Alan Kasprak (Former Employee)
Science and Products
Development of a FluEgg Model for the St. Croix River
The USGS partnered with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to collect hydraulic and water chemistry data in the lower St. Croix River for development of a model that predicts the probability of successful egg hatching and survival of juvenile invasive carp over a range of water temperature and streamflow conditions.
Aeolian and drainage classification data for various archaeological sites in Grand Canyon National Park along the Colorado River from 1973 to 2022
These data were compiled to assess the risk of erosion to archaeological site preservation. The objective of the study is to evaluate changes in archaeological site condition over time as a function of two geomorphology based conceptual models that evaluate the extent to which sites are potentially affected by 1) erosion from gullies, and 2) wind-driven (aeolian) supply of river-sourced...
Lower St. Croix River Steady State Hydraulic Inputs for FluOil Workshop
This data release contains steady-state hydraulic input files for the FluOil model (Zhu and others, 2022) that describe the lower St. Croix River between St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, and Stillwater, Minnesota. These files are derived from the results of a steady-state one dimensional (1D) hydraulic model of the river reach at three discharges (10,000, 20,000, and 35,000 cubic feet per...
Sediment budget data for Lees Ferry dune field, February-May 2019
These data were compiled to enable estimation of aeolian dune field sediment budgets calculated using remote sensing methods. The objective of the study was to evaluate sediment budgets calculated for the Lees Ferry dune field in Grand Canyon, Earth as a terrestrial analog for aeolian dune fields in Valles Marineris, Mars. These data represent digital elevation models (DEM) of the...
Bathymetric, water velocity, and water temperature data on the St. Croix River between St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, and Stillwater, Minnesota, June 19-22, 2018
From June 19-22, 2018, bathymetric, water velocity, and water temperature data were collected on the St. Croix River between St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, and Stillwater, Minnesota. These data were collected with a Teledyne RD Instruments RiverRay acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) and georeferenced using a Trimble R10 Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver connected to a...
Discharge records and sand extents along the Colorado River between Glen Canyon Dam and Phantom Ranch, Arizona
The data contained in these tables detail the areal extent of exposed sand, in square meters, along the Colorado River between Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona, and Bright Angel Creek, Arizona, within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon National Park. Sand exposure areas are provided as a function of Colorado River discharge, as measured at Lees Ferry, Arizona, in increments of...
River Valley Sediment Connectivity Data, Colorado River, Grand Canyon
This workbook contains spatial data on the hydrology, sedimentology, and vegetation extent within the Colorado River corridor from 60 to 78 miles (97 to 125 kilometers) downstream from Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona. In combination with the accompanying MATLAB scripts, these data were used to generate the results within the accompanying manuscript (Kasprak et al., Quantifying and Forecasting...
Geomorphic Process from Topographic FormData & Models
The repeat topographic datasets used here are digital surface models (DSMs) derived using automated photogrammetry from photographs captured via aerial overflights during May 2002, 2009, and 2013. During overflights, discharge from Glen Canyon dam was held steady at 226 m3/s, and all subsequent analyses presented here apply to stages above this constant low flow discharge. DSMs are...
Filter Total Items: 19
Combining terrestrial lidar with single line transects to investigate geomorphic change: A case study on the Upper Verde River, Arizona
The Upper Verde River in northern Arizona, USA is a vital resource for the wildlife and humans that rely on its waters. We characterize the riparian corridor topography using terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) data from 2021 to 2022. We also quantify geomorphic changes associated with human and climate-driven alterations in river flow and vegetation changes by combining the contemporary...
Authors
Lauren Lynn Tango, Temuulen Tsagaan Sankey, Jackson Leonard, Joel B. Sankey, Alan Kasprak
Reproduction of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) in the Maumee River, Ohio: Part 1—Spawning area identification using bidirectional drift modeling
Control of invasive grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) populations in the Western Lake Erie Basin merits adaptive management guided by the best available science. Presently (2024), capture of mature grass carp in rivers during spawning season is most efficient, so knowing when and where grass carp are spawning is essential information for natural resource agencies. Using bidirectional...
