation. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center (LMGWSC) collected bathymetric data from November 29, 2022 to December 4, 2022 in support of RCDWR’s mission. Bathymetric
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Flood-frequency of rural, non-tidal streams in Louisiana and parts of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas, 1877-2016

The dataset includes flood-frequency data and related files for 211 streamgages operated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Louisiana and parts of the surrounding states of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas as well as assembled explanatory variables (physical, climatic, and land-use characteristics of the basins).  The data in this release were used in generalized least-squares (GLS ) regressi
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Single-beam bathymetric survey of the French Broad River near the Interstate-26 bridge located South of Asheville, NC - June 2019, Pre-construction

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) began work on a highway widening project on Interstate-26 (I-26) in January 2020. The French Broad River flows adjacent to and under I-26 in the project area, located in Buncombe County of North Carolina. The NCDOT identified channel and streambank morphology as a potential indicator they were interested in monitoring at three focus areas to
By
South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Bathymetry and Storage Capacity of Dierks Lake, Arkansas

A bathymetric survey of Dierks Lake, Arkansas, was conducted in late June - early July, 2018, by the Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center (LMG WSC) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) using methodologies for sonar surveys similar to those described by Wilson and Richards (2006) and Richards and Huizinga (2018). Point data from the bathymetric survey were merged with point data from an aeri
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Bathymetry and Storage Capacity of Gillham Lake, Arkansas (ver. 1.1, April 2020)

A bathymetric survey of Gillham Lake, Arkansas, was conducted in June, 2018, by the Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center (LMG WSC) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) using methodologies for sonar surveys similar to those described by Wilson and Richards (2006) and Richards and Huizinga (2018). Point data from the bathymetric survey were merged with point data from an aerial LiDAR survey c
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Estimation of reservoir storage capacity and geomorphic change detection analysis from a multibeam bathymetric survey of Randy Poynter Lake, Rockdale County, Georgia

Rockdale County Department of Water Resources has a directive to update estimates of the reservoir storage capacity of Randy Poynter Lake, located in northern Georgia, and to assess recent sedimentation and associated storage capacity loss. In 2022, the U.S. Geological Survey completed a multibeam bathymetric survey of Randy Poynter Lake to update storage capacity estimates and to quantify storage
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Magnitude and frequency of floods in the Coastal Plain region of Louisiana, 2016

To improve flood-frequency estimates for rural streams in the Coastal Plain region of Louisiana, generalized least-squares regression techniques were used to relate corresponding annual exceedance probability streamflows for 211 streamgages in the region to a suite of explanatory variables that include physical, climatic, pedologic, and land-use characteristics of the streamgage drainage area. The
Authors
Paul A. Ensminger, Daniel M. Wagner, Amanda Whaling
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Water levels and selected water-quality conditions in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer in eastern Arkansas, 2014

In 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Arkansas Geological Survey and the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, determined water-level altitudes in 468 wells in eastern Arkansas and collected water-quality samples from 144 wells. Water-level altitudes were calculated based on the measured depth to water in each well and used to construct a potentiometric-surface map of the M
Authors
Kirk D. Rodgers, Amanda R. Whaling
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Application of a Workflow to Determine the Feasibility of Using Simulated Streamflow for Estimation of Streamflow Frequency Statistics: Amanda Whaling (awhaling@usgs.gov), K. M. Sanks (ksanks@tulane.edu), W. H. Asquith (wasquith@usgs.gov), and K. D. Rodgers (krodgers@usgs.gov)
Subaqueous Progradation of the Wax Lake Delta with a Model of Flow Direction Divergence:
Shaw, J. B., Estep, J. D., Whaling, A. R., Sanks, K. M., and Edmonds, D. A., 2018, Measuring
Earth Surface Dynamics Discussions, 1–22, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-2018-47
Changes to Subaqueous Delta Bathymetry Following a High River Flow Event, Wax Lake Delta, USA:
Whaling, A.R., and Shaw, J. B., 2020, Estuaries and Coasts 43, 1923–1938
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-020-00727-y

