Whitney Seymour is a Geographer at the California Water Science Center.
Whitney Seymour has been with the center since 2006. Her focus is primarily working with the Basin Characterization Model (BCM) and providing GIS and science support for various projects. She is the GIS Coordinator for the center and has a goal of getting center staff using ArcGIS Online for projects and project products, making science more accessible.
Whitney began her career at the California Water Science Center in the summer of 2006, after her first year of undergrad at UCSB. She worked summers as a hydrologic technician until her graduation in 2010, when she started full time as a geographer. She completed her M.S. at San Diego State University in 2016 with her thesis Hydrologic and geologic controls on groundwater recharge along the Mojave River floodplain aquifer.
She is an experienced geographer with a demonstrated history of working in research. She is skilled in cartography, GIS (Esri products), data analysis, spatial analysis, and global positioning system (GPS). She has excellent interpersonal skills, is adaptable, and strives for collaboration, and is a GIS leader her center.
Professional Experience
Geographer at USGS California Water Science Center, San Diego, CA (2010 – Present).
Hydrologic Technician at USGS California Water Science Center, San Diego, CA
(Summers 2006 – 2009)
Education and Certifications
M.S., Watershed Science, 2016, San Diego State University
B.A., Geography, GIS Emphasis, Spanish Minor, 2010, University of California, Santa Barbara
Science and Products
Basin Characterization Model (BCMv8) for California Coastal Basins - Monthly Historical (water years 1896-2019) and Future (water years 2006-2099) Climate and Hydrology
Regional Water Table (2018) in the Mojave River and Morongo Areas, Southwestern Mojave Desert, California
Regional Water Table (2020) in the Mojave River and Morongo Areas, Southwestern Mojave Desert, California
Arsenic, chromium, uranium, and vanadium in rock, alluvium, and groundwater, Mojave River and Morongo Areas, western Mojave Desert, southern California
Natural and anthropogenic hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), in groundwater near a mapped plume, Hinkley, California
Summary and conclusions
Predevelopment water levels, groundwater recharge, and selected hydrologic properties of aquifer materials, Hinkley and Water Valleys, California
Evaluation of natural and anthropogenic (human-made) hexavalent chromium
Analyses of regulatory water-quality data
Introduction to study area hydrogeology, chromium sources, site history, and purpose of study
Hydrogeologic characterization of the San Antonio Creek Valley watershed, Santa Barbara County, California
Cr(VI) occurrence and geochemistry in water from public-supply wells in California
Science and Products
- Data
Basin Characterization Model (BCMv8) for California Coastal Basins - Monthly Historical (water years 1896-2019) and Future (water years 2006-2099) Climate and Hydrology
This data release contains monthly 270-meter gridded Basin Characterization Model (BCMv8) climate inputs and hydrologic outputs for 17 California Coastal Basins (Eel River, Fort Bragg, Fort Ross, Klamath, Los Angeles, Mad River, Mattole, Napa Sonoma, Russian River, Salinas, San Diego, San Francisco Coastal South, Santa Clara River Valley, Santa Clara River Valley South Bay, Smith, South Bay, and SRegional Water Table (2018) in the Mojave River and Morongo Areas, Southwestern Mojave Desert, California
Data for groundwater-levels measured in 707 wells during January-July 2018 by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Mojave Water Agency (MWA), and other local water districts were compiled to construct a regional water-table shapefile for 2018. The regional water-table shapefile shows the elevation of the water table in and around the Mojave River and Morongo areas, in San Bernardino CouRegional Water Table (2020) in the Mojave River and Morongo Areas, Southwestern Mojave Desert, California
Data for groundwater-levels measured in 616 wells during water year 2020 (November 2019-June 2020) by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Mojave Water Agency (MWA), and other local water districts were compiled to construct a regional water-table shapefile for 2020. The regional water-table shapefile shows the elevation of the water table in and around the Mojave River and Morongo area - Multimedia
- Publications
Arsenic, chromium, uranium, and vanadium in rock, alluvium, and groundwater, Mojave River and Morongo Areas, western Mojave Desert, southern California
Trace elements within groundwater that originate from aquifer materials and pose potential public-health hazards if consumed are known as geogenic contaminants. The geogenic contaminants arsenic, chromium, and vanadium can form negatively charged ions with oxygen known as oxyanions. Uranium complexes with bicarbonate and carbonate to form negatively charged ions having aqueous chemistry similar toAuthorsJohn A. Izbicki, Krishangi D. Groover, Whitney A. SeymourNatural and anthropogenic hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), in groundwater near a mapped plume, Hinkley, California