Authors
P. Ryan Jackson, Charles V. Cigrand, Patrick M. Kočovský, Nicole R. King, Alan Kasprak, Evan M. Lindroth, Henry F. Doyle, Song S. Qian, Christine M. Mayer
Modeling the impacts of Glen Canyon Dam operations on Colorado River resources
At the time of this report, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is writing two supplemental Environmental Impact Statements (sEIS ) and a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will analyze the effects of changing water flow out of Glen Canyon Dam (GCD) (U.S. Department of Interior, 2024). These actions have the potential to affect downstream resources, including threatened...
Authors
Charles B. Yackulic, Lucas S. Bair, Drew Elliot Eppehimer, Gerard Lewis Salter, Bridget Deemer, Bradley J. Butterfield, Alan Kasprak, Joshua J. Caster, Helen Fairley, Paul E. Grams, Bryce Anthony Mihalevich, Emily C. Palmquist, Joel B. Sankey
Do topographic changes tell us about variability in aeolian sediment transport and dune mobility? Analysis of monthly to decadal surface changes in a partially vegetated and biocrust covered dunefield
Vegetation and biological soil crust (biocrust) cover can have a stabilizing effect on dunes by fixing sediment in-place and increasing surface roughness, thus limiting dune mobility, sediment transport, and erosion. These biological effects influence rates of aeolian activity and thus surficial changes, though variability in wind and sediment supply may obscure these topographic effects...
Authors
Joshua J. Caster, Joel B. Sankey, Temuulen Tsagaan Sankey, Alan Kasprak, Matthew A. Bowker, Taylor Joyal
Archaeological sites in Grand Canyon National Park along the Colorado River are eroding owing to six decades of Glen Canyon Dam operations
The archaeological record documenting human history in deserts is commonly concentrated along rivers in terraces or other landforms built by river sediment deposits. Today that record is at risk in many river valleys owing to human resource and infrastructure development activities, including the construction and operation of dams. We assessed the effects of the operations of Glen Canyon...
Authors
Joel B. Sankey, Amy East, Helen Fairley, Joshua J. Caster, Jennifer L. Dierker, Ellen Brennan, Lonnie Pilkington, Nathaniel D. Bransky, Alan Kasprak
Terrestrial lidar monitoring of the effects of Glen Canyon Dam operations on the geomorphic condition of archaeological sites in Grand Canyon National Park, 2010–2020
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, in coordination with the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program, has monitored the geomorphic condition of select archaeological sites along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon using high-resolution terrestrial light detection and ranging (lidar) topographic surveys. Many of these sites are vulnerable to...
Authors
Joshua J. Caster, Joel B. Sankey, Helen Fairley, Alan Kasprak
The influence of drying on the aeolian transport of river-sourced sand
Transgression and regression of water levels (stages) have impacted the evolution of aeolian landforms and sedimentary deposits throughout geologic history. We studied this phenomenon over a five-day period of reduced flow on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, AZ, USA, in March 2021. These transient low flows exposed river-channel sand deposits to the air, causing...
Authors
Joel B. Sankey, Joshua J. Caster, Alan Kasprak, Helen Fairley
Can we accurately estimate sediment budgets on Mars?
Sediment budgets are fundamentally important for planetary science. However, only one primary method, based on remote sensing, is currently available for determining extraterrestrial sediment budgets. For determining sediment budgets on Earth, both in-situ and remote sensing methods are available. Despite the widespread use of the two methods, there has been surprisingly little research...
Authors
Joel B. Sankey, Alan Kasprak, Matthew Chojnacki, Timothy N. Titus, Joshua J. Caster, Geoffrey P. Debenedetto
The role of hydraulic and geomorphic complexity in predicting invasive carp spawning potential: St. Croix River, Minnesota and Wisconsin, United States
Since they were first introduced to the United States more than 50 years ago, invasive carp have rapidly colonized rivers of the Mississippi River Basin, with detrimental effects on native aquatic species. Their continued range expansion, and potential for subsequent invasion of the Great Lakes, has led to increased concern for the susceptibility of as-yet uncompromised lotic and lentic...