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

Science and Products

link
Water Sampling French Broad River below I-26

Monitoring water-quality and geomorphology in the French Broad River during I-26 construction

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to assess the water-quality and geomorphologic impacts resulting from the I-26 construction projects in western North Carolina. Streamflow, precipitation, and water-quality monitoring data, coupled with periodic assessments of geomorphology, will support the NCDOT construction-site...
By
South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)
link

Monitoring water-quality and geomorphology in the French Broad River during I-26 construction

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to assess the water-quality and geomorphologic impacts resulting from the I-26 construction projects in western North Carolina. Streamflow, precipitation, and water-quality monitoring data, coupled with periodic assessments of geomorphology, will support the NCDOT construction-site...
Learn More
Filter Total Items: 13

Streambank topographic lidar survey of the French Broad River near the Interstate 26 bridge located south of Asheville, NC – December 2021, Mid-construction #2

In January 2020, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) began work on the Interstate 26 (I 26) highway widening project that involves a bridge crossing over the French Broad River (FBR) near Asheville, North Carolina. The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the NCDOT conducted a pre-construction light detection and ranging (lidar) survey of the streambanks within a on
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Streambank topographic lidar survey of the French Broad River near the Interstate 26 bridge located south of Asheville, NC – December 2020, Mid-Construction #1

In January 2020, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) began work on the Interstate 26 (I 26) highway widening project that involves a bridge crossing over the French Broad River (FBR) near Asheville, North Carolina. The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the NCDOT conducted a pre-construction light detection and ranging (lidar) survey of the streambanks within a on
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Streambank topographic lidar survey of the French Broad River near the Interstate 26 bridge located south of Asheville, NC – November 2019, Pre-construction

In January 2020, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) began work on the Interstate 26 (I 26) highway widening project that involves a bridge crossing over the French Broad River (FBR) near Asheville, North Carolina. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the NCDOT, conducted a streambank light detection and ranging (lidar) survey of the streambanks of the French B
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Single-beam bathymetric survey of the French Broad River near the Interstate 26 bridge located south of Asheville, NC – December 2021, Mid-Construction #3

In January 2020, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) began work on the Interstate 26 (I 26) highway widening project that involves a bridge crossing over the French Broad River (FBR) near Asheville, North Carolina. The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the NCDOT conducted a pre-construction bathymetric survey of the streambed in June 2019 (Whaling and Wagner, 202
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Single-beam bathymetric survey of the French Broad River near the Interstate 26 bridge located south of Asheville, NC – June 2021, Mid-Construction #2

In January 2020, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) began work on the Interstate 26 (I 26) highway widening project that involves a bridge crossing over the French Broad River (FBR) near Asheville, North Carolina. The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the NCDOT conducted a pre-construction bathymetric survey of the streambed in June 2019 (Whaling and Wagner, 202
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Single-beam bathymetric survey of the French Broad River near the Interstate 26 bridge located south of Asheville, NC – June 2022, Mid-Construction #4

In January 2020, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) began work on the Interstate 26 (I 26) highway widening project that involves a bridge crossing over the French Broad River (FBR) near Asheville, North Carolina. The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the NCDOT conducted a pre-construction bathymetric survey of the streambed in June 2019 (Whaling and Wagner, 202
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Single-beam bathymetric survey of the French Broad River near the Interstate 26 bridge south of Asheville, NC – December 2020, Mid-Construction #1

In January 2020, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) began work on the Interstate 26 (I 26) highway widening project that involves a bridge crossing over the French Broad River (FBR) near Asheville, North Carolina. The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the NCDOT conducted a pre-construction bathymetric survey of the streambed in June 2019 (Whaling and Wagner, 202
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Bathymetric and supporting data for estimation of reservoir storage capacity and geomorphic change detection analysis from a multibeam bathymetric survey of Randy Poynter Lake, Rockdale County, Georgia

