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Richard McDonald

Richard McDonald is a Hydrologist with the USGS Water Resources Mission Area. 

Richard McDonald is a hydrologist with 25 years of experience working on general water resources, flow and
sediment transport dynamics and eco-hydrology. He has extensive experience performing field, laboratory and computational research on river flow and sediment transport associated with regulated and unregulated rivers related to instream flow requirements, physical habitat, and evaluation of channel restoration designs. He is the principal developer of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Multi-Dimensional Surface Water Modeling System (MD_SWMS) and co-developer of the iRIC modeling system.

 

 

Science and Products

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Research vessel with the mobile hydrophone system collecting acoustic data on the upper Colorado River

Incipient Bed-Movement and Flood-Frequency Analysis Using Hydrophones to Estimate Flushing Flows on the Upper Colorado River, Colorado, 2019

In an effort to better understand sediment movement and its relation to flow regimes of the Upper Colorado River in Colorado, in 2019, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Upper Colorado River Wild and Scenic Stakeholder Group, studied the magnitude and recurrence interval of streamflow (discharge) needed to initiate bed movement of gravel-sized and finer sediment in a segment of...
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Colorado Water Science Center
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Incipient Bed-Movement and Flood-Frequency Analysis Using Hydrophones to Estimate Flushing Flows on the Upper Colorado River, Colorado, 2019

In an effort to better understand sediment movement and its relation to flow regimes of the Upper Colorado River in Colorado, in 2019, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Upper Colorado River Wild and Scenic Stakeholder Group, studied the magnitude and recurrence interval of streamflow (discharge) needed to initiate bed movement of gravel-sized and finer sediment in a segment of...
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Coupling Hydrologic Models with Data Services in an Interoperable Modeling Framework

Computational models are important tools that aid process understanding, hypothesis testing, and data interpretation. The ability to easily couple models from various domains such as, surface-water and groundwater, to form integrated models will aid studies in water resources. This project investigates the use of the Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System (CSDMS) Modeling Framework (CMF) to
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Community for Data Integration (CDI)
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Coupling Hydrologic Models with Data Services in an Interoperable Modeling Framework

Computational models are important tools that aid process understanding, hypothesis testing, and data interpretation. The ability to easily couple models from various domains such as, surface-water and groundwater, to form integrated models will aid studies in water resources. This project investigates the use of the Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System (CSDMS) Modeling Framework (CMF) to
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Hyperspectral image data and Rhodamine WT dye concentrations from a tracer study at the River Experiment Center, Korea, in May 2017

Hyperspectral image data and field measurements of Rhodamine WT dye concentration were obtained during a tracer study conducted at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology's River Experiment Center May 17-20, 2017, to support research on dispersion in river channels. The image data included in this data release were acquired using a Nano-Hyperspec (Headwall Photonics, Inc.)
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Water Resources Mission Area

Remotely sensed data and field measurements from a tracer dye experiment on the Kootenai River, ID, September 25-27, 2017

To support research on dispersion in river channels, a tracer dye experiment was performed on the Kootenai River in northern Idaho, September 25-27, 2017. This parent data release contains links to several types of field measurements and remotely sensed data acquired during this experiment: 1) in situ measurements of Rhodamine WT dye concentration; 2) reflectance spectra and corresponding concent
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Water Resources Mission Area
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Community for data integration 2019 project report

The U.S. Geological Survey Community for Data Integration annually supports small projects focusing on data integration for interdisciplinary research, innovative data management, and demonstration of new technologies. This report provides a summary of the 14 projects supported in fiscal year 2019 and outlines their goals, activities, and accomplishments. Proposals in 2019 were encouraged to addre
Authors
Amanda N. Liford, Caitlin M. Andrews, Aparna Bamzai, Joseph A. Bard, David S. Blehert, John B. Bradford, Wesley M. Daniel, Sara L. Caldwell Eldridge, Frank Engel, Jason A. Ferrante, Amy K. Gilmer, Margaret E. Hunter, Jeanne M. Jones, Benjamin Letcher, Frances L. Lightsom, Richard R. McDonald, Leah E. Morgan, Sasha C. Reed, Leslie Hsu
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Science Synthesis, Analysis and Research Program, Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS) Program, Volcano Hazards Program, Community for Data Integration (CDI), Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, Southwest Biological Science Center, Volcano Science Center, Western Geographic Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center , Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Science Data Management