Authors
Alan Kasprak, P. Ryan Jackson, Evan M. Lindroth, J. William Lund, Jeffrey R. Ziegeweid
Future regulated flows of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon foretell decreased areal extent of sediment and increases in riparian vegetation
Sediment transfer, or connectivity, by aeolian processes between channel-proximal and upland deposits in river valleys is important for the maintenance of river corridor biophysical characteristics. In regulated river systems, dams control the magnitude and duration of discharge. Alterations to the flow regime driven by dams that increase the inundation duration of sediment, or which...
Authors
Alan Kasprak, Joel B. Sankey, Bradley J. Butterfield
The roles of flood magnitude and duration in controlling channel width and complexity on the Green River in Canyonlands, Utah, USA
Predictions of river channel adjustment to changes in streamflow regime based on relations between mean channel characteristics and mean flood magnitude can be useful to evaluate average channel response. However, because these relations assume equilibrium sediment transport, their applicability to cases where streamflow and sediment transport are decoupled may be limited. These general...
Authors
Paul E. Grams, David Dean, Alexander E. Walker, Alan Kasprak, John C. Schmidt
Quantifying plant-soil-nutrient dynamics in rangelands: Fusion of UAV hyperspectral-LiDAR, UAV multispectral-photogrammetry, and ground-based LiDAR-digital photography in a shrub-encroached desert grassland
Rangelands cover 70% of the world's land surface, and provide critical ecosystem services of primary production, soil carbon storage, and nutrient cycling. These ecosystem services are governed by very fine-scale spatial patterning of soil carbon, nutrients, and plant species at the centimeter-to-meter scales, a phenomenon known as “islands of fertility”. Such fine-scale dynamics are...
Authors
Joel B. Sankey, Temuulen Tsagaan Sankey, Junran Li, Sujith Ravi, Guan Wang, Joshua J. Caster, Alan Kasprak
Science and Products
Development of a FluEgg Model for the St. Croix River
The USGS partnered with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to collect hydraulic and water chemistry data in the lower St. Croix River for development of a model that predicts the probability of successful egg hatching and survival of juvenile invasive carp over a range of water temperature and streamflow conditions.
Aeolian and drainage classification data for various archaeological sites in Grand Canyon National Park along the Colorado River from 1973 to 2022
These data were compiled to assess the risk of erosion to archaeological site preservation. The objective of the study is to evaluate changes in archaeological site condition over time as a function of two geomorphology based conceptual models that evaluate the extent to which sites are potentially affected by 1) erosion from gullies, and 2) wind-driven (aeolian) supply of river-sourced...
Lower St. Croix River Steady State Hydraulic Inputs for FluOil Workshop
This data release contains steady-state hydraulic input files for the FluOil model (Zhu and others, 2022) that describe the lower St. Croix River between St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, and Stillwater, Minnesota. These files are derived from the results of a steady-state one dimensional (1D) hydraulic model of the river reach at three discharges (10,000, 20,000, and 35,000 cubic feet per...
Sediment budget data for Lees Ferry dune field, February-May 2019
These data were compiled to enable estimation of aeolian dune field sediment budgets calculated using remote sensing methods. The objective of the study was to evaluate sediment budgets calculated for the Lees Ferry dune field in Grand Canyon, Earth as a terrestrial analog for aeolian dune fields in Valles Marineris, Mars. These data represent digital elevation models (DEM) of the...
Bathymetric, water velocity, and water temperature data on the St. Croix River between St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, and Stillwater, Minnesota, June 19-22, 2018
From June 19-22, 2018, bathymetric, water velocity, and water temperature data were collected on the St. Croix River between St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, and Stillwater, Minnesota. These data were collected with a Teledyne RD Instruments RiverRay acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) and georeferenced using a Trimble R10 Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver connected to a...