Rockdale County Department of Water Resources (RCDWR) has a mission to update estimates of the reservoir storage capacity of Randy Poynter Lake in northern Georgia and to assess recent sedimentation. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center (LMGWSC) collected bathymetric data from November 29, 2022 to December 4, 2022 in support of RCDWR’s mission. Bathymetric
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Flood-frequency of rural, non-tidal streams in Louisiana and parts of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas, 1877-2016

The dataset includes flood-frequency data and related files for 211 streamgages operated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Louisiana and parts of the surrounding states of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas as well as assembled explanatory variables (physical, climatic, and land-use characteristics of the basins).  The data in this release were used in generalized least-squares (GLS ) regressi
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Single-beam bathymetric survey of the French Broad River near the Interstate-26 bridge located South of Asheville, NC - June 2019, Pre-construction

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) began work on a highway widening project on Interstate-26 (I-26) in January 2020. The French Broad River flows adjacent to and under I-26 in the project area, located in Buncombe County of North Carolina. The NCDOT identified channel and streambank morphology as a potential indicator they were interested in monitoring at three focus areas to
By
South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Bathymetry and Storage Capacity of Dierks Lake, Arkansas

A bathymetric survey of Dierks Lake, Arkansas, was conducted in late June - early July, 2018, by the Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center (LMG WSC) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) using methodologies for sonar surveys similar to those described by Wilson and Richards (2006) and Richards and Huizinga (2018). Point data from the bathymetric survey were merged with point data from an aeri
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Bathymetry and Storage Capacity of Gillham Lake, Arkansas (ver. 1.1, April 2020)

A bathymetric survey of Gillham Lake, Arkansas, was conducted in June, 2018, by the Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center (LMG WSC) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) using methodologies for sonar surveys similar to those described by Wilson and Richards (2006) and Richards and Huizinga (2018). Point data from the bathymetric survey were merged with point data from an aerial LiDAR survey c
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Estimation of reservoir storage capacity and geomorphic change detection analysis from a multibeam bathymetric survey of Randy Poynter Lake, Rockdale County, Georgia

Rockdale County Department of Water Resources has a directive to update estimates of the reservoir storage capacity of Randy Poynter Lake, located in northern Georgia, and to assess recent sedimentation and associated storage capacity loss. In 2022, the U.S. Geological Survey completed a multibeam bathymetric survey of Randy Poynter Lake to update storage capacity estimates and to quantify storage
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Magnitude and frequency of floods in the Coastal Plain region of Louisiana, 2016

To improve flood-frequency estimates for rural streams in the Coastal Plain region of Louisiana, generalized least-squares regression techniques were used to relate corresponding annual exceedance probability streamflows for 211 streamgages in the region to a suite of explanatory variables that include physical, climatic, pedologic, and land-use characteristics of the streamgage drainage area. The
Authors
Paul A. Ensminger, Daniel M. Wagner, Amanda Whaling
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Water levels and selected water-quality conditions in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer in eastern Arkansas, 2014

In 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Arkansas Geological Survey and the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, determined water-level altitudes in 468 wells in eastern Arkansas and collected water-quality samples from 144 wells. Water-level altitudes were calculated based on the measured depth to water in each well and used to construct a potentiometric-surface map of the M
Authors
Kirk D. Rodgers, Amanda R. Whaling
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Application of a Workflow to Determine the Feasibility of Using Simulated Streamflow for Estimation of Streamflow Frequency Statistics: Amanda Whaling (awhaling@usgs.gov), K. M. Sanks (ksanks@tulane.edu), W. H. Asquith (wasquith@usgs.gov), and K. D. Rodgers (krodgers@usgs.gov)
Subaqueous Progradation of the Wax Lake Delta with a Model of Flow Direction Divergence:
Shaw, J. B., Estep, J. D., Whaling, A. R., Sanks, K. M., and Edmonds, D. A., 2018, Measuring
Earth Surface Dynamics Discussions, 1–22, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-2018-47
Changes to Subaqueous Delta Bathymetry Following a High River Flow Event, Wax Lake Delta, USA:
Whaling, A.R., and Shaw, J. B., 2020, Estuaries and Coasts 43, 1923–1938
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-020-00727-y

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

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