Kootenai River white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) fine-scale habitat selection and preference, Kootenai River near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, 2017

To quantify fine-scale Kootenai River white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) staging and spawning habitat selection and preference within a recently restored reach of the Kootenai River, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, integrated acoustic telemetry data with two-dimensional hydraulic model simulations within a 1.5-kilometer reach of the Kootena
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Ryan L. Fosness, Taylor J. Dudunake, Richard R. McDonald, Ryan S. Hardy, Shawn Young, Susan Ireland, Gregory C. Hoffman
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Water Resources Mission Area, Idaho Water Science Center

The MODFLOW Application Programming Interface for simulationcontrol and software interoperability

The MODFLOW API allows other programs to control MODFLOW and interactively change variables without having to modify the source code. The MODFLOW API is based on the Basic Model Interface (BMI), which is a set of conventions that define how to initialize a simulation, update the model state by advancing in time, and finalize the run. For many existing MODFLOW coupling applications, the information
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Joseph D. Hughes, Martijn J. Russcher, Christian D. Langevin, Eric D. Morway, Richard R. McDonald
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Water Resources Mission Area

Streamflow, sediment transport, and geomorphic change during the 2011 flood on the Missouri River near Bismarck-Mandan, ND

Geomorphic change from extreme events in large managed rivers has implications for river management. A steady-state, quasi-three-dimensional hydrodynamic model was applied to a 29-km reach of the Missouri River using 2011 flood data. Model results for an extreme flow (500-year recurrence interval [RI]) and an elevated managed flow (75-year RI) were used to assess sediment mobility through examinat
Authors
Rochelle A. Nustad, Adam Benthem, Katherine Skalak, Richard R. McDonald, Edward R. Schenk, Joel M. Galloway
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Dakota Water Science Center

Incipient bed-movement and flood-frequency analysis using hydrophones to estimate flushing flows on the upper Colorado River, Colorado, 2019

In 2019, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Upper Colorado River Wild and Scenic Stakeholder Group, studied the magnitude and recurrence interval of streamflow (discharge) needed to initiate bed movement of gravel-sized and finer sediment in a segment of the Colorado River in Colorado to better understand sediment movement and its relation to flow regimes of the river. The study a
Authors
Michael S. Kohn, Mathieu D. Marineau, Laura A. Hempel, Richard R. McDonald
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Water Resources Mission Area, Colorado Water Science Center

A Lagrangian particle-tracking approach to modelling larval drift in rivers

The migration of larval fish from spawning to rearing habitat in rivers is not well understood. This paper describes a methodology to predict larval drift using a Lagrangian particle-tracking (LPT) model with passive and active behavioural components loosely coupled to a quasi-three-dimensional hydraulic model. In the absence of measured larval drift, a heuristic approach is presented for the larv
Authors
Richard R. McDonald, Jonathan M. Nelson
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Water Resources Mission Area

Remote sensing of tracer dye concentrations to support dispersion studies in river channels

In river channels the flow field influences the dispersion of biota, contaminants, and other suspended or dissolved materials. Insight on patterns and rates of dispersion can be gained by injecting a pulse of visible dye and observing spatial and temporal variations in dye concentration as the pulse moves downstream. We evaluated the potential of passive optical remote sensing to enhance such trac
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Carl J. Legleiter, Richard R. McDonald, Jonathan M. Nelson, Paul J. Kinzel, Ryan L. Perroy, Donghae Baek, Il Won Seo
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Water Resources Mission Area, Colorado Water Science Center