Discharge records and sand extents along the Colorado River between Glen Canyon Dam and Phantom Ranch, Arizona
The data contained in these tables detail the areal extent of exposed sand, in square meters, along the Colorado River between Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona, and Bright Angel Creek, Arizona, within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon National Park. Sand exposure areas are provided as a function of Colorado River discharge, as measured at Lees Ferry, Arizona, in increments of...
River Valley Sediment Connectivity Data, Colorado River, Grand Canyon
This workbook contains spatial data on the hydrology, sedimentology, and vegetation extent within the Colorado River corridor from 60 to 78 miles (97 to 125 kilometers) downstream from Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona. In combination with the accompanying MATLAB scripts, these data were used to generate the results within the accompanying manuscript (Kasprak et al., Quantifying and Forecasting...
Geomorphic Process from Topographic FormData & Models
The repeat topographic datasets used here are digital surface models (DSMs) derived using automated photogrammetry from photographs captured via aerial overflights during May 2002, 2009, and 2013. During overflights, discharge from Glen Canyon dam was held steady at 226 m3/s, and all subsequent analyses presented here apply to stages above this constant low flow discharge. DSMs are...
Filter Total Items: 19
Combining terrestrial lidar with single line transects to investigate geomorphic change: A case study on the Upper Verde River, Arizona
The Upper Verde River in northern Arizona, USA is a vital resource for the wildlife and humans that rely on its waters. We characterize the riparian corridor topography using terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) data from 2021 to 2022. We also quantify geomorphic changes associated with human and climate-driven alterations in river flow and vegetation changes by combining the contemporary...
Authors
Lauren Lynn Tango, Temuulen Tsagaan Sankey, Jackson Leonard, Joel B. Sankey, Alan Kasprak
Reproduction of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) in the Maumee River, Ohio: Part 1—Spawning area identification using bidirectional drift modeling
Control of invasive grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) populations in the Western Lake Erie Basin merits adaptive management guided by the best available science. Presently (2024), capture of mature grass carp in rivers during spawning season is most efficient, so knowing when and where grass carp are spawning is essential information for natural resource agencies. Using bidirectional...
Authors
P. Ryan Jackson, Charles V. Cigrand, Patrick M. Kočovský, Nicole R. King, Alan Kasprak, Evan M. Lindroth, Henry F. Doyle, Song S. Qian, Christine M. Mayer
Modeling the impacts of Glen Canyon Dam operations on Colorado River resources
At the time of this report, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is writing two supplemental Environmental Impact Statements (sEIS ) and a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will analyze the effects of changing water flow out of Glen Canyon Dam (GCD) (U.S. Department of Interior, 2024). These actions have the potential to affect downstream resources, including threatened...
Authors
Charles B. Yackulic, Lucas S. Bair, Drew Elliot Eppehimer, Gerard Lewis Salter, Bridget Deemer, Bradley J. Butterfield, Alan Kasprak, Joshua J. Caster, Helen Fairley, Paul E. Grams, Bryce Anthony Mihalevich, Emily C. Palmquist, Joel B. Sankey
Do topographic changes tell us about variability in aeolian sediment transport and dune mobility? Analysis of monthly to decadal surface changes in a partially vegetated and biocrust covered dunefield
Vegetation and biological soil crust (biocrust) cover can have a stabilizing effect on dunes by fixing sediment in-place and increasing surface roughness, thus limiting dune mobility, sediment transport, and erosion. These biological effects influence rates of aeolian activity and thus surficial changes, though variability in wind and sediment supply may obscure these topographic effects...
Authors
Joshua J. Caster, Joel B. Sankey, Temuulen Tsagaan Sankey, Alan Kasprak, Matthew A. Bowker, Taylor Joyal
Archaeological sites in Grand Canyon National Park along the Colorado River are eroding owing to six decades of Glen Canyon Dam operations
The archaeological record documenting human history in deserts is commonly concentrated along rivers in terraces or other landforms built by river sediment deposits. Today that record is at risk in many river valleys owing to human resource and infrastructure development activities, including the construction and operation of dams. We assessed the effects of the operations of Glen Canyon...
