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Chauncey Anderson

Welcome to the Staff Profile for Chauncey Anderson, Hydrologist and Water Quality Specialist at USGS Oregon Water Science Center in Portland, Oregon.

Chauncey Anderson is a Hydrologist and Water Quality Specialist for the USGS Oregon Water Science Center (ORWSC), where he has worked since 1991. He studies the effects of land and water management on aquatic resources; primarily water quality, sediment, and ecosystem responses, in Oregon and nationally. He has worked extensively around the hydrologic impacts of reservoir operations. In 2009-2013, he was Co-Chair of the Water Quality Subteam for the Secretarial Determination on the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement, and currently works on other Klamath Basin issues. Since 2000 he has also studied hydrologic and water quality effects on amphibians as part of USGS's Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative, or ARMI.  He is the author of the USGS' national protocol on measurement of turbidity in water, which led him to work on the use of turbidity and other continuously measured surrogates to estimate real-time concentrations of suspended sediment and other constituents in water. 
 

 

Education and Certifications

  • B.S. Chemistry, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon (1982)

  • M.S.E. Environmental Engineering/Limnology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington (1991)

Science and Products

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areal view of the Klamath River, Iron Gate Dam and Hatchery. A portion of the Iron Gate Reservoir can be seen to the right.

Klamath Dam Removal Studies

Following the removal of four dams along the Klamath River, more naturally dynamic flow conditions may result in novel water quality, sediment transport, and geomorphic conditions leading to temporary or longer-term ecological impacts. USGS continuous and discrete monitoring data on aspects related to sediment and geomorphic conditions will be integral to post-dam removal assessments and...
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California Water Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Western Geographic Science Center
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Klamath Dam Removal Studies

Following the removal of four dams along the Klamath River, more naturally dynamic flow conditions may result in novel water quality, sediment transport, and geomorphic conditions leading to temporary or longer-term ecological impacts. USGS continuous and discrete monitoring data on aspects related to sediment and geomorphic conditions will be integral to post-dam removal assessments and...
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Wood River, Oregon

Upper Klamath Basin Studies

In 1992, the USGS began studying possible causes for the change in trophic status of Upper Klamath Lake. Since then research has expanded to include groundwater, geomorphology, streamflow forecasting, and fish ecology.
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Oregon Water Science Center
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Upper Klamath Basin Studies

In 1992, the USGS began studying possible causes for the change in trophic status of Upper Klamath Lake. Since then research has expanded to include groundwater, geomorphology, streamflow forecasting, and fish ecology.
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USGS science for a changing world logo

Dam removal: synthesis of ecological and physical responses

Dam decommissioning is rapidly emerging as an important river restoration strategy in the U.S., with several major removals recently completed or in progress. But few studies have evaluated the far-reaching consequences of these significant environmental perturbations, especially those resulting from removals of large (>10-15 m tall) structures during the last decade. In particular, interactions b
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John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis
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Dam removal: synthesis of ecological and physical responses

Dam decommissioning is rapidly emerging as an important river restoration strategy in the U.S., with several major removals recently completed or in progress. But few studies have evaluated the far-reaching consequences of these significant environmental perturbations, especially those resulting from removals of large (>10-15 m tall) structures during the last decade. In particular, interactions b
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Sediment grain-size data from the Klamath estuary, California

This data release includes grain-size measurements of sediment samples collected from the substrate surface and uppermost 10 cm of sediment deposits in the Klamath estuary, northern California. Samples were collected using a BMH-60 bed-material sampler deployed from a boat, or by hand trowel from subaerial or shallow-water (less than 0.5 m water depth) regions along the estuary margins and side ch
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Sediment Lab Suite and Carbon Analysis Laboratory

Chloride in water, metals in sediment and amphibian tissues and amphibian capture information from wetlands in the Williston Basin of Montana and North Dakota, 2015-2017

The data presented includes chloride concentration and specific conductance in surface water collected from 33 wetlands in the Williston Basin of Montana and North Dakota, 2015-2017 as well as count data for three species of amphibians captured at each wetland. Data also includes concentrations of metals in bed sediment and larval amphibians collected from 32 and 12 wetlands, respectively in 2015-
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New Jersey Water Science Center
Collecting Surface Water Samples in the Rabenberg Waterfowl Protection Area
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Filter Total Items: 42

A call for strategic water-quality monitoring to advance assessment and prediction of wildfire impacts on water supplies

Wildfires pose a risk to water supplies in the western U.S. and many other parts of the world, due to the potential for degradation of water quality. However, a lack of adequate data hinders prediction and assessment of post-wildfire impacts and recovery. The dearth of such data is related to lack of funding for monitoring extreme events and the challenge of measuring the outsized hydrologic and e
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Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, Kansas Water Science Center, New Mexico Water Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

Monitoring wetland water quality related to livestock grazing in amphibian habitats

