Christopher A Ellison
Chris began his career with USGS in December 2008 in Minnesota, focusing on sediment-related studies. In 2016, he transferred to the WY-MT WSC office in Helena, Montana to become the chief of the Water Quality Unit.
Biography
I served 25 years in the U.S. Air Force beginning in 1976 and retiring in 2001 as a Senior Master Sergeant. During this time I worked as a Geodetic Survey Technician for the Defense Mapping Agency assigned to F.E. Warren AFB, WY. As a Geodetic Surveyor, I deployed to locations in and outside the U.S. to position points for latitude, longitude, and elevation using conventional survey methods (pre-GPS) in support of navigation systems for missile systems, aircraft, and naval ships and submarines. I changed career fields in the USAF in 1997 and worked as a computer programmer on the Airborne Battlefield Command and Control Center (ABCCC) in Italy and Bosnia, Yugoslavia. I ended my career as the manager of Yokota Air Base computer network in Japan in 2000 and at Barksdale AFB in 2001. From 2001 through 2008, I attended the University of Wyoming and completed a PhD in 2008 in Rangeland Ecology and Watershed Science. In December 2008, I began my career with USGS in Minnesota and developed numerous sediment-related studies for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and numerous watershed districts. In 2016, I moved to the USGS office in Helena, Montana and am currently a supervisory hydrologist as the water quality unit chief supervising 11 staff, overseeing multiple water-quality related projects, and continuing to develop sediment-related studies in Wyoming and Montana.
A.S. Geodetic Survey Technology, Community College of the Air Force
A.S. Computer Science, Community College of the Air Force
B.S Computer Science, Park College, MO
M.S. Rangeland Ecology & Watershed Science, University of Wyoming
PhD. Rangeland Ecology & Watershed Science, University of Wyoming
Science and Products
Lake Koocanusa Water Quality
Lake Koocanusa is a transboundary reservoir located in southeastern British Columbia and northwestern Montana. The reservoir was officially impounded in 1972 after construction of Libby Dam, which began in 1966. The dam was constructed as part of a treaty between the United States and Canada to cooperatively develop the water resources of the Columbia River drainage basin. The reservoir has a...
Using acoustic Doppler velocity meters to estimate suspended sediment along the lower Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers
Lake Pepin is the largest naturally formed lake on the Mississippi River and has complex management needs to satisfy economic, environmental, and cultural demands. Lake Pepin is filling in with sediment at a rapid rate compared to conditions before settlement by European immigrants and intense agricultural cultivation. Accordingly, the Minnesota...
Groten, Joel T.; Ziegeweid, Jeffrey R.; Lund, J. William; Ellison, Christopher A.; Costa, Samuel B. ; Coenen, Erin N.; Kessler, Erich W.Suspended-sediment concentrations, bedload, particle sizes, surrogate measurements, and annual sediment loads for selected sites in the lower Minnesota River Basin, water years 2011 through 2016
Accurate measurements of fluvial sediment are important for assessing stream ecological health, calculating flood levels, computing sediment budgets, and managing and protecting water resources. Sediment-enriched rivers in Minnesota are a concern among Federal, State, and local governments because turbidity and sediment-laden waters are the...
Groten, Joel T.; Ellison, Christopher A.; Hendrickson, Jon S.Application of dimensionless sediment rating curves to predict suspended-sediment concentrations, bedload, and annual sediment loads for rivers in Minnesota
Consistent and reliable sediment data are needed by Federal, State, and local government agencies responsible for monitoring water quality, planning river restoration, quantifying sediment budgets, and evaluating the effectiveness of sediment reduction strategies. Heightened concerns about excessive sediment in rivers and the challenge to reduce...
Ellison, Christopher A.; Groten, Joel T.; Lorenz, David L.; Koller, Karl S.Geomorphic responses of Duluth-area streams to the June 2012 flood, Minnesota
In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, completed a geomorphic assessment of 51 Duluth-area stream sites in 20 basins to describe and document the stream geomorphic changes associated with the June 2012 flood. Heavy rainfall caused flood peaks with annual exceedance probabilities of less...
Fitzpatrick, Faith A.; Ellison, Christopher A.; Czuba, Christiana R.; Young, Benjamin M.; McCool, Molly M.; Groten, Joel T.Three-dimensional visualization maps of suspended-sediment concentrations during placement of dredged material in 21st Avenue West Channel Embayment, Duluth-Superior Harbor, Duluth, Minnesota, 2015
Excess sediment in rivers and estuaries poses serious environmental and economic challenges. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) routinely dredges sediment in Federal navigation channels to maintain commercial shipping operations. The USACE initiated a 3-year pilot project in 2013 to use navigation channel dredged material to aid in...
Groten, Joel T.; Ellison, Christopher A.; Mahoney, Mollie H.Suspended-sediment concentrations, yields, total suspended solids, turbidity, and particle-size fractions for selected rivers in Minnesota, 2007 through 2011
Excessive sediment transport in rivers causes problems for flood control, soil conservation, irrigation, aquatic health, and navigation, as well as transporting harmful contaminants like organic chemicals and eutrophication-causing nutrients. In Minnesota, more than 5,800 miles of streams are identified as impaired by the Minnesota Pollution...
Ellison, Christopher A.; Savage, Brett E.; Johnson, Gregory D.Suspended-sediment concentrations, loads, total suspended solids, turbidity, and particle-size fractions for selected rivers in Minnesota, 2007 through 2011
Sediment-laden rivers and streams pose substantial environmental and economic challenges. Excessive sediment transport in rivers causes problems for flood control, soil conservation, irrigation, aquatic health, and navigation, and transports harmful contaminants like organic chemicals and eutrophication-causing nutrients. In Minnesota, more than 5...
Ellison, Christopher A.; Savage, Brett E.; Johnson, Gregory D.Sediment concentrations, loads, and particle-size distributions in the Red River of the North and selected tributaries near Fargo, North Dakota, during the 2011 spring high-flow event
To provide accurate and reliable information on sediment near the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area, the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducted a study in the spring (March-May) of 2010 and the spring of 2011 to examine sediment concentrations, loads, and particle-size distributions at nine selected...
Galloway, Joel M.; Blanchard, Robert A.; Ellison, Christopher A.Sediment concentrations, loads, and particle-size distributions in the Red River of the North and selected tributaries near Fargo, North Dakota, during the 2010 spring high-flow event
Blanchard, Robert A.; Ellison, Christopher A.; Galloway, Joel M.; Evans, Dennis A.Floods of September 2010 in Southern Minnesota
During September 22-24, 2010, heavy rainfall ranging from 3 inches to more than 10 inches caused severe flooding across southern Minnesota. The floods were exacerbated by wet antecedent conditions, where summer rainfall totals were as high as 20 inches, exceeding the historical average by more than 4 inches. Widespread flooding that occurred as a...
Ellison, Christopher A.; Sanocki, Chris A.; Lorenz, David L.; Mitton, Gregory B.; Kruse, Gregory A.