New methods for predicting and measuring dispersion in rivers

To develop a better predictive tool for dispersion in rivers over a range of temporal and spatial scales, our group has developed a simple Lagrangian model that is applicable for a wide range of coordinate systems and flow modeling methodologies. The approach allows dispersion computations for a large suite of discretizations, model dimensions (1-, 2-, or 3-dimensional), spatial and temporal discr
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Jonathan M. Nelson, Richard R. McDonald, Carl J. Legleiter, Paul J. Kinzel, Travis Terrell Ramos, Yutaka Higashi, Il Won Seo, Donghae Baek, Du Han Lee, Yonguk Ryu

Estimating floodwater depths from flood inundation maps and topography

Information on flood inundation extent is important for understanding societal exposure, water storage volumes, flood wave attenuation, future flood hazard, and other variables. A number of organizations now provide flood inundation maps based on satellite remote sensing. These data products can efficiently and accurately provide the areal extent of a flood event, but do not provide floodwater dep
Authors
Sagy Cohen, G. Robert Brakenridge, Albert Kettner, Bradford Bates, Jonathan M. Nelson, Richard R. McDonald, Yu-Fen Huang, Dinuke Munasinghe, Jiaqi Zhang

Fine-scale habitat preference of green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) within three spawning locations in the Sacramento River, California

Vast sections of the Sacramento River have been listed as critical habitat by the National Marine Fisheries Service for green sturgeon spawning (Acipenser medirostris), yet spawning is known to occur at only a few specific locations. This study reveals the range of physical habitat variables selected by adult green sturgeon during their spawning period. We integrated fine-scale fish positions, phy
Authors
Megan T. Wyman, Michael J. Thomas, Richard R. McDonald, Alexander R. Hearn, Ryan D. Batt, Eric D. Chapman, Paul J. Kinzel, J. Tobey Minear, Ethan A. Mora, Jonathan M. Nelson, Matthew D. Pagel, A. Peter Klimley

Using remotely sensed data to estimate river characteristics including water-surface velocity and discharge

This paper describes a project combining field studies and analyses directed at providing an assessment of the accuracy of remotely sensed methods for determining river characteristics such as velocity and discharge. In particular, we describe a remote sensing method for surface velocities using mid-wave thermal camera videography combined with image analysis. One of the critical problems in this
Authors
Jonathan M. Nelson, Paul J. Kinzel, Carl J. Legleiter, Richard R. McDonald, Brandon Overstreet, Jeffrey S. Conaway

Modeling hydraulic and sediment transport processes in white sturgeon spawning habitat on the Kootenai River, Idaho

The Kootenai River white sturgeon currently spawn (2005) in an 18-kilometer reach of the Kootenai River, Idaho. Since completion of Libby Dam upstream from the spawning reach, there has been only one successful year of recruitment of juvenile fish. Where successful in other rivers, white sturgeon spawn over clean coarse material of gravel size or larger. The channel substrate in the current spawni
Authors
Richard R. McDonald, Jonathan M. Nelson, Vaughn Paragamian, Gary J. Barton

fluvial-particle, U.S. Geological Survey software release

This Python package provides functions to simulate advection and dispersion of numerical particles using a lagrangian particle-tracking algorithm for 2 and 3-dimensionl hydraulic simulation results. Users may customize particle subclasses to provide custom particle classes. For example, the drift of larval fish, by creating classes to add behavior to particles. (McDonald and Nelson, 2021).
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Water Resources Mission Area

iRIC river flow and riverbed variation analysis

iRIC (International River Interface Cooperative) is a river flow and riverbed variation analysis software package which combines the functionality of MD_SWMS (Multi-Dimensional Surface-Water Modeling System), developed by the USGS, and RIC-Nays, developed by the Foundation of Hokkaido River Disaster Prevention Research Center.

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Water Resources Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area

Multidimensional Surface-Water Modeling System (MD_SWMS)

The U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Multi-Dimensional Surface-Water Modeling System (MD_SWMS) is a pre- and post-processing application for computational models of surface-water hydraulics.

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Water Resources Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area

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