James LeNoir
James LeNoir is a Hydrologist in the New England Water Science Center.
His primary focus is performing geospatial data analysis and mapping tasks on flood risk and assessment studies.
Professional Experience
Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, New England Water Science Center, 2020 to Present
Education and Certifications
M.S. Geology, Boston College
B.S. Environmental Science, Worcester State University
Science and Products
Satellite remote sensing of river discharge: A framework for assessing the accuracy of discharge estimates made from satellite remote sensing observations
This research presents an evaluation of the accuracy and uncertainty of estimates of river discharge made using satellite observed data sources as input to a modified form of Manning’s equation. Conventional U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamflow gaging station data and in-situ measurements of width, depth, height, slope, discharge, and velocity from 30 USGS gage sites were used as ground-truth
Authors
David M. Bjerklie, Michael Durand, James M. LeNoir, Robert W. Dudley, Charon Birkett, John Jones, Merritt Elizabeth Harlan
2022 drought in New England
Introduction During April through September 2022, much of New England experienced a short but extreme hydrologic drought that was similar to the drought of 2020. By August 2022, Providence, Rhode Island, was declared a Federal disaster area, and New London and Windham counties in Connecticut were declared natural disaster areas. Mandatory water use restrictions were put in place in communities in
Authors
Dee-Ann E. Crozier, James M. LeNoir, Pamela J. Lombard
Characterizing Future Flood Flows for Flood Insurance Studies
Current methods of flood-frequency analyses for flood insurance studies assume that the statistical distribution of data from past observations will continue unchanged in the future. This is known as the assumption of stationarity. This assumption allows scientists to estimate flood magnitude and frequency based on past records and the expectation that those estimates will represent current and...
Characterizing Future Climate and Hydrology in Massachusetts using Stochastic Modeling Methods
Communities across Massachusetts may face potential consequences of climate change, ranging from more extreme rainfall to more pronounced and frequent droughts. Climate change could alter the state’s hydrology in potentially complex and unanticipated ways. Typical approaches for projecting hydrologic risk under climate change can misrepresent and underestimate the variability of climate and...
Development of Flood Insurance Maps in New England
FEMA has requested USGS expertise in hydraulics, hydrology, and mapping to generate flood insurance maps for New England.
Data from Across the USA Used to Assess the Uncertainty of Discharge Estimates Using a Modified Manning's Equation
An expanding effort exists to estimate discharge of rivers utilizing remote sensing measurements. The goal of this investigation is to evaluate the uncertainty associated with estimating streamflow using remote sensing practices. This data release contains in-situ observations of river width, depth, velocity, and discharge from 30 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) gaged study reaches (USGSGagedTestSit
Predicted Temperature and Precipitation Values Derived from Modeled Localized Weather Regimes and Climate Change in the State of Massachusetts
Predicted temperature and precipitation values were generated throughout the state of Massachusetts using a stochastic weather generator (SWG) model to develop various climate change scenarios (Steinschneider and Najibi, 2022a). This data release contains temperature and precipitation statistics (SWG_outputTable.csv) derived from the SWG model under the surface warming derived from the RCP 8.5 cli
Science and Products
Satellite remote sensing of river discharge: A framework for assessing the accuracy of discharge estimates made from satellite remote sensing observations
This research presents an evaluation of the accuracy and uncertainty of estimates of river discharge made using satellite observed data sources as input to a modified form of Manning’s equation. Conventional U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamflow gaging station data and in-situ measurements of width, depth, height, slope, discharge, and velocity from 30 USGS gage sites were used as ground-truth
Authors
David M. Bjerklie, Michael Durand, James M. LeNoir, Robert W. Dudley, Charon Birkett, John Jones, Merritt Elizabeth Harlan
2022 drought in New England
Introduction During April through September 2022, much of New England experienced a short but extreme hydrologic drought that was similar to the drought of 2020. By August 2022, Providence, Rhode Island, was declared a Federal disaster area, and New London and Windham counties in Connecticut were declared natural disaster areas. Mandatory water use restrictions were put in place in communities in
Authors
Dee-Ann E. Crozier, James M. LeNoir, Pamela J. Lombard
Characterizing Future Flood Flows for Flood Insurance Studies
Current methods of flood-frequency analyses for flood insurance studies assume that the statistical distribution of data from past observations will continue unchanged in the future. This is known as the assumption of stationarity. This assumption allows scientists to estimate flood magnitude and frequency based on past records and the expectation that those estimates will represent current and...
Characterizing Future Climate and Hydrology in Massachusetts using Stochastic Modeling Methods
Communities across Massachusetts may face potential consequences of climate change, ranging from more extreme rainfall to more pronounced and frequent droughts. Climate change could alter the state’s hydrology in potentially complex and unanticipated ways. Typical approaches for projecting hydrologic risk under climate change can misrepresent and underestimate the variability of climate and...
Development of Flood Insurance Maps in New England
FEMA has requested USGS expertise in hydraulics, hydrology, and mapping to generate flood insurance maps for New England.
Data from Across the USA Used to Assess the Uncertainty of Discharge Estimates Using a Modified Manning's Equation
An expanding effort exists to estimate discharge of rivers utilizing remote sensing measurements. The goal of this investigation is to evaluate the uncertainty associated with estimating streamflow using remote sensing practices. This data release contains in-situ observations of river width, depth, velocity, and discharge from 30 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) gaged study reaches (USGSGagedTestSit
Predicted Temperature and Precipitation Values Derived from Modeled Localized Weather Regimes and Climate Change in the State of Massachusetts
Predicted temperature and precipitation values were generated throughout the state of Massachusetts using a stochastic weather generator (SWG) model to develop various climate change scenarios (Steinschneider and Najibi, 2022a). This data release contains temperature and precipitation statistics (SWG_outputTable.csv) derived from the SWG model under the surface warming derived from the RCP 8.5 cli