Christopher A Ellison, PhD
Chris is a project chief for water-quality studies, focusing on sediment-related investigations. He writes and submits proposals, designs studies, collects field data, analyzes data, and writes scientific investigation reports. He also assists other projects with statistical analysis and reviewing colleague reports.
Chris began his career in 2008 as a hydrologist in Minnesota. While there, he developed and conducted sediment-related studies that included measuring suspended-sediment concentrations and bedload throughout the state. He wrote proposals and worked with the Corps of Engineers, Minnesota Department of Environmental Quality, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. He developed regression equations for dimensionless rating curves to reduce data collection requirements and predict suspended-sediment concentrations and bedload in Minnesota rivers. In 2016, he transferred to the Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center and worked as a supervisory hydrologist from 2016 to 2021. During this time, he supervised 10 hydrologists and hydrologic technicians and worked on the Clark Fork River Superfund Site. He also completed a study using surrogates to predict metallic contaminants in the Clark Fork River as it flows through the Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site. He is currently serving in a National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) appointment after retiring in 2021. He is working on a Sediment Fingerprinting project in collaboration with the Teton Conservation District in Jackson, Wyoming. His NDAA appointment is expected to end in September 2026.