Land use alteration such as livestock grazing can affect water quality in habitats of at-risk wildlife species. Data from managed wetlands are needed to understand levels of exposure for aquatic life stages and monitor grazing-related changes afield. We quantified spatial and temporal variation in water quality in wetlands occupied by threatened Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) at Klamath Marsh
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Michigan-Ohio Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Refining the Baseline Sediment Budget for the Klamath River, California

Four dams in the Klamath River Hydroelectric Project (KHP) in Oregon and California (Figure 1) are currently scheduled to be removed over a period of a few weeks or months, beginning in January 2021. The Klamath dam removal will be the largest in the world by almost all measures, and is an unprecedented opportunity to advance science of river responses to such events. The KHP contains approximatel

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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, California Water Science Center, New England Water Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Predicting attenuation of salinized surface- and groundwater-resources from legacy energy development in the Prairie Pothole Region

Oil and gas (energy) development in the Williston Basin, which partly underlies the Prairie Pothole Region in central North America, has helped meet U.S. energy demand for decades. Historical handling and disposal practices of saline wastewater co-produced during energy development resulted in salinization of surface and groundwater at numerous legacy energy sites. Thirty years of monitoring (1988
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Fort Collins Science Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center, Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center, Reston Biogeochemical Processes in Groundwater Laboratory

Associations between environmental pollutants and larval amphibians in wetlands contaminated by energy-related brines are potentially mediated by feeding traits

Energy production in the Williston Basin, located in the Prairie Pothole Region of central North America, has increased rapidly over the last several decades. Advances in recycling and disposal practices of saline wastewaters (brines) co-produced during energy production have reduced ecological risks, but spills still occur often and legacy practices of releasing brines into the environment caused
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Water Resources Mission Area, Toxic Substances Hydrology, New Jersey Water Science Center

Conceptualizing ecological responses to dam removal: If you remove it, what's to come?

One of the desired outcomes of dam decommissioning and removal is the recovery of aquatic and riparian ecosystems. To investigate this common objective, we synthesized information from empirical studies and ecological theory into conceptual models that depict key physical and biological links driving ecological responses to removing dams. We define models for three distinct spatial domains: upstre
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Species Management Research Program, Arizona Water Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, Oregon Water Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Western Fisheries Research Center

Effects of persistent energy-related brine contamination on amphibian abundance in national wildlife refuge wetlands

To inform sustainable energy development, it is important to understand the ecological effects of historical and current production practices and the persistence of those effects. The Williston Basin is one of North America's largest oil production areas and overlaps the Prairie Pothole Region, an area densely populated with wetlands that provide important wildlife habitat. Although historical dis
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center

Widespread legacy brine contamination from oil production reduces survival of chorus frog larvae

Advances in drilling techniques have facilitated a rapid increase in hydrocarbon extraction from energy shales, including the Williston Basin in central North America. This area overlaps with the Prairie Pothole Region, a region densely populated with wetlands that provide numerous ecosystem services. Historical (legacy) disposal practices often released saline co-produced waters (brines) with hig
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Colorado Water Science Center, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center

Dam removal: Listening in

Dam removal is widely used as an approach for river restoration in the United States. The increase in dam removals—particularly large dams—and associated dam-removal studies over the last few decades motivated a working group at the USGS John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis to review and synthesize available studies of dam removals and their findings. Based on dam removals thus far
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Natural Hazards Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Fisheries Program (unpublished), Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, Oregon Water Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Western Fisheries Research Center, Columbia River Research Laboratory (CRRL)

Landscape context and the biophysical response of rivers to dam removal in the United States

Dams have been a fundamental part of the U.S. national agenda over the past two hundred years. Recently, however, dam removal has emerged as a strategy for addressing aging, obsolete infrastructure and more than 1,100 dams have been removed since the 1970s. However, only 130 of these removals had any ecological or geomorphic assessments, and fewer than half of those included before- and after-remo
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS) Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center, John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis

Potential concerns with analytical Methods Used for the detection of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans from archived DNA of amphibian swab samples, Oregon, USA

Taxonomic identification of pollen has historically been accomplished via light microscopy but requires specialized knowledge and reference collections, particularly when identification to lower taxonomic levels is necessary. Recently, next-generation sequencing technology has been used as a cost-effective alternative for identifying bee-collected pollen; however, this novel approach has not been
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center

Evaluating external nutrient and suspended-sediment loads to Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, using surrogate regressions with real-time turbidity and acoustic backscatter data

Executive SummarySuspended-sediment and total phosphorus loads were computed for two sites in the Upper Klamath Basin on the Wood and Williamson Rivers, the two main tributaries to Upper Klamath Lake. High temporal resolution turbidity and acoustic backscatter data were used to develop surrogate regression models to compute instantaneous concentrations and loads on these rivers. Regression models
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Water Resources Mission Area, Oregon Water Science Center
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USGS Measures the Effect of Recent Wildfires on Water Quality in Oregon

Some of the intense wildfires that occurred during late summer of 2020 in Oregon happened along streams that were being monitored by the USGS. As a...

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