Authors
Joel B. Sankey, Amy East, Helen Fairley, Joshua J. Caster, Jennifer L. Dierker, Ellen Brennan, Lonnie Pilkington, Nathaniel D. Bransky, Alan Kasprak
Terrestrial lidar monitoring of the effects of Glen Canyon Dam operations on the geomorphic condition of archaeological sites in Grand Canyon National Park, 2010–2020
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, in coordination with the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program, has monitored the geomorphic condition of select archaeological sites along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon using high-resolution terrestrial light detection and ranging (lidar) topographic surveys. Many of these sites are vulnerable to...
Authors
Joshua J. Caster, Joel B. Sankey, Helen Fairley, Alan Kasprak
The influence of drying on the aeolian transport of river-sourced sand
Transgression and regression of water levels (stages) have impacted the evolution of aeolian landforms and sedimentary deposits throughout geologic history. We studied this phenomenon over a five-day period of reduced flow on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, AZ, USA, in March 2021. These transient low flows exposed river-channel sand deposits to the air, causing...
Authors
Joel B. Sankey, Joshua J. Caster, Alan Kasprak, Helen Fairley
Can we accurately estimate sediment budgets on Mars?
Sediment budgets are fundamentally important for planetary science. However, only one primary method, based on remote sensing, is currently available for determining extraterrestrial sediment budgets. For determining sediment budgets on Earth, both in-situ and remote sensing methods are available. Despite the widespread use of the two methods, there has been surprisingly little research...
Authors
Joel B. Sankey, Alan Kasprak, Matthew Chojnacki, Timothy N. Titus, Joshua J. Caster, Geoffrey P. Debenedetto
The role of hydraulic and geomorphic complexity in predicting invasive carp spawning potential: St. Croix River, Minnesota and Wisconsin, United States
Since they were first introduced to the United States more than 50 years ago, invasive carp have rapidly colonized rivers of the Mississippi River Basin, with detrimental effects on native aquatic species. Their continued range expansion, and potential for subsequent invasion of the Great Lakes, has led to increased concern for the susceptibility of as-yet uncompromised lotic and lentic...
Authors
Alan Kasprak, P. Ryan Jackson, Evan M. Lindroth, J. William Lund, Jeffrey R. Ziegeweid
Future regulated flows of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon foretell decreased areal extent of sediment and increases in riparian vegetation
Sediment transfer, or connectivity, by aeolian processes between channel-proximal and upland deposits in river valleys is important for the maintenance of river corridor biophysical characteristics. In regulated river systems, dams control the magnitude and duration of discharge. Alterations to the flow regime driven by dams that increase the inundation duration of sediment, or which...
Authors
Alan Kasprak, Joel B. Sankey, Bradley J. Butterfield
The roles of flood magnitude and duration in controlling channel width and complexity on the Green River in Canyonlands, Utah, USA
Predictions of river channel adjustment to changes in streamflow regime based on relations between mean channel characteristics and mean flood magnitude can be useful to evaluate average channel response. However, because these relations assume equilibrium sediment transport, their applicability to cases where streamflow and sediment transport are decoupled may be limited. These general...
Authors
Paul E. Grams, David Dean, Alexander E. Walker, Alan Kasprak, John C. Schmidt
Quantifying plant-soil-nutrient dynamics in rangelands: Fusion of UAV hyperspectral-LiDAR, UAV multispectral-photogrammetry, and ground-based LiDAR-digital photography in a shrub-encroached desert grassland
Rangelands cover 70% of the world's land surface, and provide critical ecosystem services of primary production, soil carbon storage, and nutrient cycling. These ecosystem services are governed by very fine-scale spatial patterning of soil carbon, nutrients, and plant species at the centimeter-to-meter scales, a phenomenon known as “islands of fertility”. Such fine-scale dynamics are...
Authors
Joel B. Sankey, Temuulen Tsagaan Sankey, Junran Li, Sujith Ravi, Guan Wang, Joshua J. Caster, Alan Kasprak