The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Hinkley compressor station, in the Mojave Desert, 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California, is used to compress natural gas as it is transported through a pipeline from Texas to California. Between 1952 and 1964, cooling water was treated with a compound containing hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), to prevent corrosion of machinery within the compressorAuthorsJohn A. Izbicki, Krishangi D. Groover, Whitney A. Seymour, David M. Miller, John G. Warden, Laurence G. MillerSummary and conclusions
Executive SummaryChromium concentrations in rock and aquifer material in Hinkley and Water Valleys in the Mojave Desert, 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California, are generally low compared to the average chromium concentration of 185 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) in the average bulk continental crust. Chromium concentrations in felsic, coarse-textured “Mojave-type” deposits, composed of MoAuthorsJohn A. Izbicki, Krishangi D. Groover, Whitney A. Seymour, David M. Miller, John G. Warden, Laurence G. MillerPredevelopment water levels, groundwater recharge, and selected hydrologic properties of aquifer materials, Hinkley and Water Valleys, California
Hydrologic and geophysical data were collected to support updates to an existing groundwater-flow model of Hinkley Valley, California, in the Mojave Desert about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. These data provide information on predevelopment (pre-1930) water levels, groundwater recharge, and selected hydrologic properties of aquifer materials.A predevelopment groundwater-level map,AuthorsKrishangi D. Groover, John A. Izbicki, Whitney A. Seymour, Anthony A. Brown, Randall E. Bayless, Carole D. Johnson, Katherine L. Pappas, Gregory A. Smith, Dennis A. Clark, Joshua Larsen, Meghan C. Dick, Lorraine E. Flint, Christina L. Stamos, John G. WardenEvaluation of natural and anthropogenic (human-made) hexavalent chromium
Hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), was released between 1952 and 1964 from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Hinkley compressor station, in the Mojave Desert about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. Geologic, geochemical, and hydrologic data from more than 100 wells collected between March 2015 and November 2017 were interpreted using a summative-scale analysis to define the extentAuthorsJohn A. Izbicki, John G. Warden, Krishangi D. Groover, Whitney A. SeymourAnalyses of regulatory water-quality data
Between 1952 and 1964, hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), was released into groundwater from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Hinkley compressor station in the Mojave Desert 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. The Pacific Gas and Electric Company has monitored groundwater near Hinkley, California, for Cr(VI) and other constituents since the late 1980s. By June 2017, more than 20,00AuthorsJohn A. Izbicki, Whitney A. SeymourIntroduction to study area hydrogeology, chromium sources, site history, and purpose of study
Between 1952 and 1964, hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), was released into groundwater from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Hinkley compressor station in the Mojave Desert 80 miles (mi) northeast of Los Angeles, California. Remediation began in 1992, and in 2010, site cleanup was projected to require between 10 and 95 years and was expected to cost between $36 and $176 million. A 2007 PG&EAuthorsJohn A. Izbicki, Krishangi D. Groover, David M. Miller, Whitney A. Seymour, John G. Warden, Laurence G. MillerHydrogeologic characterization of the San Antonio Creek Valley watershed, Santa Barbara County, California
The San Antonio Creek Valley watershed (SACVW) is located in western Santa Barbara County, about 15 miles south of Santa Maria and 55 miles north of Santa Barbara, California. The SACVW is about 135 square miles and encompasses the San Antonio Creek Valley groundwater basin; the SACVW is separated from adjacent groundwater basins by the Casmalia and Solomon Hills to the north, and the Purisima HilAuthorsGeoffrey Cromwell, Donald S. Sweetkind, Jill N. Densmore, John A. Engott, Whitney A. Seymour, Joshua Larsen, Christopher P. Ely, Christina L. Stamos, Claudia C. FauntCr(VI) occurrence and geochemistry in water from public-supply wells in California
Hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), in 918 wells sampled throughout California between 2004 and 2012 by the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment-Priority Basin Project (GAMA-PBP) ranged from less than the study reporting limit of 1 microgram per liter (μg/L) to 32 μg/L. Statewide, Cr(VI) was reported in 31 percent of wells and equaled or exceeded the recently established (2014) California MaximuAuthorsJohn A. Izbicki, Michael Wright, Whitney A. Seymour, R. Blaine McCleskey, Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz, Bradley K. Esser