Brian A. Ebel
(He/him)Brian Ebel is a Research Hydrologist for the USGS Water Resources Mission Area.
Brian Ebel is a hydrologist who uses field measurements combined with numerical modeling to advance prediction and assessment for water resources through improved process representation. His work focuses on landscape disturbance impacts (e.g., wildfire, forestry, legacy mining) on water availability and water-related hazards to human lives and infrastructure. He was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2019 for his contributions to understanding post-wildfire flooding and water availability issues. In 2023, Brian was selected as a Kavli Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences. Brian is currently in the Earth System Processes Division of the USGS Water Resources Mission Area.
Professional Experience
2014-present: Research Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Water Mission Area
2013-2014: Research Assistant Professor, Colorado School of Mines
2012-2013: Research Assistant Professor, University of Colorado-Boulder
2008-2012: Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Mission Area
Education and Certifications
Stanford University, Ph.D. in Hydrogeology
Washington University in St. Louis, B.A. in Earth and Planetary Science
Science and Products
Soil-hydraulic property, soil depth, and soil saturation observations within the 2010 Fourmile Canyon Fire area, Colorado, USA following the 2013 Colorado floods
Postwildfire soil‐hydraulic recovery and the persistence of debris flow hazards
Rapid-response unsaturated zone hydrology: Small-scale data, small-scale theory, big problems
Assessing plot-scale impacts of land use on overland flow generation in Central Panama
Fates and fingerprints of sulfur and carbon following wildfire in economically important croplands of California, U.S.
Parameter estimation for multiple post-wildfire hydrologic models
Wildfire-initiated talik development exceeds current thaw projections: Observations and models from Alaska's continuous permafrost zone
Temporal evolution of measured and simulated infiltration following wildfire in the Colorado Front Range, USA: Shifting thresholds of runoff generation and hydrologic hazards
Conceptual framework for assessing disturbance impacts on debris-flow initiation thresholds across hydroclimatic settings
Measurement method has a larger impact than spatial scale for plot-scale field-saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs) after wildfire and prescribed fire in forests
Sources of inherent infiltration variability in postwildfire soils
Soil physical, hydraulic, and thermal properties in interior Alaska, USA: Implications for hydrologic response to thawing permafrost conditions
Development of perennial thaw zones in boreal hillslopes enhances potential mobilization of permafrost carbon
Non-USGS Publications**
**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
Soil-hydraulic property, soil depth, and soil saturation observations within the 2010 Fourmile Canyon Fire area, Colorado, USA following the 2013 Colorado floods
Postwildfire soil‐hydraulic recovery and the persistence of debris flow hazards
Rapid-response unsaturated zone hydrology: Small-scale data, small-scale theory, big problems
Assessing plot-scale impacts of land use on overland flow generation in Central Panama
Fates and fingerprints of sulfur and carbon following wildfire in economically important croplands of California, U.S.
Parameter estimation for multiple post-wildfire hydrologic models
Wildfire-initiated talik development exceeds current thaw projections: Observations and models from Alaska's continuous permafrost zone
Temporal evolution of measured and simulated infiltration following wildfire in the Colorado Front Range, USA: Shifting thresholds of runoff generation and hydrologic hazards
Conceptual framework for assessing disturbance impacts on debris-flow initiation thresholds across hydroclimatic settings
Measurement method has a larger impact than spatial scale for plot-scale field-saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs) after wildfire and prescribed fire in forests
Sources of inherent infiltration variability in postwildfire soils
Soil physical, hydraulic, and thermal properties in interior Alaska, USA: Implications for hydrologic response to thawing permafrost conditions
Development of perennial thaw zones in boreal hillslopes enhances potential mobilization of permafrost carbon
Non-USGS Publications**
**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.